Parents' Guide to

Nemo's Reef

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Common Sense Media Review

Christy Matte By Christy Matte , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 8+

Ecosystem sim is visually vibrant but a bit shallow.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 8+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 18+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 18+

age 18+

Love Nemo reef

Hi love how you Nemo reef

What's It About?

NEMO'S REEF invites kids to help Nemo and his dad Marlin grow their own reef, teeming with plants and sea creatures. Kids can build what they would like, so long as they have enough sand dollars, algae, or pearls, which can be earned by caring for their reef over time. They also can complete quests and homework assignments to earn rewards. As kids add more coral, plants, and stones, they'll attract new fish and sea life to the reef. Nemo is encouraged to add diversity to his reef and competes with a classmate to create the best reef. There's no end point to the game, so kids can continue to play until they tire of collecting resources or run out of new creatures to collect.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Nemo's Reef is a fun idea that kids likely will enjoy for a while. It's exciting to have new sea creatures move into your reef and see how the reef grows and changes depending on your care. However, it's missing some substance in terms of both educational content and gameplay; eventually, kids will want to move on to games that have more to do than collecting resources and waiting. But, so long as you can fend off requests to buy pearls to speed up gameplay, it's a cute enough way to learn a bit more about coral reefs.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Why do you need to plant different kinds of plants in a coral reef? What's the difference between a coral reef and, say, a tropical rainforest?

  • Nemo seems intent on competing with his friend from school for the best reef. What are some other reasons to build a great reef?

  • Talk about your family's rules around in-app purchases.

App Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

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