3 TV-based apps kids will love
When your kids get hooked on a TV show, they love playing with the characters from that show. That's why there are so many TV-based apps for kids. But the presence of a beloved character doesn't guarantee the app will be good. Here are three apps that have great game design and also feature your kid's favorite characters.
PBS Kids, best for ages 3-6, $2.99, iPad
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)
Featuring the stars of the Peg + Cat PBS Kids show, this app places the dynamic duo into situations where Cat has climbed a tree, and is now stuck. Peg needs the player's help to devise clever solutions that enable Cat to climb down out of the tree. The tree-stranding happens in six locations and, at each, kids will solve five puzzles.
Why this app is good: While Cat repeatedly gets stuck in trees, the affectionate relationship between Peg and her pet Cat remains constant. The app features both common and far-out locations by having the characters face tree-climbing problems in Peg's backyard and on a farm, but also in a dinosaur-filled valley and on the stage of a Broadway theater show. At each location, the puzzles offer different materials for solving the increasingly difficult puzzles. At one site, kids learn to place boxes of differing heights in an order to create steps. In another, they water plants to make them grow to heights that resemble a stairway. By exploring this app, kids use both math and logical thinking. Click here for more good apps that promote logical thinking.
Bonus tip: PBS Kids also just released a great app based on the Odd Squad TV show called Odd Squad: Blob Chase. Click here to read my review.
Blaze and the Monster Machines
Nickelodeon, best for ages 4-6, $3.99-$6.99, Android, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)
Blaze and the Monster Machines is based on the new hit show on Nick Jr. of the same name. Starring the red monster truck Blaze and his 8-year old driver AJ, the two enter races in three different locations. Kids join in on the high-speed driving by controlling Blaze as he whizzes through 45 races. Players can also build their own race courses and then take Blaze out for a spin on the track that they designed.
Why this app is good: Each race starts out with a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) mini-lesson and then incorporates the learning into the course. For example, when learning about adhesion, the track features patches of something sticky to avoid. Kids will also hear about acceleration, traction, force, magnets and other science nuggets. Even the power-ups earned within a race relate to STEM learning, such as tire chains to deal with slippery spots. While racing, young truck enthusiast don't have to deal with acceleration and braking; rather, they swipe their finger to move Blaze into the best of three paths.
While Blaze and the Monster Machines is a fun racing app, it stands out from other racers because kids can design their own tracks. Players draw a path for the track; and then drop and drag extras such as speed boosts, collectible hubcaps and obstacles into their designs. Then, kids rev up Blaze's engine and race him over their track hoping to attain acceleration domination.
Bonus Tip: For kids who love all-things-cars-and-trucks, click here for a list of other great vehicle-themed apps for kids.
Adventure Time Game Wizard — Draw Your Own Adventure Time Games
Cartoon Network, best for ages 9-14, $4.99, Android, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Rating: 4 stars
Platform puzzling and game designing pair up in this fun app based on the Adventure Time TV show on Cartoon Network. Human boy Finn and talking dog Jake stumble upon a magical book and pencil that allow them to draw sketchy versions of themselves into game levels. The two quickly discover that this game designing isn't all fun and games when a wacky Doodle Wizard arrives to wreak havoc. Kids have three play options: explore the platform puzzles levels created by Finn and Jake; design their own platforming puzzles; and play levels created by other players who have shared their designs in the Arcade.
Why this app is good: The pre-made puzzle levels feature the voice talent from the show and are fun, standard platforming fare. Players jump, double-jump, climb, collect items, whack baddies and avoid obstacles in their quest to reach the level's exit. This app moves from good to great by allowing the player to easily design their own game levels. Kids have a choice of building their new game levels within the app or going to www.atgamewiz.com to download a Starter Kit that uses paper and pen. With the latter, the game design is scanned into the app. Kids can share their levels in the Arcade, and learn from others by downloading other user-created levels.
Bonus tip: If your kids love being "makers," click here for a list of other exciting apps where kids create content.
Jinny Gudmundsen is the Editor of www.TechwithKids.com and author of iPad Apps for Kids, a For Dummies book. Contact her at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her @JinnyGudmundsen.