Category: Matching »

GoKids Apps: Save Paris! is a wonderful kids application that combines gameplay with extensive information about Paris. This makes a fantastic app for children who may travel to Paris as there is a lot of useful travel information provided in this app, but it will surely be enjoyed by kids with no travel plans. It is highly educational and a lot of fun, especially for families as up to four people can have individual game information saved at once.

I am really pleased by the delivery of this interesting facts. The concept of saving Paris from invading aliens in genius, and this app is quite engaging, even for me as an adult. This game starts out with the player being informed that aliens are invading Paris, and it is his job to keep this from happening. There are 10 secret agent missions full of well-chosen information about Paris, as well as a mini travel guide making this a very rich learning experience.

I love the look of this game; it is stylized and colorful. The developer has hit the right note with these aliens, as they are crafted to look a little bit menacing, but with a lot of humor mixed in. I enjoy reading about their horrible plans for Paris, the story line drawing me in like no other educational app has. The music choice is also very good, with a modern beat that creates some suspense and is very fun to listen to by both kids as well as parents.

I love the alien invasion concept of this app, as each secret mission contains a dossier of slides that one studies to prepare himself to battle the Gloopy aliens. Even as an adult, I found this delivery to be very effective, making me feel important and relied upon to study these slides in order to save Paris. Kids will focus and study hard without knowing that this is work, a great way to have children learn.

The gameplay used here to test the information studied is a classic “memory” style game where the player turns over cards looking to match questions and their corresponding answers. Time may run out if too many answers are answered wrong, and then the Gloopy aliens will take over Paris. A fun “wack-a-mole” type game is also included that all ages will have fun with as well.

This “memory” style of game is a very good choice to test the player's memory of facts learned, but I wish this game, as well as the other "memory" style apps which keep score or is timed, would let the players see the cards flipped over for a few seconds in the interest of trying to memorize their positions, in some ways this may make these games easier, but would really working one's ability to concentrate as well. I am also not a huge fan of the first flip of a card being counted as a mistake, as sometimes I lose in a mission, not because of my lack of knowledge or the ability to remember the location of specific cards, but because I have not yet found what I am looking for and I pile up a lot of wrong answers. Another way to handle this in general would be not to count the first flip of a card against the player.

This issue aside, I think that this is a wonderful, fun, and highly educational app that kids will love and parents will be very pleased with its in-depth content. The information provided is thoughtfully chosen and would be a big help if one were traveling to Paris any time soon, or just learning about a foreign land. I love the inclusion of such phrases as “do not enter,” appreciating the real world uses, but it would be nice if these French expressions, landmarks and such could be tapped to be heard, because being able to recognize these words printed is very different from being able to recognize them if heard. I have enjoyed this app a great deal and have learned a lot. I look forward to the other travel apps being developed by this developer. This one is awesome.

Swapsies is a fun matching game app for young kids where one can create different characters with the flick of a finger. Choose by scrolling between different choices of hat, shirt or jacket, and pants with shoes, either looking for matches or having fun creating many different combinations, like an astronaut-farmer-builder or a fireman-doctor-mailman. The possibilities are virtually endless as there are elements to form eight basic characters such as “astronaut” or “policeman" as all of these different parts can be swapped around to make, according to the developers, 1536 unique characters. Versions of this app are available for both iPhone as well as iPad.

My son has just begun to get into dress-up. He enjoys wearing a fireman's hat around the house a great deal, and I have started to look for more costumy things for my boy to play with. This app is a nice choice for those who are into dress-up or changing clothing as this app allows the player to dress and re-dress a boy character at will with many different choices by sliding a finder back and forth through various different clothing choices. When a match is made and all the pieces of a character line up, the player is rewarded with a simple sound as well as the chance to tap and hear corresponding sounds such as a doorbell ringing for a mailman or the beating of a heart for a doctor, nice touches that toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy. Matches made are also tracked by this app, something kids may enjoy looking at to see what they have created and what they are still looking to match.

It is cute that if the player does not touch the screen for a few moments, the boy closes his eyes and takes a nap. It is also nice that this app takes place in the boy's room, something very identifiable to children.

I appreciate that there are options included to change the skin tone of the boy character that the player dresses in this app, but I would really like to see a girl character as an option as well, which would also create some nice opportunities to choose different lengths and styles of hair. I think that app will be enjoyed by toddlers and preschoolers alike as this is a fun and easily navigated game application.

My Underwear is a really cute and fun universal application full of underwear-themed activities as well as the great use of the wonderfully whimsical artwork of Todd Parr.

I was very excited when I first heard that this app includes drawings by Todd Parr, whose one-of-a-kind illustrations, bright and bold color choices and oddball sense of humor have made him a very successful author of over thirty children’s books. I am a fan of his work and have really enjoyed seeing it come to life in this interactive app.

My son is now three years old and has been in underpants for some time, but the novelty of wearing cartoon creatures on his bottom has not yet worn off. He insists on helping himself to a new pair after every trip to the toilet, even though the underpants he had on were still clean and dry. After seeing that this app includes a section where one can decorate one's own pair of underpants, I knew he would really enjoy the decorating and decision-making of creating one’s own underwear-art and I was correct. It is nice that one can scroll though ten undie choices, looking for the right pair to decorate as well as ten color choices to choose from. Options include the wide strokes of a paint brush, the finer strokes of a pencil, or the use of a paint bucket to fill in the underpants completely with a single color choice. My son really enjoyed the stamp section, being able to stamp his pants an infinite number of times with various fun little drawings that are wonderfully Todd Parr and it is nice that my son can save this undie masterpiece to look at later.

Another favorite activity is a matching game where the player matches underpants to their animal owners, sorting by color and shapes. I like the whimsy of being able to have the animals in question wear the underwear as usual or on their heads if the player wants to be silly, and I am impressed that this game progresses to be more of a logic game for kids than a simple matching activity as the game gets harder and the matching becomes more about patterns and less about the sameness of colors. I do wish, however, that there was an option of turning off the cheering and pop-up drawing of game play instructions after each level is finished as it tends to get in the way of game play.

Two other sections are included as well. One includes an underwear-eating monster who swallows falling underpants. I appreciate that one can control the game with both tilting the screen or dragging a finger to guide a monster. A “memory” style game is also included where one turns over cards looking for two-of-a-kind, and it is a nice treat to turn over each card to see what fun illustration is waiting to be paired.

I have really enjoyed My Underwear. It is cheeky enough to entertain children, but still wholesome and appropriate for all ages. A nice choice for toddlers, preschoolers and beyond.

Kiwi and Pear's World Adventure is a really sweet and fun geography-themed app for the iPhone which includes a storybook as well as three mini games.

I really enjoy that there is a storybook included in this app about two adorable monkeys and their transcontinental adventure. The story is both cute as well as educational, introducing basic facts about the different places they visit. I love the places the developers chose to include, like Niagara Falls, the Autoban, and the Great Wall of China. Hidden interactions are also included which my son has had a lot of fun with, and I was pleased to see how many of them further this experience, such as flash bulbs going off in Fenway Park, the ringing of Big Ben, and the falling of cherry blossoms in Japan. I also really like the basic look of this storybook; the colors are bright and plentiful. Details include a lovely sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge and the grandeur of the Amazon jungle. Adults will appreciate some of the elements which may remind them of 1980’s pop culture, such as puffy rainbows coming out from the monkey’s airplane and animals reminiscent of Mrs Grossman's stickers.

There are also three mini games included. Fruit Catch involves the catching of fruit falling from the sky in the Amazon. I am glad that the controls involve the movement of a finger back and forth in the guide instead of the tilting of the iPhone, making this game easier for the target audience of four year olds. There is also a game based on a classic game of memory involving the turning over of cards to find matches.

The World Map game is a game also geography bases and includes the places visited in the story. Search the map for the areas of the world which correspond to the hints given. Dots are included on the map of the places to choose from, but this game is not easy because many of the questions asked here are of places not mentioned in the book which may be hard to find for children, such as Easter Island. I wish after one or two wrong answers, the correct answer would be highlighted so one can learn the places not already known. It would also be nice to zoom the map in and out so more areas of the world map could be seen at once. All in all, a lovely app kids will enjoy.

Maximus Musicus is a thoughtful, interesting and very content-rich application aimed at teaching classical music appreciation as well as musical instruments to children. Based on the well-known Icelandic children’s books and concert series about a mouse who wanders into a concert hall and becomes enthralled with the music that is being performed, this app teaches the basics of instrumental sound recognition, learning the basics of how to play xylophone, harp, piano, and percussion, musical themed jigsaw puzzles are also offered here, as well as a lovely arcade style game also included that kids will enjoy. Designed for iPhone, the app looks good on iPad as well with little pixilation. Be sure to scroll down in game mode to find all seven sections.

I really enjoy all that this app has to offer, especially the Mystery Box which allows the player to hear a sample of music and the sounds of three instruments, as the player must now decide what instrument is playing in the box. I appreciate that each sample of music played in the box is the same, highlighting the differences and similarities of each instrument. The sections of each instrument are also very well done, giving the player a choice of free play or learning short pieces of music by copying the sounds seen and heard, “simon” style, this game being harder that it looks, even for adults. I also like how when one explores the jigsaw puzzles or playing “Maxi's Dream” - an action based game about catching cheese - they are listening to and enriched by beautiful classical music, something that may not happen for children on a daily basis.

I am stuck by the beauty that all these illustrations have to offer, there soft watercolors bringing life and great quality to this app. All the music is expertly played as well as recorded, and a joy both to listen to as well as to introduce classical music to my son in this way. Commonly, after his bedtime story, my son chooses the game “Maxi's Dream.” Too tired to play, he nods off listening to this game, its theme being a very peaceful piece of music.

This app has made me interested in the Maximus Mouse picture books as well, and I hope to be able to read these books to my son who I am sure would love them. I wish these developers will continue to make more applications with such quality and educational content. If interested, also check out Maxi’s Holiday Piano as well by the same developers, Fancy Pants Global.

Didakto is board game-styled app for iPad which is fun and educational for the whole family. Multiple categories are included, specifically math, language, logic, and geography, with questions gauged to age groups from four to twelve years, but in my experience, adults will find these games fun and challenging as well. First, a photo is displayed which is then sectioned into pieces that are further transformed into one half of a matching-style game. Below are the corresponding answers, the object being to drag and drop the top question pieces to their corresponding answers below. When finished, the picture is brought back together and the pieces out of place are those which had not been correctly answered. A personal photo can be used, as well as many options which are included, further personalizing this game. I am impressed with the choice of six different languages as well.

I like that this is a true family game, that there are levels that will fit the needs of a large age range, and that there is no timer here or high scores - something that I greatly appreciate. Four basic categories are included, each subject giving four more specific choices to narrow down interests as well as specific questions for different age groups. All of this makes for a very content-heavy application, and I never feel as though I have played the same game twice, even if in reality I have. The questions are educational and can be very thought-provoking, especially those involving logic.

I did not know if my son, almost three, would be interested or be able to participate in these games, but as I was looking at the four to five year old logic section, he pushed my hand aside and began completing these questions on his own, much to my amazement. He was able to answer these questions himself, but he still needs a little help getting the pieces in the correct areas to hear the satisfying “click” of a tile tapping against a game board.

This is a great game, especially for families who enjoy spending time together playing classic board games, but who also want to embrace the technology of the iPad. I think this would make an especially nice travel game as well, all nicely contained in the iPad with no pieces to keep track of, as well as many variations to choose from.

Astro Kids ABC Color HD is a super-cute coloring book app for iPad which includes a short space-themed story as well as many pages to color, mixing in number and letter recognition as well. All combined, this app has a lot to offer in terms of both entertainment and education.

My son and I really enjoyed listening to the included story, which does a nice job of introducing the characters you meet in these pages to color, as well as of explaining a bit about the space theme of this app, specifically how these space kids are explorers from “planet aquablue,” having just arrived on earth. Each page is an adventure they experience. This bit of background information made coloring these pages more enjoyable for us than other more random coloring books we have used.

I think this application does a nice job creating a coloring book using a “paint by numbers” or letters method for filling in the spaces. Each area to be filled in has been given a number or letter which corresponds to a specific color. First, tap a color found in a row on the bottom of the page and then fill in all of the same areas of the picture with these matching numbers or letters. I think it is great how numbers as well as upper and lower case letters can be chosen, all of which are narrated when tapped - great for recognition skills. There is also a free coloring mode as well, and I especially like that you can choose to work with ten or twenty six different colors. These pages tend to have more spaces to fill in then other apps available, and I like that these pictures can be intricate without being difficult to use.

This friendly app congratulates the player each time they correctly colors in an area, and there are also astro badges available for a completed picture. Saving or emailing your work is also an option. It is also possible to turn off all of these options and sounds if you wish, customizing the experience. I really like that there are sixteen pages to choose from, but it would be nice if one could go back to a page to continue coloring at a later time. All in all, a very good experience from this coloring book.

My Very First App is an interactive application based on the popular book, My First Book Of Colors, best known for the colorful artwork done by artist Eric Carle. This app is a very accurate transformation from the original book which will please fans of My First Book Of Colors, as well as families new to Carle’s work. Like the book, the screen has been divided into two pieces, top and bottom, which can scroll independently. The top half is a series of color sections. The bottom half is illustrations of objects which incorporate the same colors from the section above. The object is to scroll both sections - left and right - making color pairs with all the colors and objects. There are two other difficulty levels included, "medium" and "difficult" for older children. Although not based directly on the book, they are interesting modes based on the classic “memory” style game where a series of cards are laid out for the player to flip over and make pairs from. The ”medium” level game had the player match either the colors or objects to themselves, while the “hard” level players much match the colors to the various objects which are of the same color, making this game a bit more challenging.

As one would expect, the illustrations are colorful, beautiful, and of a style for which Eric Carle is known. My son was disappointed, however, that the color orange was not included here, nor is it in the original book. I find this an odd omission to say the least. Other than that, we have a lot of fun with this app.

Other sets are available as in purchase add-ons which will be based on the other Carle books from this series (such as numbers and shapes), but I would prefer these to be sold as individual apps because screen-shots and reviews are hard to come by for add-ons, so doing research before buying is now difficult. As a single app however, it is very nicely done.

"Monster Memory Match for iPad" is a matching game that uses a combination of monster drawings and sight words to make this app both fun and educational. This app begins with the screen full of cards. Tap to flip each card over and try to remember what monster or word is on the other side, in the interest of making pairs.

I am really pleased with the educational nature of this app. Half the cards to be turned over contain sight words, being some of the most commonly used words in the English language that most school children are expected to learn. The other half are fun monsters to keep the game light and entertaining. There are three difficulty levels, with single and double player modes. I really like the idea of this game because the child is already in the mindset to do some memorizing, and the language part just slips in for the ride. Brilliant!

The only issue I have with this app is that when a card is tuned over, a piano key is played. These sounds partially overlap the child narrating the word, making it somewhat difficult to hear, at least in the beginning.

Also, please note that this is an Australian app, so to an American ear, the words are spoken with an accent. The more I played, the more I became accustomed to this, but it may be an issue for some children learning these words for the first time. All in all, a great idea!

This is a great little back-to-school game! Multicolor balloons float across the screen and must be popped based on a variety of factors involving color or math. Math games include odds and evens, addition and subtraction, multiplication and factors. In a game, a problem is given (for examples, factors of three) and only balloons containing correct answers should be popped. Several levels of balloon speed are encountered as the player advances through levels, increasing the difficulty of the game. It's a great game for practicing math in your head and for learning to think through basic math problems on your feet.

Multiple players are allowed, and scores for each player are tracked in the "Grades" section. The player can select difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, and Hard), turn sound effects on and off, and even read a basic lesson under the "Learn" section, where basic and brief written description of the mathematics behind each game are available.

My four-year old enjoyed playing the color game (the math games are beyond his years) and my 2.5 year old enjoyed indiscriminately popping balloons for the pleasure of it. This would be a good game for the toddlers all the way through middle school, though grade-school and middle-school students will get the greatest utility.

"Mother Goose Reader" is a lovely, content-rich children's app for the iPad that introduces 20 classic Mother Goose Rhymes to children. Each rhyme is illustrated nicely, and there are a lot of hidden sounds to tap on and games to play, including shape, letter and size sorting, puzzles, memory games and drum pad. The rhymes can both be sung or spoken, and you have the option of doing your own recordings. The text is highlighted as the rhyme is sung/read, making it easy to follow along.

I really enjoy this app because I want my son (2 1/2) to be exposed to these classics. This app does a nice job in reciting the full versions of these rhymes, not just the first verse. My son really enjoys tapping all over the pages looking for the sounds and music. He also loves the hidden games and sometimes asks me to find them for him as soon as he opens up this application, the index of hidden games makes this easy, a nice touch!

I occasionally have mild problems flipping between pages, either doing so accidentally or not knowing where to tap. Grey triangles are sometimes present in the top corners of the screen to aid in page turning, I wish they were always on the screen to be seen.

"Mr. Hat and the Magic Cube" is a new interactive game for children involving kids being transported to a magical world after playing with a mysterious cube. They can’t go home until they help Mr. Hat find the cube’s stolen pieces.

This app combines both animation and games that help teach spelling and vocabulary, counting, matching, dexterity, and puzzles, getting more difficult each time you play. Being plot-heavy for a kids app, "Mr. Hat and the Magic Cube" contains 3D animated video clips rivaling those of serious adult games.

I do think, however, that it takes too long to be able to go home for a children’s game, and I found it to be tiring and a bit frustrating, even for an adult. I like that the app saves your progress, but when you solve the game, I really wish it would start over from the beginning.

Putting these issues aside, I really enjoy the magical world the developers have created. Part Willy Wonka, part Dr. Seuss, this world is trippy and maybe even a little creepy for some parents. I find this refreshing compared to the other soft and fuzzy learning apps we play. I am curious to see what happens in the next "Mr. Hat" application.

"Pre-K Safari" is an amazing education app, teaching letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. Each activity has a safari theme and is great for kids who love animals. The music has an African beat, the sound quality is high, and I find it relaxing to listen to. Each game is narrated by a friendly hyena who gives praise for the correct answer and lets the player know when the answer is wrong but is always kind and encouraging. You can also track your child’s progress with an achievement screen.

I don't think I ever taught my son how to use this app. All the activities are very intuitive, and he picked it up very quickly on his own. My son knew all his letters, numbers, shapes, and colors by just over 2 years, and I give this app and ones like it credit for helping him learn these things without any struggle whatsoever. As an adult, I find this app enjoyable as well. The colors game is taught by touching different colored butterflies, and I find their flying around quite lovely. There is also a free lite version to try, but this app is worth much more than $.99.

The wait is FINALLY over and our friends Madera the Monkey and Figaro the Frog have returned… this time to Save The Day! (Duh-da-da daaaa!) “Madera & Figaro Save The Day” is the story of two silly friends who join forces to help their community after a large storm has hit their fair city. Their mission is to help restore the city in time for the big party. An impressive follow-up to publisher Lyn & Line’s first application entitled “The Rescue of Ginger”, this app is supersized with more story, more interactive features, and many more learning opportunities. It’s the most interactive storybook app I’ve experienced yet and provides a perfect symmetry of educational game play and story. It’s a rich source of learning opportunities for young kids including elements that teach sizes, shapes, letters, numbers, colors, and matching. It’s packed full of original interactive features and games, too. Designers have crafted the app so that the sequence of questions are randomized, thereby capturing and keeping the attention of young ones who play this application over and over again. It has vivid HD illustrations that are designed to work on both the iPad and iPhone. What a treat!

"123 Color" follows the “color-by-numbers” concept used in early childhood education and introduces letters, numbers, and colors to Preschoolers . The main menu has four categories from which to choose. When you touch the book at the top of the page, coloring pages will appear, then you choose the page and begin coloring. At the bottom of the coloring page are the color choices to match up with a number or letter. Touch a color, then match the number or letter in the picture and the color will appear. When the picture is colored correctly, musical notes will float across the screen and play a little jingle. If musical notes are not heard or seen, the colors or matches are incorrect. "123 Color" allows children to keep trying until all numbers or letters match correctly. It's offered in a number of languages, including English, Spanish, French, and German, and a combo of English-Spanish. The app is well-done, bright, and colorful. The coloring pages are fantastic, and there are many choices within the app. I do hope the publisher decides to add new pages with every update. "123 Color" is also available for the HD iPad