Your children will love these games and you may just love them as well!
You’ve probably gathered already that I travel a lot with my kids… which means lots of great experiences for us all, but it also means long car rides, plane trips and quite a bit of waiting around in airports.
Technology usually comes to the rescue and these days (at least in my family) it’s usually in the form of an app. My iPhone is of course not really there for me to make calls on, and the kids’ iPods aren’t really for listening to music. They’re both for playing games.
And I suppose apps are a lot cheaper than Nintendo DS games and more portable than a home computer so I thought I’d research a few of the best and share them.. so here is my Top 10.
Games
App name: Fruit Ninja
Age: 4+
Price: $1.19
Description: Using their finger as a blade, kids get to swipe various pieces of fruit that fly up in the air, chopping them in half. In classic mode, they have to avoid bombs as well. This game can be addictive and is good for hours of quiet fun. Free and lite versions available. Created in Australia.
App name: Doodle Jump
Age: 4+
Price: $1.19
Description: Another ‘insanely addictive’ game sees your kids guiding Doodle the Doodler – using tilt controls – on a journey up a piece of graph paper, picking up jet packs, avoiding black holes and blasting baddies. The most downloaded iPhone app of all time is available on iPad too.
App name: Angry Birds
Age: 4+
Price: $1.19
Description: If you haven’t heard of Angry Birds you probably haven’t got a computer. The story works like this: Evil green pigs have stolen these birds’ eggs and are now hiding out in their castles. It’s up to you to make these pigs’ lives miserable using little blue, red, yellow and black birds and a giant sling shot. And of course different birds have different powers. Free and lite versions available.
Entertainment
App name: The Moron Test
Age: 4+
Price: $1.19
Description: Tap, twist and shake your way through challenges as you prove yourself a genius. One of the most downloaded apps of all time. My kids love it.
App name: Squiggles
Age: 4+
Price: $5.99
Description: This Take one of your own photos or an image and doodle on it. There are “stickers” to stick and drawings to draw. Good creative fun.
App name: Story Patch
Age: 4+
Price: $1.19
Description: This amazing app lets kids create their own picture books. There are hundreds of images to choose from or they can import their own pictures. Hours of fun for kids old enough to read and write.
Books
App name: Treasure Kai and the Lost Gold of Shark Island
Age: 4+
Price: $5.99 AUD
Description: Send kids on a treasure hunt for gold with this choose-your-own-adventure-style storybook app. Ranked in the “Top 10 Most Original” iPad Books by Digital Storytime, it’s a great app for travelling because there are multiple ways to find the gold so kids read/play over and over again. A great way for kids to have fun reading. Created in Australia.
App name: Animalia
Age: 4+
Price: $5.99 AUD
Description: A classic Australian hardback book is even more fun to explore in digital form with over a hundred items scattered through the artwork for kids to find. Plus there are other interactive things to check out. This highly rated app will keep kids busy in the backseat for ages. Created in Australia.
Educational
App name: Rocket Math
Age: 4+
Price: $1.19
Description: With over 56 mathematical missions, kids get to build rockets as they conquer maths challenges. I’m amazed at how often my son plays with this – apparently maths is fun.
App name: Moms With Apps
Age: 4+
Price: FREE
Description: A free catalogue of Family Friendly apps of all ages and types.
And there’s more recommendations from Apple: Apps for Moms and Dads
Yes, the iphone is great for games when you are travelling – especially for when the kids are just fed up with the plane and you need to get them over the hump. (And I agree cheaper than the DS). On our recent holiday ”Angry Birds” was very popular and also ”Water?”
Angry Birds was popular with our kids but it looks like “Cut the Rope” and “Blocks” is the flavour of the month. Though we have also been showing some great skills away from the iphone in the classic game UNO and traffic rush.