This Week Top 5 Game Apps For Kids with MASHABLE Reviews
$0.99
Ages 3-up
Jaw-droppingly cool, this augmented reality (AR) app requires a camera equipped iOS device and a copy of the $18 printed book: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. After the app is installed, you turn on your camera, open to a page and watch the sentences come to life, swirling around your head -- in your room.
Ease of use: 9/10
Educational: 8/10
Entertaining: 10/10
$1.99
Ages 6-10
Practicing math facts (+, -, x and / up to grade 5) is a lot more fun when the answers pop up in a pile of smoldering rubble, complete with people who need to be saved. Making a rescue involves some simple math and a number line. Correct answers are rewarded with a simple animated routine.
Ease of use: 10/10
Educational: 8/10
Entertaining: 8/10
$13.99
Ages 8-up
You can't afford a trip to the Egyptian Pyramids, right? Here's a $14-no-passport option. You start with a helicopter view of the of the pyramids, tombs and the Sphinx. As you "fly" around the map, you can tap, pinch or zoom your way past the door, deep inside each tunnel, complete with your own tour guide. Don't miss the "then" and "now settings" on some of the paintings, and the 3D view of Tutankhamun’s mask.
Ease of use: 8/10
Educational: 10/10
Entertaining: N/10
Free
Ages 8-up
Ready to be dazzled by some out-of-this-world ideas? This is the free, teaser version of Solar Walk (CTR July 2010) which lets you zoom in on just one of the nine planets -- the rest are offered as an in-app sale. You can travel between Saturn and its moons (Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys and Dione) and speed up or slow down time with a simple swipe. The view is amazing.
Need to know: This app teases you with content that you can see, but you need to pay to play with. Still, it's free, and you can get the entire solar system for an additional $.99.
Ease of use: 8/10
Educational: 10/10
Entertaining: N/10
$1.99
Ages 2-7
Jigsaw puzzle apps abound. But few are as beautiful or as fun to play as this one. Designed in Romania, the colorful app contains 13 shape/color/sound puzzles that were inspired by stacking toys of the variety you'd find on a shelf in a preschool. Each part is shown in 3D, and they give a satisfying "snap" when they pop into place.
Need to know: There's plenty of room for trial and error ... mistakes simply drop to the bottom of the screen, which makes experimenting fun.
You can toggle the background music or sounds, and there's a nice challenge range.
Ease of use: 10/10
Educational: 10/10
Entertaining: 9/10
