One of the not-spoken-about-enough truths about children blowing their parents wallets on in-app purchases is that it’s almost always not happening within children’s apps.

In fact, the problems come when children are playing games released for adults, like Candy Crush Saga or Clash of Clans. And a lot of children are playing these games: Candy Crush in particular. So what if someone made a similar game for kids without the in-app purchases?

Someone has. Children’s apps developer StoryToys, to be specific. Its new app is called Jelly Jumble, and it takes the “match-three” gameplay of Candy Crush Saga and similar games, and wraps it in a beautifully-illustrated game with no in-app purchases.

“Poor Oliver has been sent to stay with his rather dreadful Aunt Pru. Luckily for him, he meets Soran - A big, blue, cuddly Monster that likes to make magical jams and jelly,” explains its App Store listing. “Can you help Soran and Oliver match the items to make the jams? Of course you can!”

There are 14 chapters to play through, with a choice of easy and harder levels to suit your child’s age and ability. But what I like most about the game is the effort that’s clearly gone into it: the illustrations and voice narration included.

That’s important, because tempting children away from the sweetie charms of Candy Crush can’t be done with responsible ethics alone: the game has to be well-crafted and fun.

Of course, the key thing is that parents have to buy it: another reason so many kids are playing freemium games is because their parents don’t pay for apps upfront. Let’s see if StoryToys can help buck that trend.

Jelly Jumble costs £1.49 for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store.

(But by the way, we’re not opposed to in-app purchases in children’s apps. Some recent responsible examples include Nosy Crow Jigsaws, Hopster and Me Comics. When in-app purchases are under parents’ control, they can be a good way to try an app then pay to unlock extra features or subscribe.)