Archive for the ‘Games’ Category
Have kids? Have iPhone/iPod Touch? So you need Sesame Street apps
Posted on February 20th, 2010
Sesame Street has a whole set of applications made for iPhone/iPod Touch. These apps are very high in production, really well put, with exclusive videos and fun games. A budget most of independent apps do not dispose. The difference in budget do enhance the apps in terms of finishing, but an app isn’t necessarily great just because of the budget. We do have lots of apps that are really creative and catching for kids without famous characters (see our TOP 10 APPS list).
Still, if you have little kids, an ‘Elmo’ app is certainly something you outta have on your device. So let’s go to a quick guide of Sesame Street apps for iPhone/iPod Touch devices.
By the time this review was published there were 6 Sesame Street apps for iPhone/iPod Touch out there: 4 books and 2 games.
All the books follow the same structure familiar to other interactive iPhone books for kids: the ability to read it yourself or be read to and record your own voice-over. Featuring our favorite characters (Elmo, Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Oscar) they have great Sesame Street-like stories.
As for the games, we have ‘Elmo’s Monster Maker’ and ‘Grover’s Number Special’.
‘Elmo’s Monster Maker’ is a really well put ‘make your monster game’, with the traditional parts-combination drill. Choose head, eyes, nose, and hat to make your own monster. The catch here is that, after you create your monster it comes to life in video, and you can choose to have it dancing, interacting with Elmo and even taking his picture. Ideal for kids from 1 to 3.
Grover’s Number Special is great fun. With a game of ’tilt and catch’, you need to grab the ingredients to make a meal. Lots of videos on this too, with a more exciting although more complex interaction. Ideal for kids 3 and up.
The apps range from $1.99 (books) to $3.99 (games). Certainly worth having a couple on your device.
Sesame Street: The Playgroung, by Sesame Street Workshop Apps. $1.99
Sesame Street: 123 Sesame Street, by Sesame Street Workshop Apps. $1.99
Sesame Street: The Firehouse, by Sesame Street Workshop Apps. $1.99
Sesame Street: The Fix-it Shop, by Sesame Street Workshop Apps. $1.99
Sesame Street: Elmo’s Monster Maker, by Sesame Street Workshop Apps. $1.99
Sesame Street: Grover’s Number Special, by Sesame Street Workshop Apps. $1.99
Mandy and Andy go Renovating
Posted on February 7th, 2010
For those who like to keep a library of interactive books on your iPhone here is Mandy and Andy Renovating, a cute interactive story of two cats who go on great adventures! The book can be read to or read for in three languages: English, French and Simplified Chinese. An interesting book app to have on your collection. Price is a little higher than other similar apps but it is still an excellent price considering what you get in return.
Mandy and Andy Renovating, from BeiZ Ltd. $1.99
Let your baby DJ
Posted on January 31st, 2010
DJ Baby is a well put, nicely developed simple app for playing DJ. Some loops and different sounds, a turntable for scratching and, there, you’ve got yourself a little DJ set. Fun to play with for a while, and do some little music in a very straightforward way.
The app is now on sale, so go ahead and spend those cents for your kid to have some music fun.
DJ Baby, by Comet Coast Software. 99¢
More from the developer’s site:
Your child can play a track and mix in samples & scratches created specifically by our very own “DJ Daddy”. Change records on the animated turntable and enable 3 bonus scratch sounds for each record. A hidden easter egg is waiting for your little DJ to discover. Hint: Shake it! (iPhone Only)
Your child can explore and discover new combinations of sounds and have fun doing it!
DJ Baby is great for kids…
- Experiment with music and sound!
- Interact with a wild, fun and colourful game!
Hours of fun and entertainment!
Canupa Animals’ Band
Posted on January 28th, 2010
The Canupa Band Deluxe iPhone/iPod Touch app is cute, fun and really well put. Choose between a series of different animals and instruments to play with in a fun and educational way. Limited notes on the instruments are a help for easy compositions. The illustrations look great and there is always something funny to be expected from the little animals.
Canupa Band Deluxe, by Canupa. 99¢ (or look for the free ‘lite’ version)
Lifeboat Luke comes to the AppStore (+ promocodes!)
Posted on January 7th, 2010
So here’s LifeBoat Luke’s iPhone app version! The great series of 52 5-minute cartoon episodes that are now being transformed into apps, with episode 1, ‘Rubberduckadoo’ already out and more to come.
You can choose to simply watch the episode or play a search and find game looking for objects within the movie. For the ones who didn’t know Lifeboat Luke (we didn’t!), it is a beautiful designed cartoon, with cute characters and great animation exploring the world of the seas (see video bellow). Certainly worth having on your kid’s repertoire!
LifeBoat Luke Spotisode 1: Rubberduckadoo, by Straandlooper Animation. $ 1.99
But wait! We’ve got promocodes! First 5 commenters will get the codes. Hurry up!
From LifeBoat Luke’s iPhone app press release:
iPhone ‘first’ for Lifeboat Luke.
Straandlooper Animation, the Northern Ireland based production company, announced what it believes to be a first today, the rollout of their exciting 52 part animated kids TV series Lifeboat Luke, as interactive games called ‘Spotisodes’. Available for the iPhone and iPod Touch they will be released every Friday throughout the year on the iTunes App Store.
Friday 1st January 2010 sees the release of Spotisode 1 ‘Rubberduckadoo’.
The new games give players the opportunity to watch episodes of Lifeboat Luke interactively, ‘spotting’ a number of set items that appear throughout the story. If they tap the screen to select each item and get them all right, they release a password which will unlock exclusive Lifeboat Luke colouring pages online at www.lifeboatluke.tv.2010 is the centenary year of the Lifeboat in the real life town of Donaghadee on the County Down coast in Northern Ireland and since Lifeboat Luke is set in the mad, magical seaside town of Donaghadoo – marking the centenary of the real Lifeboat with the release of the weekly Spotisodes featuring its fictional counterpart seemed like perfect timing.
The games are designed to keep young minds busy and fingers nimble, the mobile format making them perfect for long journeys or keeping idle hands occupied during shopping trips.
The featured stories follow the search and rescue adventures of Lifeboat Luke and his crew and introduce young audiences to sea and water safety issues. Made in association with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the charity that saves lives at sea in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, a percentage of all profits go towards helping the volunteer crews of the RNLI.
More about Lifeboat Luke:
Lifeboat Luke is an animated series of 52×5 minute episodes. The search and rescue adventures for 4-7 year olds and their salty grandparents has now sold to over 25 broadcast territories around the world with other territories joining during 2010.Other products released in 2009 included:
- Shared reading book ‘Rubberduckadoo’
- DVD – ‘Donaghadoodle 1’
- iApp- ‘Keek on a Crab’ (available from iTunes.)
A new half-hour seasonal ‘special’ Snowdiddleyhohohelp! is in preparation for release Christmas 2010.
Further books and DVDs are also planned.
Lola’s Flag Adventure: it’s time to learn the flags!
Posted on January 6th, 2010
Lola’s Flag Adventure is a memory game with flags for images. The largest countries of Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific are covered here and the game comes with different levels of difficulty which makes the app accessible to the little kids. Great design and nice voice guidance in English and Chinese (simplified). It is certainly a great chance to learn the flags while playing!
Lola’s Flag Adventure, by BeiZ. $1.99
Description from the developer’s site:
Lola’s Flag Adventure – First high quality flag game especially for kids is now available!
Now you can have fun and learn the world flags together with little Lola panda in two challenging flag games: Memory (4-9 years) and Trivia (+6 years). The game introduces the flags of the world biggest countries with high quality voice guidance and colorful graphics that make the gaming experience exiting and rewarding for all the children around the world. Lola show you that learning can be fun!
Main features:
- Two game modes to learn the flags: Memory and Trivia
- High quality voice guidance throughout the game
- Easy-to-use game design for children
- Flags of the biggest countries from Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific
- Language options: English and Simplified Chinese
- Supports iPhones OS SDK 2.2.1 or later
Circus Find: Where’s my nose?!
Posted on January 6th, 2010
Here’s an app explores a theme not much talked about: the circus! In this cute app, the clown loses his nose and we have to help him find it throughout the circus. It is an interactive search and find game with great illustrations and music. It has become rapidly one of my 3 yo. favorites. He has been playing with it over and over since we have it installed!
From the same developers, you may also find ‘Where’s Gumbo‘, another search and find interactive game. But Circus Find is a huge improve in all terms. Certainly worth the buy!
Circus Find, by Jacob Favre. ¢99 (reduced price for a limited time)
Here’s a quote from the developers:
Things aren’t always what they seem in this Circus tent! Created by a mom and a dad, Circus Search is a fun, interactive book that gets kids thinking about the world a little differently. Join us inside the big top as we search for our clown’s missing nose — You never know where it will turn up!
Entertain your children while encouraging problem solving skills, shape recognition and fine motor development.
• Push the elephant on his balance ball
• Pop some balloons
• Watch the tightrope walker try to stay balanced
• Light the fuse and watch the human cannon-ball blast off!
• and much, much more!Circus Find encourages children to explore each scene before revealing the big picture. Everything isn’t always what you think it is when you only see a small part of the scene, and as a parent, you can help encourage creative thinking and problem solving by having your child guess what’s next.
Touch, explore and discover all the amazing things this circus has to offer!
