Incredibox

Incredibox allows even the most inexperienced users to create music without having to learn a new instrument. Through the use of a simple drag and drop interface, players can string together different notes and develop their own sound. It's a primitive but appealing approach to music creation, and there's a surprising amount of depth beneath its surface. This combination of primal fun and educational potential has made it a popular choice for teachers, and the game has won a number of awards since it was first introduced over a decade ago. First developed as a Flash game, Incredibox if starting to show its age, but the inherent fun at the heart of the game manages to shine through regardless.

The basic premise of Incredibox is deceptively simple. You have a crew of beatboxers to which you assign a number of different positions. These include melodies, beats, vocals, and chorus. You then construct music by dragging various types of musical notes onto your crew members. There's a huge amount of choices here, and mixing them together results in a nearly limitless variety of combinations. The result is a game that can teach kids how sounds blend together into larger musical compositions while providing an engaging game experience for them.

The art style is slick, and while the general tone of the original Flash game is still present, it's been spruced up significantly in over a decade of existence. The characters themselves reflect an urban style that suits the tone of the game and looks like it could be ripped straight out of a Gorillaz video or a graffiti artist's sketch book. Players can even customize the look of their crew by dressing them up with a variety of different accessories. It's a small cosmetic flourish that brings a lot of additional character to the game.

This app isn't the first iteration of the game, but it's easily the most fully featured. The core experience is the most versatile and dense version of Incredibox around, but all the earlier versions of the game are also playable directly through the app. That expands the musical options greatly, but you unfortunately can't mix and match all of the components of the various game versions. While this is as much a virtual sandbox and a teaching tool as it is a game, there are efforts made to encourage users to create the best music they can. A combo system encourages players to make the most complex and sophisticated music as they can, and there's even online integration. Players can share their creations with their friends and vote on their favorites, and a Top 50 feature allows users to experience the most popular songs from throughout the world.

Pros:

• A rhythm game that's as educational as it is fun
• Easy to pick up and play but filled with complexities
• Robust online sharing functions

Cons:

• Basic combo system doesn't quite ameliorate the lack of progression or gameplay direction