Care Bears is a media franchise owned by American Greetings which began as a series of greeting cards in 1981. Since then, a number of media featuring the eponymous characters have been produced, including video games. While a Care Bears game was intended for release as far back as 1983 for the Atari 2600, the first officially licensed software entry in the franchise, Care Bears: Care-a-lot Jamboree, debuted in 2003 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS. Several games, mainly educational titles aimed at younger players, have subsequently been developed, appearing on platforms such as PC, V.Smile, and Game Boy Advance. Numerous mobile phone apps were also released for Android and iOS.
Care Bears: Care-a-lot Jamboree is an educational game developed by ImagEngine and published by ValuSoft. It is the first officially released Care Bears video game, which was made available in North America in August 2003 for Windows and Macintosh PCs.[1]
Release years by system: 2004 — Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
Care Bears: Let's Have a Ball! is an educational game for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS, and the second Care Bears game to be developed by ImagEngine and published by ValuSoft. It was released in North America on September 28, 2004, and features eight minigames including matching, bowling, and soccer.[3]
Care Bears: A Lesson in Caring is an educational video game for the V.Smile edutainment system and was released in North America by VTech on September 30, 2004. The game features two gameplay modes – Learning Adventure and Learning Zone – that teach letters, numbers, and colors and is intended for children ages 3 to 5.[4]
Care Bears: Care Quest is 2D platform game for the Game Boy Advance developed by Sirius Games and published by The Game Factory. It was released in North America in October 2005, and in Europe the following year in February 2006. Players take control of a specific Care Bear in 12 quests containing multiple levels.
Release years by system: 2005 — Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
Care Bears: Catch a Star! is the third educationalCare Bears title developed by ImagEngine and published by ValuSoft for Windows and Mac OS. It was released in October 2005 in North America, and features eight minigames.[6]
Care Bears Create & Share! is an educational game for Android and iOS mobile phones developed and published by Budge Studios and was released in September 2013. Designed primarily for girls in preschool to kindergarten, the app allows players to create their own Care Bear-themed postcards and share them with others using a collection of images. The game was nominated for a 2013 Best Mobile App Award for the category of "Best App for Children and Kids".[8]
Care Bears: Fun to Learn is an educational game for Android and iOS mobile phones published by American Greetings, and was released in July 2014. Players complete a number of minigames to collect stars and prizes while learning about shapes, numbers, letters, and arithmetic.[10]Common Sense Media gave the game a 3 out of 5, commenting that the short minigames were "just right for preschool attention spans," but that "There's not much depth as each game repeats without increasing in challenge."[9] It was nominated for a late Fall 2014 Best Mobile App Award for "Best App for Children and Toddlers".[11]
Title
Details
Care Bears Rainbow Playtime
Original release date:
WW: July 10, 2014
Release years by system: 2014 — Android, iOS
Care Bears Rainbow Playtime is an educational game for Android and iOS mobile phones developed and published by TabTale, and was released worldwide in July 2014. It contains nine minigames featuring a different Care Bear.[12]
Care Bears: Wish Upon a Cloud is an educational game for Android and iOS mobile phones developed and published by Budge Games, and was released worldwide in September 2015. Players are tasked with bringing joy to the Care bears by dressing them in different outfits or adding props.[14]
Rainbow Slides: Care Bears! is a digital board game for Android and iOS mobile phones developed and published by Tipitap, Inc. It was released worldwide in August 2016 and is a Care Bear-themed version of the game Snakes and Ladders.[15]
Title
Details
Care Bears: Care Karts
Original release date:
WW: December 2016
Release years by system: 2016 — Android, iOS
Care Bears: Care Karts is an educationalsimulation game for Android and iOS mobile phones developed and published by PlayDate Digital, and was released worldwide in December 2016. The game involves the player designing a kart racer for different Care Bears, as well as feed, dress, and wash them for an upcoming race against Beastly.[12]
Care Bears Fun to Learn is an educational game for Android and iOS mobile phones developed and published by Tap Tap Tales which was released worldwide in May 2017. Players assist the Care Bears in a series of minigames that teach letters, numbers, colors, and shapes, as well as language and math.[17]
Care Bears & Amigos in NYC is an educational game for Android and iOS mobile phones released in North America in July 2017. It was developed and published by Bilingual Children's Enterprises and is designed to teach Spanish to preschoolers through a combination of videos, storybooks, and minigames. The game features more than 1,000 words in Spanish and English, which can be toggled from one to the other.[18]Common Sense Media gave the title a 3 out of 5, remarking that "while the games are fun to play, they're also very simple."[19]
Care Bears was a cancelled action video game intended for release by Parker Brothers for the Atari 2600. It was scheduled to launch in North America in 1983, and would have been the first Care Bears video game, predating Care-a-lot Jamboree by 20 years. The game involved the player grabbing "tummy icons" from Care Bears as they descended from the top of the screen before arranging them in a certain order before time ran out. Programmer Laura Niklich stated that although development made it to the beta stage, Parker Brother's marketing team decided to halt development as they felt the market for children's video games was diminishing and the existing gameplay looked "too dull".[21]
^ abc"Care Bears: Catch a Star!". IGN. Retrieved January 1, 2018. Cite error: The named reference "Star" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
