Fiete Review

Although my son is now almost six and has specific tastes in applications, I still appreciate apps for those younger than he; including apps most appropriate for toddlers and early preschool-aged children. For apps such as these, I find it important to delight adults as well as the kids whom the app is trying to entertain or educate. Fiete

Meet Fiete, a friendly sailor who introduces children to a series of mini-games where the smallest children can perform interactions while flexing their young cognitive minds. The look of this app, with quality one may find in the richest of storybooks, is quite beautiful and includes details with what looks like marbled watercolor illustrations, wonderful textures, and slight but highly effective animations that only add to the vintage look. The pace is slow in Fiete, as one may need to pick apples from a tree or hand Fiete an umbrella under a rainy sky. I enjoy the menu a great deal, as one chooses a scene to interact with by scrolling through a lushly detailed and stylized sea landscape. Complete with an octopus, sea monster, and many islands peeking out of the water where one will find areas to tap to be brought to one of twenty scenes, making the navigation of this app utterly intuitive for the youngest app users, allowing them to find their favorite areas to explore.

Also included as a recurring option is a series of matching games, not unlike the classic game of memory or concentration that asks children to flip cards over in order to make pairs. Here simple twin cards are not included as children need to find related matches of like things, such as a pin that ultimately will pop a balloon or eggs that correlate to a frying pan. There is also Fiete, who needs his reading glasses while reading the paper or ice cream scoops that fit nicely with a cone - delightful inclusions that asks a bit more of children than what is typical. This activity includes three levels of difficulty found within three scenes of this app, and I am impressed with how the matches represent the different scenes one explores throughout - such as moving black spots onto a red beetle to create a butterfly or combining cheese onto toast - and range from six cards to sixteen and include unlimited play, which is a nice touch.

Although it would be unrealistic to say that a child my son’s age would have his attention held for very long with Fiete, all ages will enjoy sharing this app with their siblings or young friends. The quality of the images are top-notch in every way as are the peaceful sailor themes - music, ocean sounds, and distant bird calls - making this an app I highly recommend as a first app that, in reality, the entire family will enjoy.