For more on Pokémon Shuffle, check out our full Pokémon Shuffle review. Or, for more of the best Nintendo 3DS games for a 6 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
Pokémon Shuffle is a downloadable match three game for the 3DS. Available from the 3DS's eShop, the game is free to download, but comes with limits on how often you can play it. You start the game with five hearts, and each stage you play uses up one of these hearts. Once they run out, you won't be able to play again until the hearts replenish - with a single heart taking 30 minutes to refill. If you want to play again immediately, you'll have to spend some (real) money on some "jewels" from the game's store. With each level only lasting a few minutes, those lives will be burnt through pretty quickly, and the incentive to buy extra goes is strong - something that parents should keep firmly in mind. 1 jewel (which nets you all five hearts) will set you back 89p, but 75 jewels will cost £42.99.
Still, in terms of accessibility, the game is easy enough. Unlike other match three games, where you simply have to switch adjacent tiles, here, any tile can be swapped with any others, anywhere on the grid - so long as it makes a match of three or more. Set in a sort of Pokémon battle, each attack you do will "damage" the Pokémon you're facing off against on the top screen - and depending on how well you've cleared the stage, you might even be able to catch it when you defeat it.
With the ability to put the Pokémon you've caught into your "team", which in turn determines the Pokémon icons that you'll be matching, over 150 stages to complete, and daily/weekly challenges being added if you connect your game over WiFi, there's plenty of Pokémon fun to be had here - you just might have to wait before getting stuck in again.
With the microtransaction/"free" to play model in place, it may be an idea to be clear with your children about what they can or can't do on the game before they download it.
As a Pokémon themed match three game, there's little for parents to worry about here - no violence, gore, swearing, or sex.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Nintendo 3DS
