Is anywhere in the western world a Minions-free zone at the moment? They’re in the cinema, on the shop shelves, and – if our house is anything to go by – babbling from whichever toy drawer their talking figures have been tidied away into.

Now they’re on the app stores – again. 2013’s Despicable Me: Minion Rush has been one of the most successful children’s games in apps history, but now the little yellow fellows have their own film, they have a new game too: Minions Paradise.

Released by Electronic Arts, it’s set on a desert island shortly after Phil – a new Minion character – accidentally sinks a cruise ship full of his friends. Your child’s job in this game, playing as Phil, is to turn the island into a proper paradise for the Minions.

This is a building and resource management game, like a FarmVille but with less farms, and more Minions. Plus hot tubs, hammocks, electric eels, beach volleyball courts and all manner of other entertainments for its new population.

As with other games in this genre, the gameplay involves completing tasks and earning rewards – in the form of mirrorballs and two virtual currencies – sand dollars and doubloons – while unlocking new items for the island.

Also like other games in this genre, Minions Paradise is “freemium” – free to download and play, but making its money from in-app purchases. In this case, sand dollars can be bought for between £2.29 and £22.99, and doubloons for between £3.99 and £39.99.

While it’s possible to play for free and earn the currency over time, you’ll want to make sure your in-app purchase settings are restricted, just in case your children are tempted to take a shortcut at your expense either knowingly or unknowingly.

It’s early days: Minions Paradise looks like it’ll be fun, but it’s hard to say at this point how aggressively it’ll suggest purchases. We’ll be playing it over time and will let you know.

Minions Paradise is a free download for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, and a free download for Android from the Google Play store.