IPhone Cupcakes! App by Maverick Software - Review

So can a virtual cupcake really satisfy?  That is the question I asked myself when deciding to spend $0.99 on the iphone Cupcakes! app by Maverick Software.  I was curious why 962 people would have given four stars to a "game" in which all you do is virtually bake, decorate, and eat cupcakes.  There is no mental strategic challenge involved.  No maneuvering, or even serious eye-thumb coordination necessary.  Indeed, all you do is literally virtually (yes, in this case the two words do go together) bake, decorate and eat your cupcake.  OR you can choose to email the cupcake to a friend so they too can enjoy your virtual culinary baking skills.  

Needing to know more before I pressed the all-important green "buy now" button, I decided to read some of the almost 1000 reviews:

"This is the best game in the world!"

"When I heard of the app, I knew I had to have it...."

"I love this game I could play it for hours....This game is awesome!"

"It sounds stooopid before U get it but it's really sooooooo fun!"


Okay, getting interested now.  After all, it does sound stooopid but like U - maybe I'll like it 2.

And finally, the clincher:

"Fun & Entertaining.  Helps fight my sweet tooth cravings...."

Really?  Interesting...I'll bite (pun intended) and pay the $0.99 and find out if making and eating a virtual cupcake can conquer my cupcake cravings.

So here is what I did to make the delicious looking cupcake you see above.  First I picked the Pink Wrapper and filled it with the Chocolate Batter.  After baking it for a very quick 30 minutes (yes, virtual baking time is much faster than IRL baking time), I shook my phone to shake it out of the pan.  Now the fun begins!  I chose the Milk/White/Dark Chocolate frosting and using a simple finger swipe was able to perfectly ice the top.  The only disappointment came in licking my finger to discover it didn't taste like milk/white/dark chocolate - just finger.  Then with another touch of my finger I placed Chocolate Chips, Red Sprinkles, and finally two Candy Hearts on top!  Isn't it mouth watering?

While I could have chosen to "eat" my cupcake by placing it on a choice of tablecloths and pretty plates, then with another swipe of my finger make it disappear in  bits and pieces; I instead decided to email it to myself.  Much to my surprise, the cupcake was then aloft somewhere in cyberspace and wasn't available for me to "eat" anymore!

So did this satisfy my sweet tooth?  Maaaybe....but more importantly it seemed to satisfy my cupcake creativity cravings.  Because after all, while ingesting the cupcake you just made is certainly an important part of the process, the making and designing is another important part of the process and for me just might the most interesting part.  Would I could I play this "game" for hours?  No.  But it was kind of fun to see what I could come up with - what I could create.  And it was calorie free!  What more could you ask for?