The Gamer With Kids

Animal Zoo Matching is the latest children’s matching game from developer Minimax Games. This is their 3rd matching game they’ve come out with and it’s arguably their best so far. As you can tell by the title, the game features animals that you would mostly find at the zoo. What makes Animal Matching Zoo different from their previous matching games is the inclusion of a new mode. The game now features Mystery Mode which I’ll explain later but it makes the game a lot more challenging for children, especially those who think standard matching games are too easy.

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Wombi is known for their family friendly children’s games and apps and their latest entry, A Fact Every Day, continues this trend. A Fact Every Day is just as you would expect it to be. It’s an app that presents 1 new fact every day for an entire year. That means that the app contains 365 days worth of new facts for children to learn. That’s a lot of facts and more than I’ve seen on similarly styled apps.  A Fact Every Day also goes above and beyond some similar apps with with the inclusion of voice overs for all the facts as well as illustrations and not just text.

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Moobaa is a children’s app from developer Reflx. It is a simple app designed for very young children who are just learning about animals and their corresponding sounds that they make. Moobaa features art from Danish artist Pia Olsen with animations done by Reflx.

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Off the Leash is a brand new game from developer Big Pixel Studios. They are not new to iOS as their past hits include Land-a Panda and Piyo Blocks 1 & 2. If you’ve played those games before, you’re also familiar with the art style that Big Pixel Studios has and Off the Leash continues their tradition of using cell shaded, pixel-like graphics. Like their previous game, Land-a Panda, this game too has a very interesting story line. There’s a new Chief of Police in town, and he’s put a ban on dogs, ordering them all to be captured! It’s your task to outrun those pesky cops and evade capture, whilst trying to rescue as many of your doggy pals as you can. The game is basically an endless running style game that is broken up in to different levels, each with a time limit. Make it to the end before time runs out and you’ll advance to the next level. Avoid capture and see how far you can run.

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We are big fans of Big Pixel Studios games as they always have such great art work and graphics in their games. It also doesn’t hurt that their games are also pretty fun and family friendly. Their latest game, Off the Leash is a completely new game type from them. It again features some really good pixel like graphics but the gameplay this time is base on the endless running style games.

Story:

“There’s a new Chief of Police in town, and he’s put a ban on dogs, ordering them all to be captured! Off The Leash puts you in control of one particular doggy outlaw, Steve the Golden Retriever. Steve is quietly watching TV when he gets his door smashed down by the cops who are ready to lock him up. He jumps out of the window and sets off running through the park, at which point you must tilt your device to control him, avoiding obstacles, rescuing other dogs, and ultimately evading police pursuit!”

Be on the look out for Off the Leash when it arrived to the App Store this February. If it’s as good as their previous games, you’ll not want to miss out.

Brisksaber is a new game from developer Flying Wisdom Studios that helps promote the upcoming re-release of  Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace in 3D and sponsored by Lipton Brisk ice tea. Brisksaber is described as a lightsaber simulation app. You choose either to join the light side or the dark side of the force and must slash away all your enemies. The game is similar to the game Fruit Ninja where objects pop up fro the bottom of the screen and you must swipe your fingers across them to slash them. Slashing more than 1 object yields a combo while slashing one of your “friend” objects causes you to lose a lige. If you’re a Star Wars fan, you’ll probably want to download this game, even if you’re not an Episode 1 fan.

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If you’re searching for a new casual game that will help pass the time, Temple Run by developers Imangi Studios might just be what you’re looking for. It’s one of those endless running type games except that instead of being a 2D game that runs from side to side, its a 3D experience that will get you swiping and tilting like a mad man. In the game, you play as an adventurer who just stole a priceless idol from the temple. You are being chased by a band of killer monkey creatures and most run for your life. Avoid obstacles and traps while collecting coins and see how far you can run. Randomly generated maps each time you play means Temple Run will keep you busy for hours.

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Games for Kids is a collection of kid friendly games from developer Wombi. Wombi is no stranger to developing child-friendly games as  their entire portfolio of apps consists of these. Games for Kids consists of 6 educational and fun games – Guess the Word, Odd One Out, The Sorting Game, Memory, The Parade, and Jigsaw Puzzle. The games are geared towards young children so they aren’t terribly hard at all. They are quite easy to play and perfect for those children who are just starting out. Like their other games, Games for Kids also features very child friendly art as well as a friendly voice for the narration and lots of fun sounds.

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Cannonball Bounce is a physics based puzzler from indie developer Michael Wildermuth. The object of the game is simple, shoot a cannonball and try to get it to his the target. It sounds easy but between you and the target lies many obstacles that stand in your way. Since the game is physics based, you’ll be able to bounce your cannonball against walls and try to angle your way to the target. It’s very challenging especially with all the different kinds of objects and obstacles there are in the game.

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2012 is a new year and since the holidays just passed, I’m sure a lot of you received either an iPhone 4S or an iPod Touch. Either way, you’ll want to make use of the build in camera on these devices since they both do a decent job of taking everyday pictures. These 6 apps are my most used photo apps of 2011. I chose these because they are all unique in their own way and each do tasks that the others do not. My favorite however of the bunch is Instagram due to its social networking aspect and ability to view photos from all around the world from its many users.

These 6 I chose because I used them the most in 2011. That may change in 2012 as I’m always on the look out for new apps and obviously if a better app comes out, old apps get replaced.

Instagram – (Free) - Pick from one of several gorgeous filtered effects or tilt-shift blur to breathe a new life into your mobile photos. Transform everyday moments into works of art you’ll want to share with friends and family. Share your photos in a simple photo stream with friends to see – and follow your friends’ photos with the click of a single button. Every day you open up Instagram, you’ll see new photos from your closest friends, and creative people from around the world.

Squara – ($1.99) - Over 10,000 presets can be created by combining 19 special effects, 6 adjustment effects, 12 borders and 11 light-leaks(19 x 6 x 12 x 11). All of these outstanding effects can be applied with simple swipe operation or shuffle button. In addition, the filter combination can be saved in user presets, which can be applied again anytime.

Halftone – ($0.99) - Halftone goes beyond typical “photo filter” apps to give images a unique, vintage style that makes them look like they came from an old comic strip. With 27 paper styles, nine built-in layouts, two caption styles, six different speech balloon styles, more than 25 stamps, and the ability to choose a font (including three embedded fonts), photos can be customized, then saved to the photo album, sent via e-mail, shared with friends on Facebook and Twitter, sent to other apps like Instagram, Camera+, and Color Splash, printed, and sent as a real, physical postcard!

Label Box – (Free) - Labelbox helps you highlight areas, label items in your photo in an artistic, creative and fun way. You can even use different labels to create frames inside your photo.

Frame Magic – ($0.99) - Combines multiple photos into one beautiful and elegant framed photo.

Pixlr-O-Matic – (Free) - Turn your photos into cool looking vintage images – editing is as easy as one, two, three.  With this fun and simple darkroom app, you can layer filters, lighting and borders to get that retro grunge look in three simple steps. So many options to choose from, there are 25,000 possible finishes for any one image!

Monsters & Bones is a new puzzle type game from indie developer RatSquare. This is one of those games that attaches a rather unique story to the gameplay. In the game, you play as an alien in his ship and are tasked with transporting monsters around the play area looking for food. There are different creatures scattered around each level and each only eat a specific thing. Basically you’ll have to follow the rules of the food chain in this one. You can either transport the “food” to the monsters or the monsters to the “food.” It doesn’t matter how you do it, just feed them before they starve. Along the way, you’ll encounter pitfalls that will get in your way and try to destroy your ship and your mission.

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Doodlecast for Kids is a new drawing app from zinc Roe and part of the Tickle Tap App series for kids. The main focal point of this app is that it is a fun and creative way for children to express themselves through art and voice. You see, Doodlecast for Kids is no ordinary drawing app. What it does differently is that it allows your child to record the entire picture making process as well as allowing them to record their voice at the same time. That means they can talk about the whole process of making their creation. It adds a real story behind the creation which is a really unique feature.

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Here’s a new learning app from Amaya. This is a kid’s drawing app that teaches them step by step how to draw a variety of different, simple objects. Sure, they’re learning how to draw from a template but usually starting out this way builds confidence in their art ability and they’ll soon be able to draw more on their own. Drawing for Kids is available now in the App Store for $1.99.

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How would you guys like to know about an easy way to get free paid apps that works? I’m not talking about cheap little freebie apps that you will only play a couple times but real apps that you actually want. I discovered this website called FreeMyApps.com. What it is is a site where you try out apps that they list and get credits for trying them out. After you’ve accumulated enough credits, you can trade those in for popular paid apps like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, and Bejeweled.

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Paddington Bear is a new storybook app from HarperCollins Publishing. The app features the classic story of Paddington Bear that has been loved by many children for over 50 years. Now, there is a way to enjoy Paddington Bear on your iPad with a new interactive storybook app.  The app features classic stories with original artwork and animations. What differentiates this app from others is that it is possible to video record yourself reading the story so that your child can play it back whenever they want. This means that it’s a more personal telling of the story and isn’t just an anonymous narrator.

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