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Toca House is the new, highly anticipated universal application from the developers at Toca Boca.

Toca Boca is a very well-regarded developer, possibly best known for its open-ended apps such as Toca Tea Party or Toca Hair Salon. More akin to Toca Doctor, Toca House is a collection of 19 domestically focused mini-games that take place within a wonderfully styled home and yard.

I enjoy the look of this app very much, as does my son, being very bright and colorful. Players will be scrolling up and down through this house that one is visiting, as five floors can be explored from top to bottom - a bathroom, living room, kitchen, laundry room, as well as front door and attached yard space.

Although players can start anywhere, those new to this game may enjoy starting out at the bottom - the front door more specifically - where this app opens up and moving around from there. Doing so gives players a chance to meet the occupants of this house nicely, as mini-games include sorting mail into different mailboxes by color and photo-matching mail as personal images appear both on envelopes as well as on corresponding mailboxes.

I also enjoy an activity where one delivers gifts to all the characters, a motley group of five individuals - Bo, a large cuddly yellow man of sorts; Lulu, a grandmotherly figure; young boy Jojo; sporty girl named Toppy; and Luna, an interesting child with a house-shaped head, a unique a character as one will find from the stylings of Toca Boca.

As with any group of people, personal tastes will vary, so it is the player's job to match an interesting selection of gifts to the correct recipient, be it crayons, a spatula or a skateboard. Do check eye contact and body language that will make the character most interested about a specific object known, although these cues are subtle - a nice effect that special needs children may especially benefit from.

The more kids play this mini-game, the more they get to know these characters, as the objects vary each time this activity is explored. I really enjoy the different personalities of these individuals detailed with the gifts that they appreciate, such as the big yellow man, Bo, who appreciates water toys for the bath; Toppy, the tall sporty girl who is really into sports equipment; and the blond boy, Jojo, who is a foodie, fond of gifts such as a hotdog or frying pan.

Players can jump around these floors at will, helping characters around the house with various chores, such as many laundry-related actives including loading a washing machine, hanging the wash to dry, and ironing, as well as wiping down the windows.

A kitchen is included where one can put away groceries and wash dishes. The living room has a few interesting activities such as building a fire or helping hang picture frames. The bathroom includes bathing Bo, the furry man-like creature, as well as cleaning up spilled shampoo from the floor.

Mopping, sweeping and vacuuming chores can be found all around the house - nice mini-games but without a lot of variation between these activities which at times can feel a little redundant, especially as these tasks are randomly generated and not specifically selected by the player, allowing these cleaning tasks to sometimes appear back-to-back, and at points seem like the focus of this application.

The yard has a few nice activities, such as sorting flowers or leaves by color, as well as mowing the lawn. Although players can travel freely around these rooms, the yard and front door are connected in a way that there may be only one character to interact within the front door area, making yard games not always possible.

Even with these notes, my son, now four, finds these mini-games cute and fun, as the whimsical style of this app is very appealing and utterly Toca Boca,

It is surprising to me, however, that bedrooms are not included within this app - rooms so identifiable to children as their own space. There are also no toys to be put away - the most common chore children will be asked to complete, and I would love to see the sorting of different personal possessions per character as well, already introduced with the gift-giving mini-game. I would also appreciate being able tuck these characters into bed with a favorite toy at the conclusion of this app.

Other bedroom chores could include making one’s bed or collecting one’s laundry for the wash, and I would love to see a pet living in the house that needs to be bathed, fed and cleaned up after.

I admire the choice to make the characters diverse, with the use of a non-Caucasian character, as well as the ambiguous child with the house shaped head, but it is unclear to me if these characters are members of a family or share a house together as boarders, as the separate mailboxes may imply. I would love to see more overlap of these characters together, even if only in the photos one hangs up in the living room, as of now, these pictures are of individual characters.

Especially because Toca Boca apps are popular among children with special needs, it would be nice to see these characters relate to each other on a social level.

I am also confused with an element of the berry-picking sorting game as well, found at the front of the house, as here players sort and feed fresh blueberries to Lulu, the grandmotherly figure, tossing the moldy ones away. I really enjoy this mini-game, and I value the checking produce for mold being introduced as part of a daily chore, as organic produce can turn bad fast, and I do this kind of inspection routinely as well. What I don’t understand is why the moldy berries are tossed into a recycling bin, complete with the iconic green arrows, when a compost bin would be preferable - a mistake I would prefer my son not to make with our out recycling cans.

I do enjoy the lighting of the fireplace activity as it is a little different but would prefer to see Lulu, the grandmotherly character light the fire in the living room instead of Toppy, who although the oldest of the three children in the house, is still a child as I would prefer only an adult within this game to be using matches - a common rule in many households.

Toca House is an app my son enjoys spending time with, but I do hope to see more apps such as Toca Tea Party, Toca Store, or Toca Hair Salon that immerse players into truly open-ended situations mirroring other favorite toys or games as this is what Toca Boca does better than any other developer, standing apart from the crowd as a maker of true “digital toys."

Other favorite apps from Toca Boca are wonderful for sharing between children, encouraging them to play with each other, learning about social skills along the way. This is not the case so much in Toca House, as these mini-games are for single players, but there is a pause between these actives that makes swapping one's device between children possible, and any one child can play up to only 10 mini-games at one time, reducing the time any one child may have to wait for their turn in this app is not passed around during these games, nice touches that adults of multiple children may enjoy, but I would like the chance to over ride the ending of one's experience after only 10 actives, as well as including some more nighttime oriented tasks as well.

The games found in Toca House are more activities than mini-games as little to no skill level is involved as one completes these chores. This is not a flaw as this is the application these developers set out to make, and it is nicely realized for what it is, but it is worth mentioning, however, as older children who responded well to the faster pace and maze elements of Toca Doctor could conceivably feel underwhelmed at some of these more simplistic swiping movements needed to complete many of these tasks. It would be nice if in the future, a more thorough use of what iPad and iPhone has to offer could be incorporated.

Toca House would be a good choice for younger app players, two and up, who do not have any preconceived notions about mini-games. It is also encouraging for children to participate in chores around the house as part of a game, hopefully making them more likely to help out as well if asked to do so.

All in all, my son and I are enjoying Toca House. I can't wait to see what Toca Boca comes up with next.

Toca Boca has done it again by developing a new digital toy that kids will love. Toca Kitchen, as the name implies, is a creative, fun and open-ended cooking toy for kids.

Here, players can choose one of four characters to cook for and feed. Male and female characters are included, as well as a cat and a cow.

To the left of the screen one finds the refrigerator full of 12 different food choices. Once a choice is made, place on the plate in front of the character that one is looking to feed.

From here, children can start feeding the chosen food in raw form or move to the right of the screen where the cooking implements are kept on a shelf. Options include a knife for cutting, food processor, pot for boiling, pan for frying and a microwave.

It is quite tempting to write about the players and their favorite foods, as each character wonderfully has unique likes and dislikes that make this game so fun and utterly Toca Boca. However, I will resist this temptation as I would not want to spoil the chance to allow one to find these preferences by oneself. I do love that both animal and people are included, and thoroughly enjoy the cow becoming disgruntled by being fed steak - something he is unwilling to try for obvious reasons.

I have often been impressed by the ability of special needs children to learn from Toca Boca’s apps in terms of social awareness. This too is a digital toy that can be used by children who would benefit from learning about social cues.

In this app, the characters express their personal feelings with regard to what they are being fed, and children can then try their best to find foods that these characters like.

I appreciate that these characters have strong feelings expressed, such as the cat either salivating with pleasure, or hissing with distain, as well as more subtle feelings of “it's...ok” or "ummm...no" that kids will also need to interpret, as these reactions are expressed in a language-neutral way that children from all backgrounds can understand, and I love how it is both fun and realistic how these characters will prefer foods cooked a certain way such as potatoes fried vs. served raw, having been macerated in the food processor.

Since receiving a review copy of this app, my son has spent a great deal of time playing Toca Kitchen. My boy has played with play food and his kitchen and has fed his dolls and animals daily for almost two solid years now, so I was not surprised by his reaction as he loves to cook and feed these characters - especially the cat.

I enjoy how he can have some basic experiences, be it simulated, with boiling food, as the look down into the pot with a rolling bottle, or with an up close view of food in a pan frying - are both things he has never really gotten a good view at as I still worry about him being around the stove as I cook.

I do wish, however, that one could cut the food into more pieces than just four, and I would love to see one be able to flip over what is being fried in order to cook both sides the way I can with my more adult-oriented simulated cooking apps.

Anyone who knows me well knows that food safety issues are a huge pet peeve of mine, and for this reason, I would very much like to see the raw meat, sausage and fish placed on the bottom shelf of the fridge in order to not drip onto the other food on the shelves below, something my son and other children will never be too young to learn about.

I also have the urge to cook food way too long, burning the steak and other foods. As a result, these characters could refuse to eat their favorite foods if cooked too long, bringing some other educational aspects to this game as kids will need to learn when to remove the foods from the heat based on color to serve something worth eating.

It is great how characters here will give cooking tips if offered food raw, an element I would love to see more of, and I am confused as to if the eggs offered are raw or hard boiled as the eggs can be fried or boiled, yet can be cut or mashed up like a boiled egg as well, a discrepancy I have mixed feelings about.

More discerning characters would also be interesting, as sometimes as my son often fries or boils eggs previously pulverized in the food processor, shell and all, to be served with no issue from the eater.

Basic extras, such as sugar, salt or pepper and maybe condiments like ketchup, mustard or hot sauce could be interesting additions as well.

As of now, some characters enjoy eating lemons if ground up - a food I wish could be made even more palatable with some sweetness, also allowing characters to like foods less if they become too sweet, salty, or spicy, making it possible to teach the concept of how much is too much and that sometimes less can be more.

Other foods would be wonderful as well, and although one can have multiple foods on a plate, players can’t cook more than one food at a time - something I would love to see. Being able to sauté broccoli along with potatoes or to blend multiple fruits together to make smoothies would make the possibilities here truly endless.

I enjoy the kitchen tools available, but it would love to see more methods of preparation, such as stirring, peeling, grating or whisking, and it would be terrific if one could scroll down the kitchenette section to find a working oven to bake in as well. Desserts would also be a welcome inclusion, as my son has a play food cookie baking obsession - something that I encourage as I don’t really want to bake sweets for him too often.

Having said this, I have seen a dramatic shift in my son asking again for the iPad when he has alone time after Toca Kitchen was downloaded, as the iPad is an item that sometimes wanes as my son gets involved with other toys, as much as he still enjoys apps when we are in the car, shopping or when I make a special point of sharing an app with him for review purposes.

I do find the physics engine used to make the food move and bounce with a touch a bit sensitive for my taste, as these foods react as if they were in more of a zero gravity situation than earth-bound, bouncing around in a way that is kind of unnatural and even at times distracting. I have heard no complaints, however, from my son about any aspect of this app - something he is not shy about sharing.

It is also worth mentioning that my son enjoys playing other Toca apps as an extension of Toca Kitchen, his idea that I am enamored by. I would love to see even more crossovers included through out Toca Kitchen, such as foods one can buy from Toca Store available to cook, or deserts from Toca Tea Party available to bake as well.

Not only is the gameplay enjoyable, but the subtle ambient sounds and fun details Toca Boca is so good at are also included here including the hum of the fridge which can be heard when opened, Toca magnets lovingly displayed, and the words "Love" and "open" found intersected crossword style found on the door briefly seen when opened, as well as the basic restaurant sounds used within, but it would be nice if the fun jazzy music included - very Toca sounding - were louder in comparison to the other sounds included, just something to think about for a future update.

I hope I do not come across as overly critical of my son’s favorite new app, as this application as it is has kept my son quite busy with no end in sight, as I am happy to say that Toca Boca is a developer that takes the comments and criticisms of their fans very seriously, encouraging me to give notes that could make this great app even better.

I give Toca Boca credit for keeping their fans in the loop regarding their new apps, as well as asking followers what kinds of apps their children would like to see, as well as keeping their digital toys affordable by most. So far Toca Boca has created applications that my son is super-engaged by, based on his favorite toys and activities, and this app is no different. We greatly look forward to hearing about more Toca Boca apps in the future.

Toca Boca Hair Salon - Christmas Gift is a wonderful new Toca Boca app based on their Toca Hair Salon, which is free as a gift to all their loyal fans, also giving others a taste of what Toca Boca has to offer.

I always enjoy this time of year to see which of our favorite apps have come up with holiday-themed updates, oftentimes adding Christmas content to an existing app which is then removed after the holidays. These updates by their nature are offered to those who have previously downloaded these apps, so I think it is lovely that Toca Boca has come up with this idea to offer this application for free as a lovely Christmas gift to all.

I love this application as I do Toca Hair Salon. Here players get to groom Santa himself as well as a Christmas tree. The look and game play are very similar, as is the scene found outside the salon is now transformed nicely to a winter scene, with snow on the ground as well as falling from the sky. Once inside, choose a client and get to work changing his look in any way possible.

The styles one can create here are truly endless as one has the choice of tools to use, including a comb, scissors, hairdryer and buzzers. One of the best elements to this game is the magic potion G.R.O that when applied, will grow back hair that has been cut or shaved, even to simply lengthen hair as far as the screen will allow. A very nice selection of hair colors is also available, including both natural as well as other fun colors. Spray color slightly for more of a highlight effect or more intensely to fully dye a character’s hair a different color totally, complete with the fun sounds of ball bearings rattling around in a metal can as one makes a color choice.

Although much of what is offered here mirrors what is available in the Toca Salon, this app is not to be confused with a simple “lite” version of Toca Salon (although this app can easily be used by those new to Toca Boca to see if Toca Salon is of interest to their family) as here, wonderful decorations in the style of ornaments and such have been added which my family has gotten a huge kick out of, which vary from the more traditional hair decorations recently added to the classic Toca Salon.

From bows to ball ornaments, stars and other hanging decorations, place these items where you wish, making note that each of these choices has a variety of colors or patterns to choose from, a fun detail that is utterly Toca Boca

What I love most about these decorations is their relationship to physics, as using the hair dryer after adding these decorations will blow the ornaments away, and shaving or cutting the hair can also remove these decorations. I would love to also be able to simply move or take away these decorations with the drag of a finger after they have been first positioned, something not possible at the present time, but would be nice for a future update.

The addition of these decorations has brought this app to a whole new level of creative play that we just adore. I would also love to see more salon updates or solo apps for Halloween as well, possibly styling a wolf man, vampire or witch and glitter, curling and flat irons would be interesting choices to include as well.

Also new is the ability to turn off the camera function found within these salon apps.

This function saves parents the time it takes to delete possibly hundreds of photos from their camera roll. The camera itself remains, allowing children to still have fun taking snapshots of their characters, complete with fun bulb flashes and sound effects without any image being saved.

For some children this is a great compromise, but I worry that my son may go looking for his images and be disappointed not to find any.

In situations like this, other families may find that having the option to remove the camera altogether may be a better solution - hard to say as the photo-taking is super-cute, even if no images are being saved.

I don’t begrudge my son’s picture taking, and I confess that I have a hard time deleting his creations, but personally, I would love to see an option where the camera takes only one shot of a given character specific style, with the second, third and beyond images taken in rapid succession without any changes made to the model not to be saved to one’s camera roll.

I am impressed with the generosity of Toca Boca to have made this Christmas app a stand-alone app instead of an update, allowing fans not just specifically of theirs, but of applications in general to download this app for free.

I highly recommend this app as I do all their others, and I have in the past given them credit for making their apps affordable for most. This app is a download one who buys apps for iPhone or an iPad simply can't pass up, also being a wonderful introduction to the whimsical world of Toca Boca. Toca Boca Salon and their other apps have been reviewed at GiggleApps as well. Please look for them if interested.

Parenting’s Birthday Party Playtime is a fun, universal app from one of our all- time favorite developers, Toca Boca. A sequel to their famed Toca Tea Party, this app has much of the same game-play, but has a focused birthday theme allowing children to have birthday parties for the special people, dolls or stuffed animals in their lives.

This app begins offering players a choice of three cakes to choose from, which will become the centerpiece of the birthday party. Super-cute panda and dragon cakes are available as well as a classic decorated cake with white frosting and a rainbow theme. Once the cake is chosen and moved into the space provided center screen, the table is set with a corresponding table cloth and a selection of three plates that match the theme chosen, which are available to mix and match as place settings. A nicely wrapped present is also chosen, choices ultimately being a doll, dinosaur or robot each with fun sound effects and movements which one will discover with a tap.

After the selections are set, candles are added to the cake and the screen dims as if one has turned off the lights in preparation for blowing out the candles. Fun, festive music plays as well as the sounds of the candles being blown one by one with the tap of a finger, or all at once as one spins a finger around the cake. When the candles have been put out and removed from the cake, cute celebratory sounds such as clapping can be heard and now the cake is ready to be served, party poppers than can be played with and popped are offered, as well as the present to be opened. Like in Toca Tea Party, clean up after guests leave by dragging the plates into sink found bottom screen, or tilt these dishes into the dishwater, an aspect my son loves in both of these apps.

My son has enjoyed Toca Tea Party app immensely because it is always someone’s birthday according to my boy, and we throw birthday parties regularly for his play-thing "guys," including gifts that my son wraps in old receiving blankets. Because of this favorite activity of his, I knew this would be a huge hit.

My son loves the moment when the screen dims, the music starts and the candles are added to the cake. We make up and sing birthday-themed songs, and my boy always has a lovely look of pride as the daddy to a doll or stuffed animal who needs help blowing out the candles of their birthday cake. My son can’t help but open the gift right away and loves to tap the toy to trigger the fun sounds and movements offered, and it is especially nice that a few taps are needed to unwrap the ribbon and open the box to get to the toy, adding to the fun, feel and excitment of really opening a gift.

As in the Tea Party app, one can drag pieces of cake over to plates, tapping to eat bites. The cute giggles and other sounds that the app provides to bring life to the inanimate object party guests are still present, but as there is a single choice being served, so “players” do not have special pastry requests as they do in Tea Party.

Here, what looks like orange juice and pink lemonade can be served to the guests and one can take a sip from a cup with a tap, but none of the drinks can be spilled here which is kind of a bummer as this is a favorite element of the Tea Party app, as is having two musical selections adding to the experience of this other app, as no music is played within the eating portion of the party.

I would also love to have more cakes to choose from as well as being able to choose the table cloth instead of just using the ones directly corresponding to each cake. It is fun that party poppers are offered during this game, but after used once they are depleted and although this is true in the way these party favors work in real life, it would be fun to use these sound-makers indefinitely.

Since it is a birthday party, it would also be fun to choose and decorate this app as well in some way, and I would love for a child to play with a piñata, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey or other birthday-themed mini-games, as well as to have the choice to wrap the gift oneself or be surprised by an already decorated box, depending on the child’s style of game play.

My son does love this app and plays with it often. He loves the fact that this app works not only on our iPad, but on our phone as well, as he has asked many times to add Tea Party onto our phone, never really being satisfied with the explanation we give him that it was not universally designed. The iPhone version works much the same way, but here only the orange juice is available to serve as two drink choices would clutter up the screen.

I have not heard any complaints from my son, who uses this app daily, but my husband and I, huge fans of Toca Boca in general, have noticed that some of the elements we love from Toca Tea party are missing from this app, some of which would be lovely additions in a future update.

Honestly, from the moment I read about this app on iTunes and downloaded it for review, I have been calling this app “Toca Birthday Party” as my son instantly knew what to expect from this title as we all have fallen in love with the other “Toca” apps, all of which, except for a darling art app, have names like ”Toca Tea Party,” "Toca Helicopter,” "Toca Hair Salon,” or “Toca Store." For this reason, I am a little confused by the new title choice of "Parenting’s Birthday Party Playtime" as I thought the “Toca” style of name was as much branding as the wonderful intro of each app where the name “Toca Boca” is announced, and their logo of a face and mouth with multi-colored teeth morph into another image correlating to the specific apps’s theme, here having a mouth flip upside-down and the teeth becoming lit candles - aspects of these apps that I simply love and look forward to with the release of every new app.

Having said all of this, my son loves this app as much as he does the other Toca apps in our library of child-friendly applications, and this birthday party activity correlates nicely to the way my son plays with this play food, dolls, and stuffed animals in real life - without the clutter of play food and dishes - and it is wonderful to have this app compact on our iPhone. We also love the the tie-in found here as the toys to be given are options to but within Toca Store, allowing my son to first shop for his party, a nice touch.

We as a family have been won over by these developers with the launch of their first application. I am very excited to see what new digital game they can think of next as they have a real knack for knowing what will keep my son occupied.

Toca Store is another fabulously creative, open-ended digital game - here a universal app for both iPad and iPhone.

Toca Store transforms one’s device into a department store where kids can take turns playing both shopkeeper as well as patron. This app opens up to a store before the doors open, giving kids the chance to peruse a catalogue of product choices that they can sell in their store, that range from food stuff - both fresh produce as well as packaged foods, home goods like a hair dryer or fabric softener, and a nice selection of toys. I also enjoy seeing a few crossover items from other apps, such as a robot from robot lab, carrot cake mix from the tea shop, and Toca Tees for sale, complete with their iconic logo, as well as others. It is also nice that the last page of this catalogue has some empty spaces available - room, I hope, for additional items in a future update.

It is nice that five items are sold at once, neatly arranged in baskets of different shapes and colors which liven up this storefront a bit. Once everything has been selected, a screen pops up, prompting one to invite a customer to store, also demonstrating that the best position of the device for game play is between the two players who face each other.

Now the shopper has a chance to decide what he would like to purchase, tapping and dragging an item onto the mat by the cash register, as a silhouette of the chosen object is also shown, guiding the customer where to place the item.

Next, the shop owner decides how much he is going to charge for the chosen item and rings it up on the cash register, with the numbers 1-5 being options. It may be helpful to know that the shopper has 10 coins in his purse to spend, allowing one to shop for 2 to 10 items depending how the money is split among purchases. After the cost has been determined, the shopper is prompted to open his purse with a tap and pay by tapping and dragging the said amount to a pop-open drawer on the register that nicely highlights the number of coins being asked for. The purchase is complete as the grocer taps a button which allows that sale to be added to the receipt, and the purchase is then added to the customer’s re-usable shopping tote. This process is repeated until the customer has emptied his purse of the 10 coins, but if he needs a few extra to complete the last purchase, this is also taken care of as the purse magically will refill with more money to cover the cost. The receipt, which has been keeping a tally of purchases made, is torn and offered to the shopper where he can see exactly where the money went, itemized nicely.

As one can tell, this is a wonderfully open-ended game that is best suited for two players, but don’t tell my son this as he is happy to play with an adult as much as with an animal friend, giving him the responsibilities of both the shopkeeper and the customer.

This digital toy is especially nice for socialization by getting the players to converse together. Even their famed Tea Party app, another personal favorite of ours, which I have only good things to say about, can be used by less social children as a parallel play toy because it is possible to eat and drink side-by-side without much interaction if one chooses. Here, the players really must work together with a lot of give and take, as the prompts guide the players through this toy that has a nice level of routine.

Any child pre-school age and older, along with the adults in their lives will enjoy this app, but based on the social nature of this application, I think it is an especially important tool for special needs kids, as it not only compels conversation and teamwork also but some real world sequencing - important concepts that may not come naturally to all children. I think this is also a great game to work on counting skills as well as to discuss the management of money, as the purse has only 10 coins to spend, but also includes the added whimsy of the purse re-filling if more money is needed. The conversation of virtual allowance can be worked into game play by parents if they so wish.

My son, husband, and I all really enjoy this app, sometimes calling it a prelude to the Tea Party app as well, as one can purchase carrot cake mix to make the carrot cake that we love to serve and eat while playing tea party. Toca Store suits my son’s likes especially well as he has played this game in real life for countless hours with play food and a toy cash register, and although not meant to take the place of playing with tangible toys, this app nicely provides much the same experience without the endless numbers pieces of play food that clutter our house and which are not always put away in a timely fashion. This app is great to play in bed before sleep as well with no mess to clean and no risk of turning over onto a piece of wooden watermelon later that night. This app would be a great choice for travel as well, both on long car trips as well as simple waits such as in restaurants or doctors' offices.

Like with the other Toca Boca apps, fun, ambient sounds are used throughout to capture the sounds of a store, from the simple sounds outside that filter their way in when the door opens for the shopper to the specific sounds used to illustrate the handling of store products, be it metallic or glass-sounding, or a more thuddy tone of a sack of bananas being rung up. It is also fun how some of these items have a variety to choose from, such as different flavors of jam, colors of toothbrushes, or colors of dinosaurs or doll styles, as a player can rummage through these baskets for the specific item one is looking for. I also really like the receipt one is given at the end of the shopping trip, complete with the cute details of which color of an item was chosen from the selection, as well as how much was paid for each object, all of which may add up to 10 or more if the purse had to add some coins to help make the last purchase - an element that makes my son smile, as the gift of more coins has some nice fanfare of confetti, and a wink from the purse herself. Music is also played - a delightfully appropriate muzak-like soft jazzy sound that works in this store setting as well as being pleasant to listen to while playing. It is also nice to know that these sounds can be turned off if one chooses to as well.

Kids will also enjoy the other whimsical details Toca Boca is well known for. Here, the purse, shopping tote and register have faces that blink and make cute expressions both as encouragement as well as prompts which lead kids through game play. Children will also find especially interesting how the face is recognizable from both players' point-of-view as seen on the cash register that also changes expressions correlating to specific gameplay. Parents will enjoy how this app allows kids to experience two separate but related experiences as kids turn around the device, taking turns doing both shopping and selling.

It is worth explaining that while playing this app on the iPad, the baskets one can shop from are arranged together on one main page whereas on the iPhone, the baskets are scrolled through as though they are on a conveyer, complete with subtle mechanical noises. Because of this difference, the images do not look small on the iPhone but in fact work quite well within the smaller screen. Given two equally pleasant toy experiences unique to the different devices may explain the slightly higher cost of this app at full price, but in my opinion, this app is well worth it. Do also take the time to read the “Letter from the play designer” found in the Parents section, as this link located at top left of the title page offers ways of making this app a great educational experience.

My only wish is that one could look inside the purse without actively spending money in case the players want to work together on spending only the 10 coins offered without needing to be given extra.

I have yet not to be super-impressed with the selection of brilliant Toca Boca apps so far. Hearing about a new release is a big happening in my family, and we can’t wait for more good news to come.

Toca Boca Robot Lab is the new and original universal app and “digital toy” that kids of all ages as well as parents will enjoy.

This new Toca Boca app allows players to create their own robot from a series of creative and interesting scrap pieces or metal and other industrial materials. Although many pieces are ultimately available to choose from, kids will have a choice of three head, body, and leg selections each session, as well as left and right arms, mixing or matching, or however the player chooses.

I really enjoy that the robot lab building area takes place in a corrugated box, and that the robot pieces to choose from are recycled bits from other machines that adults will be familiar with, such as old radios, coffee machines, sinks, the electronic eye from a surveillance camera or incandescent bulb, giving the players a way of viewing these bits of scrap in a new way, transforming them into pieces of a new robot.

Read the full review at GiggleApps.

Toca Boca Robot Lab is the new and original universal app and “digital toy” that kids of all ages as well as parents will enjoy.

This new Toca Boca app allows players to create their own robot from a series of creative and interesting scrap pieces or metal and other industrial materials. Although many pieces are ultimately available to choose from, kids will have a choice of three head, body, and leg selections each session, as well as left and right arms, mixing or matching, or however the player chooses.

I really enjoy that the robot lab building area takes place in a corrugated box, and that the robot pieces to choose from are recycled bits from other machines that adults will be familiar with, such as old radios, coffee machines, sinks, the electronic eye from a surveillance camera or incandescent bulb, giving the players a way of viewing these bits of scrap in a new way, transforming them into pieces of a new robot.

These pieces are nicely distressed with rust and dirt, and it is great fun to see and hear these pieces being soldered together after a chosen part is dragged into the outline found in the box above the parts conveyer belt. The building of these robots could not be more intuitive, and my son simply adores creating his robot, as well as watching it come to life as some of these heads will become mildly animated, with blinking eyes lighting up or talking - one of my son's favorite parts.

After the robot is created, test-fly the robot to the magnet, which will deliver the robot to another area where one will receive the test report. Arrows will show the player in which direction to fly to find the magnet, but take some time to experience the testing area before moving on. Three stars are hidden among each maze-like area; gather these stars to later add them to the report.

An excellent physics engine is incorporated here as the robot has the chance to interact with many blocks, balls, and beams that fall to the bottom of the screen if knocked over as if gravity is in effect. I love the bouncing balls and the longer plank pieces that can pivot before falling off the edges of the maze-like structures found in this area, a colorful and stylized testing center made up of the wonderful textures of more corrugated cardboard and other materials. Engaging and cheerful colors nicely contrast with the industrial feel of chains and rusty gear details also found, much to the joy of steam punk fans. Interesting shadows are also cast onto this area, creating a feeling of a much larger warehouse space. Music is also included that fits this robot theme very well and is nice to listen to.

I thoroughly enjoy moving my robot around with the touch of a finger without effort, watching as his rocket feet propel him where my finger directs, also witnessing him plummet when a finger is removed - something that gives me an excited queasy feeling as I watch him drop from what would be a far distance with the given scale used. I love playing with all the varied toys and often forget to continue to look for stars or the magnet, being deep in play. My son is a bit more goal-oriented, choosing to go to the magnet sooner to in turn create a new robot sooner, his favorite part of the app. I am glad to see how simple the flying is here, as these robots follow the drag of a finger nicely, and one does not need to cover up the robot to navigate smoothly.

My son really enjoys how some of these robots talk when completed, and he would really like to see every robot created have some extra animated features like lighting up and talk, not just a selected few. I would like to see a photo of the created robot on the test report as well as space provide to type in a name for the robot or other notes, and it would be great to have these reports kept “on file” to look back at on a later date, as my son really gets attached to his creations and would love to be able to look back, collect, and name what he spent time working on, possibly taking an old favorite for another test drive.

This is a truly open-ended toy as one can spend as little or as much time in the test flight area as desired, and different children will approach this area differently, either as an area of creative play and exploration, or as a focus for finding the stars or magnet to start the game over again - the choice is theirs.

I think the immersion of interacting with these toys being affected by gravity and physics has some nice educational components as does following the arrows and narrating these maze-like testing areas, which also have a nice variety of screens possible each time a new robot is made. The level of difficulty is very good here for pre-school and up, but I have on rare occasion not found the third star I am looking for, and a “hint” option would be helpful, especially for children, possibly by having the ability to zoom out and see the maze as a whole for a moment.

I have been extremely impressed with all of Toca Boca apps; they are wonderful “digital toys,” as these developers like to say. I give them credit as well for making all of their apps affordable and often universal, always accessible for anyone interested in trying any of these wonderful apps. I recommend not only Toca Boca Robot Lab, but any and all of their other apps as well. I follow these developers very carefully and get very excited when I hear that a new app of theirs is soon to be released. I can’t wait to see what these creative minds come up with next.

Paint My Wings is a lovely new app from Toca Boca, one of my favorite app developers. Paint My Wings is a universal art application, allowing the player to paint the wings of two friendly and encouraging butterflies, learning colors and fruits along the way.

Brilliant in its simplicity, I love how the mirrored image from one side of the butterfly is copied onto the other side at the same time, creating beautiful symmetry and turning the most basic scribbling into wondrous butterfly patterns. Two butterflies are included, a male and female, who both giggle if you tickle them and give lovely compliments when the player takes a photo of their art, something that made my son smile each time. Sharing one’s project is also possible via social networking as well.

It is added fun to scroll though a selection of fruits left of the screen, squash these fruits to chance the color one paints with. It is also nice that the butterfly names the color in use, nice details adding to the educational value of this creative and cute application.

I like the ease of use this app has to offer. My family is a huge fan of the other Toca Boca apps, and this app is no different. Although geared towards two and up, I think this app, with some help from an adult, could easily be used by the youngest family members as a simple touch or swipe can create a pattern effect. Parents also have the choice of discussing the fruits used in the color choices, a nice way to talk about colors and produce.

Paint My Wings is a great choice for any child who loves to be creative or is interested in butterflies. This reminds me of a favorite art project of ours where one folds butterfly-shaped paper in half, adding dollops of paint and then folding and rubbing until both sides are covered to make symmetrical Rorschach-type patterns. This app, however, can be used anywhere with no mess or cleanup. My son loves to paint wings in the car while traveling and in bed before sleep - places paints and paper would never be allowed.

It may be interesting in the future to add different-size paint brushes as well as an “undo” button for mistakes. My son has never complained about the need to erase accidents here the way he has with other painting apps, but I have upon occasion would like to make small changes on my wings, and it would be nice if there was an option to do so. I also think it would be cool if multiple fingers could paint at the same time as my son and I work on these wings together. Taking turns is fun, but it would be quite nice if we could work in unison, each painting a side of a wing, watching each other's patterns show up on our side as well, especially on the iPad.

I have also noticed that that sometimes the butterfly being painted does not name each color in use, and there can be a lag time for a color's name to be spoken as my son quickly changing colors, sometimes leading to the previous color used to be announces which is a little confusing. This is a minor note in a really good we all enjoy. I hope this detail can be fixed in a future update.

Toca Boca is a developer that has made some really inventive apps that entire families will love. I can’t want to see what they come up with next. I am sure I will be amazed and surprised, as their apps are wonderfully varied yet each highly creative and fun for those who play. I will be following Toca Boca very carefully as I am one of their biggest fans.

Toca Hair Salon is yet another wonderful, creative, and quirky app from the developers at Toca Boca, one of my favorite developers. This universal app allows one to cut, style, and color the hair of one of four available models.

Toca Boca is an exciting group of developers who design apps that they consider to be “digital toys,” creating open-ended experiences much like the toys they are based on, within the portability of an application. Digital toys include a helicopter much like a radio-controlled flying helicopter that many kids own, with a twist. An absolutely wonderful tea party application is available, as well as a doctor-themed app with a nod towards the game of Operation. A lovely art app also exists, allowing the player to paint beautiful butterfly wings. Toca Hair Salon allows players to create any and all styles of hair they can dream of, reminding me of both the classic Playdough “Fuzzy Pumper Barber Shop” as well as the Barbie styling head I had as a child whose hair I cut off.

The interface is very easy and child-friendly here, as one enters a retro-styled barber shop, complete with spinning red-and-white pole out front. When inside, tap one of four customers waiting for service. These clients are certainly interesting-looking, two of whom are more bear- or lion-looking than human and they will make sounds, either positive or negative, giving feedback as you are doing their hair, details that add character and whimsy - something I have learned to expect from Toca Boca.

Once a model is selected, the fun beings. First, notice that subtle movements of one’s device change the perspective as one looks past the client and at the salon used in the background, even looking through the glass windows and onto the street, all of which give a nice 3D feel to the experience. I really enjoy the look of the salon with so many details such as the patterned wallpaper and chair used for waiting, Other details include the stack of flyers off to one side, mail coming through the slot in the door. and noises from the street. The door even has a bell on top, heard when someone enters the salon.

To start styling, scroll through the available tools at the bottom of the screen, giving the options to comb, cut, blow, buzz, or dye the hair of the client. My personal favorite option available is the magic potion G.R.O. - to grow back cut hair or simply to grow the model’s hair as much as desired for longer styles. I also love the sound effects used. Beyond the realistic cutting, hair dryer, and clipper sounds, the spray paint sounds used for the hair color are wonderful, complete with the sounds of the ball bearings rattling as the can of spray color is shaken as well as the aerosol sounds when the color is being sprayed.

Do read the parents' section about the use of these tools. The interface is very easy, and kids will have a lot of fun even without any specific direction. However, I appreciated the tip on the use of the comb, as one should be combing from the roots to make hair the most manageable.

It is intriguing how realistically the hair moves with the use of physics. Looking closely, the hair looks much like rooted doll hair where small amounts of hair are sectioned off and placed through the head in a symmetrical pattern of rows. It does take some getting used to in terms of how to comb these tufts of hair to get the desired effect and not to look as though the model has very staticky hair that may follow unintentionally with a finger. I also have a hard time giving the my a true blunt cut, but I think these are perfectionist adult concerns as my son never shows any issues of frustration while playing with this app. I am equally impressed with the physics used for the spray color, as it is applied to the hair the way one would expect, as short spray of color will create highlights but longer spray time is needed to fully change the hair color.

This app truly is enjoyed by the entire family. My husband and I have a lot of fun creating hair styles and saving them with pride on the camera of both the iPad and iPhone, something we adults don’t usually bother to do with many other applications. This app has also brought out the artistic temperament in my son. He really, really likes this app and is not always easy to handle as he always comes up with great ideas for other people's models. My boy is constantly giving the character I am working on a reverse mohawk and choosing his own colors for my masterpieces. I hear him talking to himself often about his future plans for the hair he is working on, as he gets very involved with this app.

I would love to see in a future update a model with curly hair. Hair accessories would also be nice additions, like clips or bows, and a can of spray glitter would be fun as well. It would also be great if one could swivel the client around to get 360 degree access to the hair, all the better to show off one’s mohawk and to cut the side or back of the model's hair.

I am surprised to see the icon of their tea party app on the bottom right corner of the opening screen as one can tap on this icon to be taken to see their other apps and ultimately to these apps on iTunes, as this app's description states that Toca Hair Salon does not have any ads. I think this info about other apps is best left tucked away in the parents' section and out of the eyes of children in order not to fuel their list of “wants.” This issue aside, Toca Hair Salon is another wonderful app from Toca Boca, a very important and influential developer. I look forward to seeing what other great apps they come up with in the future, as finding out that Toca Boca has a new app out is an exciting moment!

Toca Doctor is another wonderful app from the developers at Toca Boca, who also developed personal favorite apps, Helicopter Taxi and Toca Tea Party. Here, 18 fun and age-appropriate mini-games with medical themes are included which will entertain everybody in the family from pre-school on up. Versions of this app are available for both iPhone as well as iPad

I have come to really appreciate the quirky apps that Toca Boca has developed. This app is also great, here bringing medical themes to mini-games. Utterly intuitive, this app opens with a young patient at the doctor's office. Tap a glowing light on the odd little doctor flying in some sort of diagnostic machine, hovering over the patient and adding bulls eyes to body parts that need further examination. Click on these bulls eyes and get taken to various puzzle mazes and other mini-games with a delightful medical theme, such as tapping nits in hair or bacteria found under a microscope or inside the mouth to rid the patient of these maladies. One also has a chance to pull splinters from fingers in the correct direction, clean and bandage a wounded knee and placing important bones or internal organs in their rightful places. Mazes also exist involving the brain, digestive tract and vascular systems. Personally, I really enjoy placing the cochlea and other bones of the ear back where they belong and going from hearing nothing to the sound of fuzzy music that becomes clear- sounding as the ear puzzle is completed.

The artwork is excellent, stylized, and very interesting to look at. I also love music used here, making this app cheerful even with the subject matter sometimes involving blood or ouchies. I also like the various sound effects, especially the room tone used with the beeps and other atmospheric sounds one would find in a hospital is used as the background noises heard between choosing mini-games. The faint sounds of a bike crashing can also be heard momentarily as one cleans up cuts on the patient, presumably obtained in a biking accident. Cute, extra moments are sometimes included after these games have been completed, such as a large pretty ring added onto the hand of a patient one removed splinters from, or a lovely hair bow added to a de-loused head, adding to the fun and richness of this app.

The age level needed to solve these activities is probably for around three and up, but I expect the entire family to get a kick out of this app, as does my family. I appreciate that although my husband and I cruise through these games quickly, there is no need to rush as no time or points are kept and one can take as long as needed to finish, especially helpful on the mazes where one can either navigate with the drag of a finger or the tilting of one's device. There is an impressive physics engine used here, with the majority of elements being affected the way one would expect by gravity and players may sometimes feel the need to stabilize objects with two fingers as they place these pieces where they belong. Staying easy for preschoolers, this app has a nice “grab” to it as this app helpfully pulls the pieces where they belong if the player comes close to the correct positioning, making accuracy less of an issue.

In terms of education, adults can take their time explaining these activities in a way that is age-appropriate for their child such in regards to how these thing relate to their lives. Personally, I have pointed out the nits in the hair as something we try to avoid by not sharing hats or combs, the names of internal organs or specific bones used during certain puzzles, even about how someone in the family needs eye drops occasionally as this is also a mini-game. The mazes and puzzles themselves are also very educational as one needs the small motor skills to drag puzzle pieces and small objects in the mazes where they need to go, one is also able to tilt the device in ways that help these maze pieces navigate, also taking patience and concentration. It also takes fine motor skills to pick up the pieces of these many puzzles, something that is harder here than in most basic puzzle apps, a level kids will find challenging but not to difficult to succeed at.

Being a huge fan of this developer, I have taken a look at the video made for this app found on youtube before this app was released. Here, an introduction involving a child falling from their bike and needing medical help. Just then the doctor shows up, and the scene changes to the patient in the doctor's office where the game begins. Although very short, the intro of the accident and the doctor appearing made for a nice introduction, and I was surprised not to see this intro as part of the app itself. I also would have also liked there to be some kind of conclusion after all 18 games are finished, tying up all that has been accomplished with the patent feeling well after their treatments. Even without an intro and conclusion, this app is undeniably fun for the entire family.

I am eagerly awaiting Toca Boca's next app as I can't wait to see what new ideas will be coming from such a creative group of people. I hope they will be making apps for a very long time to come.

Toca Tea Party is a wonderfully creative app from one of my new favorite developers, Toca Boca. This app creates a lovely interactive tea party environment which has become a huge hit with our entire family.

This is a wonderful iPad app which simulates a tea party for three, be it a child and two adults, a child and two dolls or stuffed animals, or three toys with the help of little hands. This app has been enjoyed in our house in every conceivable way and I can say that my husband, son, and I all love this application.

Being very intuitive, my son needed very little help from me to be able to play tea party by himself and his animal friends. One is given a choice of three tablecloths and different colorful plates that one can mix or match at will as well as a choice of wonderful treats to serve, as well as what I assume are coffee, tea and pink lemonade.

Once all the selections have been made, it is time to gather up the guests and enjoy the party. Tap the desserts to take bites, tap the cups to take a drink. Serve treats when plates are empty, and do top off the cups with whatever you fancy. It was a wonderful surprise the first time a cup was spilled and needed to be cleaned up, and I simply love the way the color of the drink is shown being absorbed into the napkin. Lit candles create a fancy mood which I would never allow in real life, but here it is safe and lovely. Tap to light or put it out, another nice touch from a recent update. Be sure to change the music on the radio as one can listen to an upbeat jazzy selection or a more relaxing and subdued country tune, an element my husband thinks makes this app.

It is fun that when a guest has finished a plate or drink, this app asks for sometime specific for each guest. Feel free to meet this request, or give something of your own choosing. When the plates are empty and the last treat has been served, it is time to do dishes! Drag the empty plates and cups into the dish pan or hold the iPad up for all the dishes to slide into the soapy water. One can also move the dishes around the page before cleaning up as well. The sound effects used for the eating, sipping, even knocking over a cup are cute and fun, adding to the life of this animated app, especially for the toy guests.

This is a true hit with our son, who is obsessed with play food, play kitchens, and play dish sets. He is quite the tea party thrower and often drags little plastic pieces all through the house, changing his party's location, much to our dislike of this. I do not expect this app to take the place of tea parties with real plastic ware, but it is nice that he can play this app on our sofa without losing any pieces as our sofa likes to eat small toys. It is also fun and relaxing to play tea party in bed at night without a huge cleanup.

A born caregiver, my boy really enjoys cleaning spilled cups as this is something he can utterly succeed at, as well as giving a hand to one of his stuffed friends. My son, however, does not have much of a sweet tooth and at first he really wanted to feed bananas to his animals. It would be nice to see some vegetable or fruit choices for those who want something lighter. It would also be fun for milk and sugar to be options in this app as the details of the sugar slowly disappearing and the milk lightening up the coffee or tea, adding even more to look at and play with.

I like that this this app is very open-ended, but there are some basic rules as well, such as serving each plate before one can start eating, or how you must clean up a spill before pouring more to drink. It is also nice how after finishing the desserts, one goes to the dish-washing stage, but it would be good if one could finish their drink first before everything is taken away.

Some kids may also want an endless game where they can select more food after the first round is finished. My son plays this game multiple times in one sitting and enjoys the fact that the tablecloth and plate choices change from party to party, but I do think some kids may want to just select more desserts and keep the game going without any distractions.

This app will be loved by a wide range of children, and I also recommend this application for children with special needs as it is a wonderful way to practice social interactions with other adults, children, or alone by themselves.

Every adult interested in children's app should become familiar with Toca Boca. They know what kids like and they certainly deliver. I hope they come up with many new exciting apps to come.

Helicopter Taxi is a very cool app for iPhone where looking at the iphone screen enables one to see a helicopter hovering about. Walk with the iPhone and your motion, seen through the camera, will create the effect of the helicopter flying right in front of you, and the effect is incredible! Move the iPhone to different angles and watch the screen to see the co-pilots and passenger, as well as the helicopter including looking down and seeing the rotating blades, even seeing through the far window of the taxi. This all creates a wonderful 3D effect that is very eye-catching and like nothing I have seen before.

This helicopter taxi will pick up various passengers, talking them to their destination. Lay the phone on a flat surface to pick up and drop passengers. The player will be clued as to when to put the phone down, but one can also choose to drop off the passengers at will. This effect is very interesting as one looks down at the helicopter, watching the passenger enter or exit the helicopter into a specific landscape, and it is nice that different locations are included, such as beach or hospital.

it is interesting that one of the co-pilots speaks Spanish, something that I think may be confusing for younger non-Spanish speaking children; others may really want to understand what is being said. More English and less Spanish has been included in a recent update, but subtitles or the choice of English or bilingual choices can be offended as well in the future for those still confused by what they are hearing. I also wish one could understand what the passenger is saying, but I can not and I don't think this is intended. I do like, however, the inclusion of Spanish at the end of this app as one pilot says good job and see you tomorrow, this being also translated into Spanish as well by the other pilot, as these last lines can be understand in this context and the player is more focuses and not splitting their attention on walking and watching the helicopter fly.

I love the way this app looks, and it will surely delight children who are into helicopters or airplanes, or any kid for that matter. My only concern is letting my sometimes wild and often clumsy three year old son walk around with my iPhone, while paying more attention to the screen than to where he is walking. This issue aside, this app created a very unique experience that kids will really enjoy, as did my husband who has walked around our house playing with this app, getting his seal of approval as well.

Although this is a taxi, I do think some kids may just want to go on a prolonged joy-ride without any passenger pick-ups or drop-offs - something to think about for the future update.

I am going to keep an eye out for these developers at Toca Boca. They make really fun apps that don’t include keeping score but are simply fun, based on classic toys brought to life in a new way through technology. I can’t wait to see what they do next.