• Editor Rating

  • Rated 4 stars
  • Recommended
$2.99

  • Shape the Village
  • Reviewed by:
  • Published on:
  • Last modified: November 19, 2019
  • Quality
    Editor: 80%
  • Education
    Editor: 90%
  • Entertainment
    Editor: 80%
  • Value
    Editor: 50%
  • Child Friendly
    Editor: 70%

Review Summary:

A bright, happy village greets kids and invites them to play games to create shapes and add their own personal touches to the village, but not without a few quirks.

App Info

Price: [app 728130520] {price}
AppStore User Rating: {stars}[/app] Download on the App Store

Overview

As kids explore this new animated village, they have the opportunity to add their own personal touches. Wiggling shapes invite them to play games where they draw shapes. Those shapes turn into silly creatures who are added to the village for kids to see as they play. Parents have the ability to control the type of games kids play, but since most focus on similar skills, there’s not much need. Instead, they should keep the games open to maximize the fun kids can have as they play.

Features include:

  • 16 games
  • Animated characters
  • Special parental controls

Quality

Happy background music, bright colors, and animated animals, vehicles, and other objects greet kids when they first enter the village. While no instructions appear to tell kids what to do, parents will find clear instructions in the parent’s corner and can use those to help kids get started. Most kids will need a little help as the game can be confusing and slow to respond, making it hard for kids to know if they’re getting it right.

Education

Shape the Village goes beyond simply teaching kids to draw circles, triangles, and other basic shapes. While many activities revolve around having kids trace these common shapes, they do so in the context of activities around the village. For example, kids may open pipes or plant seeds in the shape of a triangle or draw a circle that creates a fish. This helps kids begin to see how shapes appear in the world around them.

Entertainment

Since kids interact with animations within the village, the activities feel less like educational activities and more like fun games. Even when they aren’t playing a specific game, kids will enjoy tapping around the village to see the outlines of shapes appear and see the different animations react. Of course, this can also be a downside, as kids may click on an animation expecting it to bring up a game, but not all do.

Value

Kids will find 16 different games, but many of those games are simple and only take around a minute to play. So while there is a lot to do, it feels like it gets done very quickly and may make parents wish there was a little more.

Child Friendliness

Parents can find detailed instructions for how to use the app and play the games, but kids will not find any written or verbal instructions. Instead, Shape the Village focuses on non-verbal communication. When it comes to playing the games themselves, this works well, but it may frustrate kids as they try to find the games hidden within the village.

A bright, happy village greets kids and invites them to play games to create shapes and add their own personal touches to the village, but not without a few quirks.

$2.99
Editor rating
Rated 4 stars