The Nutcracker and The Mystery of The Disappearing Cheese by Quasar Alliance – Review

Reviewed by Alison

The Nutcracker and The Mystery of The Disappearing Cheese by Quasar Alliance, Inc and AppyPup is a delightful Christmas themed adventure.  The app features a cartoon, interactive stories, classical stories and a tour inside Stahlbaum’s mansion where all the magic happens.  The app features six unique rooms for your child to explore including a room with the nutcracker, a room for baking, and the children’s bedrooms.  In addition, there is an integrated storybook where children can explore the interactive elements of the story and seven mini games.  The app is set to a rendering of Tchaikovsky’s enchanted ballet which is delightful.  Read our interview with Marina Litinsky to learn more about the history of Quasar Alliance as well as our review of their other app, Goodnight ABC.
My son loved the various rooms as well as the interactivity of the characters.  He enjoyed finding the hidden items in the rooms such as the roll of cheese, missing diary and the little girl’s shoe.  We also enjoyed changing clothes and playing with the army and trains.  The illustrations and musical accompaniment in this app  are top notch and the app is vibrant and colorful with lots of hidden interactions that you don’t always appreciate.  My son and I have played with the app several times and are still finding new things on the various pages.  The navigation for the app is simple, and I really liked the fact you could skip the intro so you didn’t have to watch it each time unless you wanted to.  In terms of the mini-games, my son enjoyed the letter tracing, the ornament matching as well as the counting game in the conquest.  Other mini games include: baking and decorating a cake, adding logs to the fireplace, driving a train as well as decorating a Christmas tree.  Each room was beautifully decorated and had lots of hidden surprises as you collected the various items for the Mouse.

It would be nice if in the rooms page if there was a basket to collect everything into as well as showing it with the mouse .   It might be helpful to provide writing of the story as it is spoken with word highlighting in a future edition.  Some of the mini games might be a bit hard for younger children and it would be nice to have two settings, one for younger children and one for older children.

This app brings to life my memories of attending this play as a child – and it is currently on sale for 50% off.  The artwork and music alone make this app nicely suited for adults and children alike.  I think this would be a great app for parents or grandparents to enjoy with their children.

The Nutcracker and The Mystery of The Disappearing Cheese by Quasar Alliance, Inc Category: Education, Entertainment Requirements: Compatible with iPadFourthGen, iPadThirdGen4G, iPadFourthGen4G, iPadThirdGen, iPad 2 WiFI, iPadMini4G, iPadMini, iPad 3G, iPad 2 3G, iPad WiFi Size: 423.91 MB

$1.99USD

Screenshots for iPad

NOTE: A fee was received to expedite this review to the top of our waiting list but this payment has not influenced the objectivity of the review and all opinions have been offered honestly.

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Alison

Alison, the American iMum is from Illinois. She lives there with her son and husband. In their spare time, they enjoy playing outside, enjoying nature and of course testing apps on their devices. They have a variety of devices including an iPad, iPhone, and an iPod.

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You can email me direct at alison(at)theimums.com