Home is the 3D animated film adaptation (DreamWorks Animation, March 2015; PG) of Adam Rex’s The True Meaning of Smekday. Shoshana and I went to see it in theaters and I loved it. I loved it very much.

Home Boov Pop! Puzzle Adventure (DreamWorks Animation SKG/Behaviour Interactive, 2015; iOS and Android) is a movie tie-in game in which you pop bubbles by matching colors, using special "power bubbles," or pulling out a couple of Boov tricks. The graphics are incredible — as lively, colorful, and beautifully produced as the film.

The home screen is a sweeping vertical-scape; levels start in a city at the bottom of the screen and proceed up, passing drifting leaves, clouds, and floating buildings (including the Eiffel Tower). A gentle score plays as you scroll around the landscape. At the bottom left of the screen is a Boov-hand icon you can tap to look at achievements, adjust settings, and quit. Tap the wheel icon at bottom right to spin a wheel to win more lives, points, or moves.



When you enter the first level, Oh greets you with text: Tip needs help to find Mimom, who is somewhere at Boov HQ. “Please to help us find her?” Oh asks, in keeping with the movie-Boov’s broken English. This first level teaches you how to play the Candy Crush–style game: swipe the bubble-filled screen to link like-colored bubbles in a chain, which causes all of the connected bubbles to pop.



Create power bubbles by connecting as many bubbles as possible — “the longer is your chain, the more power bubbles you will create.” Tap or link to a power bubble to clear an entire line. After this hands-on learning, it’s time to play. The screen tells you how many bubbles to pop (here it's 30 orange) and notes in the top right hand corner how many "moves" you have in which to do so (20). If the bubbles are filling the screen awkwardly, you can give the device a shake to rearrange them.

Completing your bubble-popping goals for each level results in great Boovish celebration. The little Oh on the bottom right corner turns orange with delight, and his “hands are in the air like [he] just do[es] not care.”



The (over one hundred) levels grow more challenging, incorporating more bubbles in additional colors, fewer moves, obstacles (including a Gorg ship to defeat), special bubbles with different attributes, and new Boov abilities. There are even a few levels where you must free tiny baby Boovs are encapsulated in the bubbles. Each new type of challenge is introduced with a quick hands-on tutorial. As you beat levels, you move ever-higher on the scrolling main screen, closer and closer to Tip’s Mimom.

The game is free with in-app ads and purchases (special powers, “gifts,” or more moves). Likely best for users fond of logic games, this app is engaging and enjoyable as it increases in difficulty. And those Boovs are just so durn cute.

Available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch (requires iOS 7.0 or later) and Android devices; free. Recommended for primary users and up.

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