How to pick an ad-free puzzle game for kids

Many free games for kids pay for themselves with ads or random prize boxes. Before you install one, it helps to check six things. Most of them take a minute in the App Store listing or the first few levels.

The checklist

1. Ads. Play the first few levels yourself: ads usually show up within minutes. Video ads between levels break concentration and often promote games made for older players.
2. Random rewards. Chests, spins or boxes with a random prize work like a slot machine. Prefer games where every reward is shown before you earn it.
3. Purchase checks. A good kids game asks for a grown-up before any real-money purchase, and never shows offers in the middle of play.
4. Accounts and chat. No sign-up and no chat with strangers is the safest start.
5. Links out. Buttons that open websites or other apps lead kids away from the game.
6. Offline play. A game that works without internet is calmer, works on a plane, and sends less data.

How Peel does on the list

• No ads at all, and nothing shared with ad networks.
• No loot boxes. Prizes follow a fixed order and every price is shown up front.
• Grown-up check (a small sum to solve) before every real-money purchase, which only happens in the shop, never during a level.
• No account and no chat. Game Center is optional.
• No links out for kids. The only link to a website, our help page, sits behind the grown-up check.
• Plays offline. Levels, the Daily Peel and Endless all work without internet.

Want to go one step further? You can turn off in-app purchases on the iPhone for every app at once. More about Peel in our guide for parents.

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