Tag: Family »

Passing one iPad around an entire family can be frustrating, as everyone likely logs in to check their email and social networks without logging back out, and many folks will leave tabs open or clutter up the browser history with sites you could care less about. Rather than constantly log in and out and start to secretly resent those you love why not download Skyfire HotSwap instead?

The new service, which integrates directly into the Skyfire browser, allows users to set up to four separate profiles on an iPad, each with its own social and email settings and browser preferences. Not only is it more convenient, it's also a boon to user privacy, as now brothers and sisters don't have to worry about the other spying on their email. Of course, by the same token parents may find it harder to keep tabs on their kids, but parents always find a way.

HotSwap has been integrated into the latest update of Skyfire which is available right now. All you have to do is download (or update) the app and you'll be ready to put those family fights about the iPad behind you!

My friends and I already use the iPad for our game nights. We play Bleep Word Guessing Game and Jeopardy! HD on occasion. Well a new iPad accessory called Duo Pop has set out to enhance iPad game nights with their popper system.

Duo Pop basically turns the iPad into a game show with four “Poppers” and a transmitted that’s placed near the iPad’s speaker. Similar to Jeopardy, each player’s popper is used to ‘buzz-in’ to answer questions.

There are multiple apps supported by Duo Pop including Guesstimation, a guessing-based trivia game, In The Know, a progressive clue game similar to what you might see in a bar, Highlights Hidden Picture Countdown, based on the popular kid’s magazine, and Saturday Night Live - The Game, based on the show.

Duo Pop is available for $39.99 on Amazon.

Lacking in musical talent? I know the feeling well. I'm what many people would call musically challenged despite desperately wishing I was able to create musical splendours. I'm going to have to settle for just writing words but at least Tones will give me a way of pretending I can create such works of art.

Tones is easy enough to use that even children should be able to figure it out. The user is presented with a grid of sound pads that can be activated by tapping on them. Each provides a way of producing sound through a selection of different musical instruments. Tempo can be adjusted to further change things up and a series of waves, cycles of sound, can be produced, too.

Placed together, Tones creates an unique form of music in a fun and fascinating way. There's no way of recording just yet but it makes for an ideal, disposable form of creative expression. Just the kind of fun to have with young members of the family who love to see instant results.

Tones is out now priced at $0.99.

I don't have children of my own but having spent plenty of time around my young cousins as they vie for increasing amounts of independence, I can see one such difficulty that parents face. It's not just the independence of going out by themselves that's the problem either. They want to sign up to Facebook and Twitter despite being too young to go on either, all thanks to the wonders of peer pressure.

I'mOK might not entirely solve all these arguments but it does do its darndest to minimize problems. The app is part social network, just for the privileged few and part way of parents keeping an eye on where their kids are going when they're out. It's not done covertly though, instead it encourages kids to share their lives more with their long suffering parents.

Kids can voluntarily share their location with parents in order to earn points which eventually lead to rewards, previously approved by the guardian. Nothing is done passively so it's all done by the hopefully responsible child that's keen to show off how trustworthy they are. It also means that parents can worry less, knowing that their kid will check in with them at the touch of a button.

I'mOK is a free app so well worth a look for any concerned parents or kids keen to show off how responsible they truly can be.

If any more evidence was needed of just how much the App Store has further democratized game development, look no further than the story of Connor Zamary. CNET reports that earlier this month, Zamary released a 99-cent game called Toaster Pop for iPhones and iPads after pitching investors on the idea through PowerPoint slides, forming his own company and having meetings with developers. Did we mention that he accomplished all this at the ripe old age of 7?

The game itself, inspired by a story Connor’s father Craig told him about an antique toaster, has players swiping toppings like butter and jam onto slices of bread as many times as they can before time runs out. It’s a simple, straightforward, almost Fruit Ninja style premise but it was Connor’s intention to design a game that would appeal to his young peers. Between impressive and surprisingly marketing-savvy moves like that and a desire to help his younger sister launch her own app, we might be witnessing the rise of some kind of game publishing wunderkind.

Although Connor’s father controls the email account Connor uses for conducting company business, rest assured that the bulk of the operations, negotiations and conference calls are personally overseen by Connor himself. An update to Toaster Pop is already on the way. It seems like only a matter of time before he strikes out on his own.

[ via CNET.com ]

[image credit: CNET.com ]

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Every summer, my family would get into the car and drive off to some destination chosen by my parents. In some cases, our destinations were days away, and we would spend a great deal of time in the car. Everyone would play car bingo, Twenty Questions and license plate scavenger hunt as well as sing stupid songs from TV shows and movies. Of course, my sister and I also fought and moaned, “When will we get there?” time and time again. With my own family, my two sons sat in the back seat and played with their video games or listened to music with their iPods. Now, children see movies in their SUVs and play games with their iPads and iPods. Some how, the interaction between the kids and among the whole family has diminished. Well, admittedly, there is still “yellow punch buggy,” to get some interaction going!

Remembering these family days in thc car, I was pleased to see the app Creative Genius on the Go. This app offers 150 different scenarios for everyone to consider: 50 “What Ifs?” that prompt the players to describe how the impossible may be possible; 50 “Imagine That,” which are mind-stretching challenges for boosting brainpower and relieving boredom and screams from the back seat, and 50 “Wack-tivities,” or silly diversions for when everyone is tired and can’t wait to stop at a hotel and get something to eat. Here’s an example of one of these silly ones that still make you think: What if cars had feet instead of tires? How would traffic change? What products would be obsolete and what other ones would have to be made? What other changes would take place? What would this car look like?

Here’s a more thought-provoking question: What if you lived during prehistoric times? What would you wear? What would be your activities? How would they be different or the same as now? Would you like living during this time? These questions can be answered as a group or, one player can write a response on the attached notebook.

Besides the fact that I appreciate this app because it can be enjoyed by several people at a time rather than just one person attached to an electronic device, I also am pleased with the creativity and problem-solving skills it offers both children of all ages and adults. Learning and creativity should not be something that comes to an end after the last years in college. It needs to be continually fostered. Activities such as Creative Genius on the Go stimulates new thoughts and ideas. There are an unlimited number of ways that these questions can be answered. It encourages the players to really stretch their minds. With the prehistoric question, for example, it could easily be answered, “I would live in a cave.”

Now, with imagination, the player can describe that cave and how people acted inside. What was it like during different seasons? What about at different ages? Can the players imagine a house where the parents and children ate, played, worked and slept in the same room? Such questions can also move to the here and now and encourage communication among the family. What about the fact that the two brothers, who are playing the game, are sharing a bedroom? What benefits or disadvantages does this offer to them? How can they get along better in their room? Thanks to these developers for making players actually think rather than just react to a crazy bird.

Fluke HD is, in my opinion, one of the best Sorry/Ludo clones on the app store today. It is one that has held my daughters' attention for months now, and one that we absolutely love coming back to quite regularly to play as a family.

The game, as you can imagine, is quite simple. You have 4 tokens that you need to get from the star to the finish. You can play by yourself with computer controlled players (easy, medium or hard difficulties) or with up to 6(!) people... that would be one heck of a full iPad to huddle around! Multiplayer through Game Center is also an option, not a bad idea if you've got 2 devices and want to play separately.

There are currently 4 different boards to choose from: Alien World (which was newly added), Carnival, Mediaeval and Race Track. There's also a promise of more boards to come, which I'd love to see. Included is a link to Fluke's Facebook page where you can chime in on what you'd like to see included for the new boards. The developer is very active here, a fact that is quite promising. For parents who are concerned with their children clicking out to external sites, I need to advise that this is an easy link to click on, even mistakenly so.

Anyway, back to the game. If you've played Sorry, you know the basics. Once into the game, you need to roll a 6 to add another token onto the board. This then gives you another chance to roll the dice. As for the play on the board, if you roll and land on another player's token, it captures it and sends it back to the start. There are also 2 different unqieu actions spaces on the board. The first is a "Special" tile that requires the person who lands on it to follow its instructions. The second is the "Teleport" device, which will send your token off to another teleport space of the same color, possibly sending you back some spaces.

Fluke honestly surprised me. I knew from what I'd seen that I would like it, but I thought it would get boring rather quickly. Well, it hasn't, and for an app at this price, that's an impressive feat.

I am a firm believer that the iPad is the answer for board gaming on the go, and Fluke is further proof to that. It provides a simple and easy way to access a very high quality "Sorry" clone no matter where you are. No longer do I have to worry that I've lost a piece to the game (I STILL can't find where a red Trouble token is and haven't touched the game since that happened!), and I never have to worry about cleaning it up afterwards. Also, unlike the board game, you get the variety of having multiple board selections here that don't just change how the game looks, but the strategy in how the game plays. A short board is a short, simple game versus a longer board that allows for more strategy. It's simple, but it's something that seriously adds to the longevity of the game.

My say is that if you want to enjoy a really great and fun family board game, Fluke is without a doubt the way to go. The developer cares about the title, and has succeeded in creating something that's easy for a wide age range (it require no reading skill) but also succeeds for adults. It's neither unattractive nor boring, an unfortunate fate of many clones on the app marketplace. You really can't go wrong, and as of my writing it's $0.99 - I cannot think of a better way to spend a buck.

Fruit Memory HD is, in my opinion, one of the nicest Memory-type games available on the app store, and is one that my daughters and I have a ton of fun with on a regular basis.

The thing that first caught my eye with Fruit Memory was its very clean and attractive art style that really stands out on the app store in comparison to other apps of its type. That, plus, it was all of a dollar. And because of the price, I didn't have huge expectations as all I wanted was a simple, attractive memory game. But once I loaded it up and started playing it with my daughters, I realized very quickly that every now and then a dollar provides a lot more than a dollar's worth of fun and entertainment.

When you start up Fruit Memory you're presented with an selection page that contains quite a few options, but is incredibly easy to navigate. The game can start with as few as 12 cards or as many as 40, scaling the cards in size to accommodate.

The next option allows for the selection of players. You can play on your own and keep a local leader board of how long it took to complete as well as how many moves it takes. There are separate entries for 12, 28 and 40 cards, and there are unique fruits to be found even at the 40 card level.

Once you start everything up, you get to pick your character, avatar, however you want to describe it. There are 16 options and, wouldn't you know it my twins always argue about which character they want to pick. The character designs don't seem like they make much of an impact, but they really do. The faces are made up of various internet emoticons (>.<, o.O, ^_^, T_T) and so on. Very, very cute.

The options make it really easy for even younger children who are not able to read to start up the game. The buttons are large, and very clearly marked, making it very easy for even a 2 year old to set up a game.

After you're done and you jump into the game, the layout is, simply, perfect. Each person has a tab at the bottom of the screen showing their avatar and their score. If you get a match in a turn, you can go again, otherwise it moves to the next player. It's designed nicely for a tabletop mode, and when you have 4 players it becomes 2 on 2, just great for families. One thing that I absolutely love is that each time you guess right, your avatar jumps up and down in happiness. Again, it's a simple touch, but it adds to the attractiveness of the app.

The card backs are, as the title suggests, fruits. The shapes are easy to recognize and differentiate and are very colorful. There will be no issues if your child is color-blind, either, as there is no repetition based on fruit color.

I've had my hands on quite a few other memory apps, some that are much more expensive or much fancier, just out of curiosity to see if they improve upon Fruit Memory and, at this point, I've yet to find one that I would pick in its place. The clean, simple and very visually pleasing aesthetic of the app combined with the attractive sound effects and adorable "characters" is something that is a huge hit with my whole family and, without a doubt, will be for yours too. Heck, it's a buck! You can't go wrong!

Newly available for iPhone and iPod Touch owners comes jigsaw puzzler Puzzle Planet.

Previously available solely on the iPad, Puzzle Planet has now become a Universal app. It's a quirky jigsaw puzzler that promises attractive images and some intriguing power-ups and souvenirs to encourage players to keep playing. There's even a loose but cutesy story behind things with alien Nur and his friend Glood exploring the wonders of Planet Earth by solving jigsaw puzzles along the way.

The app is a free app to start with, offering 18 different puzzles. Fans can then pay a small $0.99 fee to unlock one of 8 different puzzle packs which further open up more jigsaws, each corresponding to a different theme such as cities or ancient marvels. These aren't regular jigsaw puzzles either with fast reactions and skill needed to progress, adding a nice twist on the genre. It looks like it's going to be a great family game in particular.

Puzzle Planet is out now and it's an universal app.