We just submitted our latest labor of love "Depict" to Apple and are fretting over what we should put for the age rating. The game doesn't contain anything objectionable or any chat functionality. However, since it is a drawing game, it would be possible for someone to draw something bad. You could even write short swear words on the screen. The game has built-in moderation controls, but I doubt Apple would care about that. Similar drawing games in the store seem to have the lowest rating (Quick Draw). However, these could be grandfathered in? My basic question is this: If they don't like the rating you assigned, do they change it or reject your app? Thanks!
I'd give it the lowest rating... our game Steady Ball has a level editor where you can draw anything... but we gave our game a 4+ rating... People can create inappropriate things with any game/tool if they want to... even a box of crayons... I don't know if apple rejects based on the rating you choose...
They really shouldn't reject it based on what you have stated. They can and they will reject your app if they find it inappropriate or if they think your rating is wrong, but there isn't any reason your app should be rated higher than 4+.
I agree that it would be surprising if Apple rejected your app for the wrong rating just because a user might draw something bad. Below are a couple examples of apps that Apple rejected (and which resets the review timeline) because they didn't agree with the rating, but these examples deal with different situations and were probably closer calls than your app: http://daringfireball.net/2009/08/phil_schiller_app_store http://www.jeffdmorris.com/archives/404
