Learn the page, and tile, turning story behind iTunes’ latest hit game Roterra.
Roterra is the hot new fantasy tile-turning game on iTunes, and we had the pleasure to sit down with project lead Suzi Keehn of Dig-IT! Games to dig into all the wondrous details. We’re also happy to present it as the first of our new video interviews! Just click on the video below, watch some beautiful gameplay of Roterra in motion, and learn the story behind this brilliant puzzler:
Elijah is a man who can't stop talking about games, geeky things, and to the chagrin of his colleagues, horrible puns. He's been working as a game journalist for several years now, and in addition to Appolicious, His other work can be found at GameCritics.com, I Need Diverse Games, and The Unabridged Gamer on YouTube. When not reviewing games, you'll probably find him ranting on Twitter, writing, or replaying Dead Space 2 for the zillionth time.
Classic East Asian art meets a mythological mystery in Butterfly’s Dream.
Sometimes, the best gaming experience is a soothing, quiet one. For all the action-packed adventures and strategic challenges available on mobile, it’s always refreshing to find a great contemplative piece. Which is where Butterfly’s Dream‘s beautiful journey comes in. PlumbBun Studios’ brain teaser is equal parts a mystery and variety puzzler. You’ll travel through a scenic Japanese monastery and its surrounding mountains, slowly piecing apart your own amnesia as you encounter fellow travelers along the way. Each step is entwined by curious supernatural happenings following in your wake. It’s a story relatively light on dialogue, letting the world speak for itself. Honestly, that’s for the best, as the world itself is gorgeous.
What's fascinating is the sheer variety of puzzles on display and their use of your phone's capabilities.
It really can’t be overstated just how well Butterfly’s Dream presents its fantastical setting. The user interface elements are carefully limited, letting you primarily engage with the world by intuition while still keeping you on the main path. Elevating it over some Myst likes are its soothing background tracks and gentle animations. You never feel pressured to rush through anything, letting you appreciate the moment. The present conundrum might not be solved in your current sitting, but there’s no shame at putting it down only to come back later.
It really can't be overstated just how well Butterfly's Dream presents its fantastical setting.
As far as the puzzles are considered, I ironically kept expecting more elaborate solutions than the reality presented. You will have moments of backtracking, but given that comes down to a few taps and swipes at most, that’s not a major complaint. There are hints to help you along, though they tend to be on the vague side, and they can be disabled if you prefer to go it on your own. What’s fascinating is the sheer variety of puzzles on display and their use of your phone’s capabilities. What you expect is a simple tapping affair, but expect to make use of your gyroscope, audio cues, and more as you make your way through Butterfly’s Dream. Some land better than others, especially a musically inclined puzzle early on some players may need a guide for. Overall, it’s a pleasant mixture.
You never feel pressured to rush through anything, letting you appreciate the moment.
Butterfly’s Dream doesn’t break the boundaries of puzzle gaming, but it offers one of the prettiest, most pleasant offerings of early 2019. An easy recommendation if you’re looking for a free, artsy game with some unique mobile gameplay ideas.
Our Rating
Pros
Cons
Gorgeous visuals, great sound design, wonderful world to explore.
Hints could be a bit more helpful, and some puzzles require more legwork than others.
Elijah is a man who can't stop talking about games, geeky things, and to the chagrin of his colleagues, horrible puns. He's been working as a game journalist for several years now, and in addition to Appolicious, His other work can be found at GameCritics.com, I Need Diverse Games, and The Unabridged Gamer on YouTube. When not reviewing games, you'll probably find him ranting on Twitter, writing, or replaying Dead Space 2 for the zillionth time.
Roterra’s the new big puzzler on the block. It’s got marvelous ambition and a great gameplay conceit, but does it threaten to fall flat in some areas?
Roterra is a charming game. It’s also a hard one to critique, because it’s more than the sum of its parts. The narrative, while present, is honestly pretty vaguely presented; you’ll only know the fantasy tale it’s based upon if you watched our interview with the project lead. It’s not that the story is hard to understand – it’s a very cute puppet show approach – but it doesn’t offer much context or as clear stakes as it could with just a dash of text or narration.
The puzzles are ingenious, but sometimes the controls just aren't quite where they need to be.
It’s got a beautiful papercraft aesthetic like out of child’s picture book. Everything looks so whimsical that you can’t help but be tickled by the animations on display; however, the lighting could be better, leading to some levels feeling a bit flat. The sound design also varies in quality, carrying a charming whimsy that sadly doesn’t really evolve that much, falling into repetition.
It's got a beautiful papercraft aesthetic like out of child's picture book.
The puzzles are ingenious, but sometimes the controls just aren’t quite where they need to be. Forced camera angles can make certain solutions harder to suss out, or leave vital blocks hard to reach. Nothing’s unbeatable, yet I can’t help but wonder if the game would benefit from some sort of camera or an AR mode where you might physically peer around the environment.
It's also a hard one to critique, because it's more than the sum of its parts.
Yet, I totally see why people fell head over heels for it. Roterra clicks when you least expect it, suddenly presenting some new elaborate scenario that demonstrates the depth of such simply mechanics. The ah-ha moments you experience are worth not spoiling, and Roterra‘s ever-sliding world is one I’d like to see explored again… just with a bit more polish next time.
Our Rating
Pros
Cons
A genuinely refreshing puzzler with some marvelous block-shifting brain-teasers.
Quality of life improvements could be made. Camera perspective can hinder some puzzles.
Elijah is a man who can't stop talking about games, geeky things, and to the chagrin of his colleagues, horrible puns. He's been working as a game journalist for several years now, and in addition to Appolicious, His other work can be found at GameCritics.com, I Need Diverse Games, and The Unabridged Gamer on YouTube. When not reviewing games, you'll probably find him ranting on Twitter, writing, or replaying Dead Space 2 for the zillionth time.
It’s that time again – let’s ring in the new year with the best of 2018! These apps were handpicked by our staff as the best of the best; the pinnacle of their genre that stuck with us long after playing. Whether playing on Android or iOS, you need these installed on your phone and tablet. Without further adieu…
Pako 2
Pako 2 feels like what would happen if you took the very end of every mission of Grand Theft Auto
Pako 2 is the perfect sort of game for every fan of crazy 80’s car chases and chaotic physics games. A melding of everything great about hot pursuits with slick controls leads to what can only be described as truly wonderful madness. It’s got great retro visuals and loads of additional content to unlock, keeping your latest getaway as refreshingly unpredictable as your first. Pako 2‘s breakneck run absolutely worth your time. See our full review here.
Alphabear 2
Words are a powerful thing, especially when they assemble Voltron-like bears to save history. Confused? It’s okay, we all are, but that doesn’t stop Alphabear 2 from being one of the best puzzle games of this year. Going beyond the limits of Scrabble, Alphabear 2 offers wordplay combinations that reward the most astute and swift linguistic aficionados. Whether you want quirky humor or deep puzzles, Alphabear 2 has you covered. See our full review here.
Mouse Bot
MouseBot is one of those games that catches you unassumingly.
Few games were as unexpected as Vector Unit’s Mouse Bot. Who would expect the mobile racing masters would dive into the 3D platforming genre, let alone inject their racing sensibilities into such a quirky new IP. Where many mobile platforming games struggle, Mouse Bot flourishes thanks to a wealth of clever traps to evade, adorable story, and cute as a button graphics that keep you earning cheese for that sweet new robo-mouse skin. A delight for older fans of Crash Bandicoot and young gaming enthusiast alike! See our full review here.
Nishan Shaman
At its surface, Nishan Shaman is a simple musical rhythm game; drum along with the music based on the arrival of the monsters and sit back and relax.
Who expected the year’s best rhythm game to be based on an ancient Chinese myth? Either way you spin it, Nishan Shaman stunned us with its arresting style as we tapped along to the beat, cleansing the world of evil spirits. If your 2018 was a rough year, start off 2019 right to the beat of Nishan Shaman‘s drum. See our full review here.
Infinite West
Infinite West is the turn-based strategy must-have of 2018. Pitch-perfect design, fantastic balancing, a rogue-like structure, slick controls, and endless replayability allow you to live out your cowboy/girl dreams. It’s a simple game, with depth lurking under the surface to always leave you begging for one more run. See our full review here.
See / Saw
See / Saw is everything you could possibly want in a physics-based murder simulator.
Do you have an itch to see tiny geometric test subjects fling themselves through all manner of hilarious, physics based deathtraps? Well, first of all, you should probably join Sam’s Murderous Gamers Anonymous group, and secondly, download See / Saw this instant! While far less gory than the titular franchise referenced in its name, See / Saw is the perfect mix of Super Meat Boy and Portal you’ve been waiting for. With easy controls yet fiendish challenges awaiting, it’s time to tilt your perspective with See / Saw! See our full review here.
Donut County
Like a delicious donut, Donut County's gone so fast that you'll mourn its exit, only to start again.
Donut County is simultaneously one of the most engaging AND relaxing games of 2018. A nominee for the 2018 VGA’s, it stands tall as one of our favorite mobile games of the year thanks to its reverse-Katamari Damacy, town-swallowing shenanigans. Brimming with wondrous scenarios as goofy as they are brain-teasing, it’s hard to not dive back in and replay it as we write this list. It’s more fun than a barrel full of raccoons, and absolutely worth the asking price. See our full review here.
Pavilion
Pavilion is marvelous, and I’d be neglect in my review to delay even a moment to convey this to you.
Few games capture the mysterious beauty of Myst as spectacularly as Pavilion. Presenting players with a 4th-person perspective, nudging the protagonist along through a surrealist landscape, Pavilion is one of the most artistically stunning mobile games of this year. Fans of Monument Valley take note – you will fall in love with Pavilion. Perhaps the most acquired taste of our list this year, but still so enrapturing it’s impossible to pass it up. See our full review here.
Hero Hunters
If you had told me someone was going to create hybrid of Overwatch and Cover Fire, I would’ve called you mad.
For those interested in something less introspective, but just as excellently executed, you’d be hard pressed to find a better mobile shooter than Hero Hunters. Boasting not only slick cover-shooting, but a swath of unique heroes that serve you in both its extensive campaign mode and addictive online multiplayer, Hero Hunters is quite the package. While many a “hero shooter” game has fallen flat in the aim to mimic the subgenre’s best, Hero Hunters rises above to achieve true frenetic, action-packed glory you’ll want to have in your pocket. See our full review here.
Bacon: The Game
Bacon: The Game is perhaps one of the strangest, most freakishly wonderful games to have ever existed.
Yes, a game about bacon released in 2018. Indeed, that game was stupefyingly better than it has any right to be. To describe it is like solving a riddle, as it contains hidden depths amid one of the simplest mechanics in games – the mere act of flipping a piece of bacon. It’s free, it’s amazing, you’ll put bacon on everything, and you’ll be laughing along with us soon enough. See our full review here.
Game of the Year: Card Thief
Card Thief is your new gaming addiction, melding deep stealth tactics with accessible card play.
To be the best mobile game of the year, an app must be accessible yet deep, vividly detailed and engrossing, content filled but not requiring more time than a three minute bus trip to get the full experience. Card Thief encapsulates all of these ideals, evoking the core tenets of Thief and its stealth contemporaries, all in the span of a deck of cards. Easily one of the most refined, replayable, and downright amazing games of this year on any platform, earning a 10 out of 10 from Elijah (a rarity, to be sure), we are proud to name Card Thief as our Game of the Year!See our full review here.
Elijah is a man who can't stop talking about games, geeky things, and to the chagrin of his colleagues, horrible puns. He's been working as a game journalist for several years now, and in addition to Appolicious, His other work can be found at GameCritics.com, I Need Diverse Games, and The Unabridged Gamer on YouTube. When not reviewing games, you'll probably find him ranting on Twitter, writing, or replaying Dead Space 2 for the zillionth time.
In a world full of life threatening food allergies, there should be better apps for families and allergic adults to rely on.
In honor of #FoodAllergyAwarenessWeek, I set out to review the best mobile apps for people like myself who suffer from severe food allergies. It’s a near-invisible but deeply troubling problem that’s unfortunately growing in prominence over the past two decades. As such, you’d think in a market full of niche apps so wide that we have holograms and meditation guidance… that you’d figure we have plenty great food allergy apps, right?
You’d be wrong.
I downloaded some of the reportedly best apps for someone with my condition, and here’s what I found. I’ve included both two that you should absolutely avoid, and the two most useful apps I discovered.
The Worst:
For Kids — Allergy Reality
This is one of several apps that aims to educate your whole family about what is and isn’t safe to eat. It does this with a series of mini-games with varying amounts of relevance, with the best being the simple act of asking players to pick out what food is or isn’t safe based on their allergy, while the worst is an infuriating matching game more likely to annoy a child than inform them.
Then there’s the one asking kids to spell out an allergen’s name in a reversed form of hangman. Nevermind most of the children who will use this app won’t know how to spell “BRAZILIAN NUTS” and also for the record, they’re referred to typically as just “Brazil Nuts”.
To be fair, I discovered another good one where the player has to pick out from what ingredients weren’t safe from an ingredient list on the back of a box, but there’s something you may be noticing – the best mini-games available are things you could just do at home with actual food products. The rest of the mini-games border on bizarre and outright ill-conceived. There’s no relevant lesson here that necessitates downloading the app. But hey, it’s got a theme song and some really strange-yet-boring mini-games, and apparently that’s warranted it being a popular download.
For Adults — Spokin
Did you need a new social media platform that’s really hard to navigate, basically just doubles as an ad platform for a few (your mileage may vary, I saw mostly the same one over and over again) allergen-free brands? I didn’t, but apparently somebody thought we needed one. It seems no one told the developers of Spokin that there’s already dozens of Facebook groups dedicated to this. While there’s clearly good intentions behind this one, it’s only slightly less irrelevant than Allergy Reality.
The Best:
For Kids — Wizdy Diner
Apparently odd names are just a rule of thumb for allergy apps, but at least Wizdy offers a solid effort when it comes to conveying how easily allergens can slip in when you’re eating out at a restaurant. The core gameplay is a typical Diner Dash clone, except now you have to make sure to catch every person’s allergens before telling the chef what to cook up. The parade of customers gets faster and faster, increasing the odds some of your customers might be sent to the hospital if you aren’t careful. Along the way, you upgrade your diner and have to choose what food you have on offer – giving kids a light bit of management, in addition to consequences for if they don’t have allergen-friendly food on the menu.
The game itself is basic, but achieves its goals better than any other child-friendly app that I tried. It’s genuinely possible to give your customers the wrong food order a few times, and the gravity of your actions – while not as severe as they would be in real life – are made clear. There’s even a secondary mini-game on the main menu about educating kids how to use an epinephrine shot. It’s not the most exciting game, but it translates the risks of food allergies at restaurants with the clear, easily understood language of gameplay mechanics. Edutainment done right.
Yes, that’s actually it’s name, but ipiit is one of the more useful apps available. It’s a barcode scanner that can quickly inform you about many common products, and is supported in part by a public database that its users grow by taking pictures of products. The scanner function works fine so long as it knows the product, and if it doesn’t, you can easily take a few pictures and send it off to the app’s developers. It’s a brilliant use of crowd-sourcing that makes perfect sense. You can even specify what your allergen is – but that’s where things go downhill for an otherwise solid app.
You see, ipiit, in all its unpronounceable wisdom, doesn’t feature support for all top 8 major allergens. It can tell you if the food has almonds or gluten, but there’s a laundry list of allergens that need added, and clearly the developers know this because there’s already an automated list for requested allergens. Now, I understand that in this case, it’s a daunting task to keep up with all the allergens in food, but the top 8 should all be in there. By offering such a narrow scope, ipiit feels more like a band-aid in its current state, which is a waste considering all the effort put in. It might spare you one or two phone calls at the grocery store when researching a product on the shelf, but it most certainly needs to grow if someone outside of its current allergen listings is ever to use it. It’s a great app, but there’s way too much missing here.
Now, I want to be clear that these aren’t only the apps I tried, they’re just the most notable. A lot of the apps I tried were either a mediocre alternative of one of the apps listed above, or ineffectual at helping with the realities someone with food allergies faces. As food allergies fast become one of the biggest medical issues of our generation, but we can and should be trying to make things easier for those that suffer from them. While there are social circles and websites that help, that doesn’t mean mobile apps shouldn’t be offering decent alternatives. We need to be able to find a restaurant that’s safe to eat at, if there’s been cross-contamination alerts or ingredient changes in food, and most importantly of all – to know if a product is safe regardless of when customer service hours for the manufacturer run. These are basic quality of life needs that developers can help ease. I hope more answer the call, and present better options for our peers, and the generations to come.
If you’ve heard of any great allergy apps we missed, be sure to let us know @Appolicious!
Elijah is a man who can't stop talking about games, geeky things, and to the chagrin of his colleagues, horrible puns. He's been working as a game journalist for several years now, and in addition to Appolicious, His other work can be found at GameCritics.com, I Need Diverse Games, and The Unabridged Gamer on YouTube. When not reviewing games, you'll probably find him ranting on Twitter, writing, or replaying Dead Space 2 for the zillionth time.
The realm of gaming has gained a negative connotation for distracting children and adults alike from important things such as work and school. This is especially evident in mobile apps which can be taken anywhere and hence brings a new dimension of distractions wherever the users are. To reduce this notion, many games are designed to be educational and help the players learn in the process as opposed to just being repetitive and mind-numbing. With so many games available that meets this need, this article discusses the best ones that are highly engaging and appropriate for all demographics.
One of the best games that are based on the premise of learning is Scrabble which has players spelling a variety of words from their given letters which are randomized. From the classic board game which is one of the most popular in the world, players are able to learn new words every time they play. As Scrabble has players trying to form words which are longer and more complex to gain more points, a significant amount knowledge can be gained in terms of the words themselves as well as the definitions. After a prolonged period of playing, players can expect to be better versed in utilizing new words in a way that is not reflective of learning in a traditional way. Instead, the knowledge is built over a period of time in a highly engaging way, making it one of the best games that have an educational component.
Left Brain Right Brain – Brain Training Games (iOS/Android)
As many people are not mentally stimulated to the full capacity after they have finished school, it is extremely important to continue to improve critical thinking and reaction skills that enhance brain function. An app that aims to help users achieve this is Left Brain Right Brain which uses a series of brain stimulating exercises to improve thinking speed and mental capacity through a series of highly entertaining games. For example, users can play a series of games that include mixing words and colors for quick association, shapes and numbers, as well as games that involve symbol matching. Through offering many levels that are captivating yet prompt users to learn, the game does not feel as though players are doing mundane homework problems, but instead is extremely fun and often regarded as more of an entertaining pastime as opposed to a mechanism to improve brain function. For these reasons, Left Brain Right Brain is one of the most highly recommended games to become smarter through prolonged usage.
Having a good memory can serve to be a significant advantage in many aspects of life from business to personal. As a result, many games have been developed with the sole purpose of helping its users improve their memory in both the short and long term. One such game has been Memory which has players focused on a series of cards and then matching the corresponding matching image with each card. Requiring an immense amount of concentration, players must quickly match the cards which can be letters, numbers, or even images. In doing so, memory can improve after playing the game. Furthermore, users do not plateau in terms of their development as there are various levels of difficulty that progressively gets harder as the players advance. A great memory tool for all ages, Memory is a highly recommended app for increasing memory capacity, especially for students who need to memorize their notes.
Wikipedia is one of the largest sources of information available online. As a website that has hundreds of thousands of detailed pages regarding nearly every subject, it is often referred to as the online library. One app that has creatively gamified the process of browsing Wikipedia pages is The Wiki Game which has players reading a series of articles to get to a goal page. For example, if the starting word is “house” and the goal word is “silver”, users must start at the Wikipedia page for “house” and click on a hyperlink that they think will take them a step closer to the “silver” Wikipedia page. With this example, the player may click the “building materials” hyperlink or a related term. Although this sounds simple, the challenge and learning comes from players having to read the material on each page to find the relevant hyperlink. By reading the information, users are constantly learning about new topics and accumulate more knowledge. As one of the most interesting games to play which can contribute to greater intelligence, The Wiki Game is a highly recommended app to learn more.
One of the oldest games to exist is Chess, a game of strategy and patience, has been the center of many studies regarding its effect on intelligence and learning. Although there has been debate, Chess is recognized as a game that helps to develop critical thinking and planning. Despite being a difficult game to grasp, the goal is to eliminate the opponents King piece before they eliminate your own. However the strategic and planning component of it is where players need to be highly critical and foresee the opponents move in advance. While playing Chess, users do not learn new material or concepts, but instead improve their ability to process information in a new way as well as enhance their reasoning abilities. As a result, Chess is a game that can provide a large amount of value for players of all ages, making it a great tool for long-term development.
Despite the nature of games being associated with wasting time, the ones listed in this article are able to help its players become smarter and more educated. From planning to new words, an entire section of the App Store is dedicated to learning games for all ages. For those who are looking to enjoy the entertainment of games while also learning and developing mentally during the process, these games should be explored instead of games that provide little to no educational value.
Following my passion in the realm of business and entrepreneurship, I am always eager to develop skills that enable me to learn, build, and grow. My previous projects, both academic and personal, reflect my dedication towards expanding and applying my theoretical knowledge for practical results in these fields.
My Town: Pets is a dress-up and pet management simulator that seeks to have the player humming along to a jaunty tune while they dress adorable pets and their owners.
On starting, My Town: Pets straight away puts you with the pets, in their adorable little doggy and kitten homes and no instructions. The immediate reaction is one of utter confusion. What are you supposed to do?
You can lift animals up and then release them; then, you realise you can lift pretty much anything. Anything and everything is able to be lifted and moved around and interact with the environment. Put a kitten on the top of a sheet on a drying pin and it actually bounces. It’s about this moment you realise that there is very little in this game that you can’t do something silly with.
It's about this moment you realise that there is very little in this game that you can't do something silly with.
The main purpose behind the gameplay of My Town: Pets is to take the adorable animals into the various buildings around town and dress them up. After a little confusion as to how you actually pick animals up, you can lift your various and sundry critters and take them to the groomers or tailors. There, you can dress them how you see fit from the variety of hats and garments arranged on mannequins.
My Town: Pets is a dress-up and pet management simulator that seeks to have the player humming along to a jaunty tune while they dress adorable pets and their owners: https://appolicious.com/my-town-pets-jaunty-pets-and-dress-up
Eerily, you can also do the same for anyone in your family group, selectable from a drop-down in the top left. You can drag them onto the screen and play with their facial expressions, change their outfits or just generally build any scene you want with your human and animal characters.
The customizability and variety of options available in My Town: Pets is what makes it so enjoyable; you can dress and bedazzle your playthings in pretty much any fashion you see fit. There isn’t really any limit when using the available businesses to dress.
This confusion melts away nicely once you get into the flow, meaning a smooth transition into enjoyable gameplay, adorable animals and emphatic human characters.
However, it would be nice to have additional types of dressing fascilities or businesses to visit with your various people and animals. The available options are plenty fun, but eventually your people will have visited every available option and closing establishment, with nothing left to do.
Thankfully, the game is still being updated with future clothing and options, meaning there is potentially an unlimited future of possibilities.
The game could certainly do with some form of tutorial or explanation when things are happening, as it is very confusing when you are presented with the whole myriad of options available in My Town: Pets and have no idea what you’re supposed to be doing. It isn’t too difficult to eventually figure out what you’re doing, but without explicit instructinos it is easy to imagine many players getting confused.
This confusion melts away nicely once you get into the flow, meaning a smooth transition into enjoyable gameplay, adorable animals and emphatic human characters.
My Town: Pets is all about building that idyllic scene, the adorable characters and creating a story for all that you can control.
For what it is, My Town: Pets is a great example of its genre; adorable control over a small town.
The gamification of education has made the learning process substantially more entertaining and optimized as opposed to traditional means.
From games that are designed to help with mathematics to learning a new language, the range of apps available can help with nearly any subject that is taught in schools in a creative and fun way. In the realm of learning Arabic, Feed the Monster has been developed by Apps Factory, The Center for Educational Technology (CET), and The International Rescue Committee (IRC) to provide a source of language education for Syrian refugee children living in non-Arabic speaking countries.
With support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the EduApp4Syria Competition aims to promote the development of mobile solutions to provide Syrian children with supplementary learning tools. One such outcome of the competition, Feed the Monster, couples years of research from expert researchers and psychologists in order to bring a language game which is proven to help the learning of Arabic. With challenges that include vocabulary, reading and writing, and sounding games, players can learn a range of skills that they would have been able to in a classroom setting. Embodying a simple interface as well as intuitive graphics that involve a friendly monster, Feed the Monster is perfect for children who are looking to learn Arabic in a creative way even when away from an environment where they can get a formal education in the language. By implementing a comprehensive learning tool, children are able to enjoy the dynamics of playing a game with points and monsters while simultaneously learning how to read, write, and speak the language through levels that become progressively more difficult.
Feed the Monster is able to provide a source of education in situations where a classroom may not be immediately available.
While Feed the Monster is able to provide a source of education in situations where a classroom may not be immediately available, the memory requirements of the app is quiet large at 246MB which can be a straining factor for those who have lower memory capacity on their device. In order to compensate for the large file size, the app is designed to be fully functional without the need for an internet connection or any in-app purchases. With such a wide selection of possible challenges available that can be accessed without an internet connection and for free, players are able to not learn just how to read and write Arabic, but can also learn the pronunciation of words. In this way, the app provides a full learning experience whereas other apps may only focus on one aspect of language building.
With the users in mind, the app has been developed primarily for refugee children who may not have access to learning their native language in a more formal environment. Although issues with war and migration have a negative impact on the accessibility of education to those who are affected, the app aims to mitigate the disruption on the education of children. Even for those who are not directly impacted by the conflict that has displaced millions, the app can be utilized as a learning tool for young children who are just starting to learn the Arabic language.
Following my passion in the realm of business and entrepreneurship, I am always eager to develop skills that enable me to learn, build, and grow. My previous projects, both academic and personal, reflect my dedication towards expanding and applying my theoretical knowledge for practical results in these fields.
While the process of reading is not often regarded as a fun pastime for many, it holds the key for a strong foundation in education and the ability to effectively communicate. With so much to learn in the realm of reading, writing, and spelling, the task to teach a language can be extremely daunting to both the teachers and students. The introduction of game-based learning in the form of an app, however, has shifted the entire process to one that is more entertaining and streamlined for those who are involved. This is especially applicable to many students who may not have immediate access to educational institutions as mobile apps are able to supplement the learning of children at home or while on-the-go.
Antura & the Letters, for example, has been created with the intention of providing Syrian refugee children with a tool that can enable learning of Arabic even when they are in an environment where it is not taught in schools.
As an app that has come out of the EduApp4Syria competition which is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, children are able to learn how to read and write Arabic through a variety of captivating activities that diminish the feeling of traditional learning and instead introduces a fun story to keep children engaged. Developed by Cologne Game Lab, Video Games Without Borders, and Wixel Studios, Antura and the Letters covers the entire primary school curriculum for learning Arabic through a series of quizzes and games. In providing such a broad range of learning mechanisms including a story that takes place across different environments to the progressive discovery of letters, the game is ideal for children who desire to learn in a fun way. Furthermore, the implementation of such learning techniques are backed by researchers and psychologists in the space who ensure that the techniques utilized for teaching the children are highly effective.
Rawan (8) and Rashid (10) are Syrian refugees. They have provided us with valuable feedback on the games in the EduApp4Syria competition. The international EduApp4Syria competition seeks to take advantage of widespread smartphone availability for delivery of an engaging learning supplement for Syrian children – wherever they live.
As the app is 188MB, the only notable drawback is the memory that it requires relative to other language learning apps. However, this is a direct result of the high-definition graphics that the game renders which causes the file size to be larger than average. Although this is a substantial amount of storage, especially for Apple devices as memory capacity cannot be expanded, the quality of the interface recoups the memory requirements of the game.
the game is ideal for children who desire to learn in a fun way
While Antura and the Letters is designed for the millions of Syrian children who are displaced as a direct result of the regional conflict, nearly any child can play the game in order to start learning Arabic. With the noble effort to provide Syrian children who have had their education disrupted by the conflict, all children deserve the right to an opportunity at education which the game provides. Supported by EduApp4Syria, a competition which aims to capitalize on the growing ownership of mobile devices as a vehicle for providing Syrian children with education who may not otherwise have immediate access to a classroom, Antura and the Letters is a must-have for learning the foundations of Arabic in an engaging way.
Following my passion in the realm of business and entrepreneurship, I am always eager to develop skills that enable me to learn, build, and grow. My previous projects, both academic and personal, reflect my dedication towards expanding and applying my theoretical knowledge for practical results in these fields.
Irrespective of age, many people are beginning to see the benefits associated with education-based games. From those that help increase math skills to others which improve literacy in different languages, educative games make it possible for students to discover essential concepts ranging from the counting sequence to computation strategies as well as one-on-one communication. Mathematical games in particular give players the opportunity to explore a combination of number, patterns, and several other key concepts in a space where many students struggle to serve as a significant tool for learning mathematics.
Running Noah, developed by Useappility, is one such game that combines the notion of multiplication into a game that helps students improve their skills.
Fluent recollection of multiplication tables remains a vital prerequisite to the success of any student. Without the instantaneous, sound knowledge of these tables can, to a large extent, slow down the mathematical progress of the student. Although the game is one which is fun and provides a substantial amount of entertainment, the educational aspect creates an opportunity for students to make use of, improve, and expand their reasoning and understanding of mathematics. Through this, students can explore mathematical ideas, notice new relationships, patterns, and strategies.
As the main character, Noah, is walking between islands, players must answer multiplication questions quickly enough so that a bridge between the islands is built for his path. If players fail to correctly answer the question, Noah does not cross the island to get to his boat. Through this, players develop tactics which benefit the fast remembrance of multiplication tables in a way that is engaging as opposed to simply trying to memorize the tables. The imaginary perspective, as well as emotional construct of the game, helps in promoting the engagement and motivation of players. Running Noah provides ensures players utilize their knowledge of times tables in building bridges so as to assist Noah to get to the stranded animals. With time against the player, the only weapon is the player’s multiplication skills and thinking speed.
Global flood has just begun. Use your knowledge of times tables and build bridges to help Noah reach the stranded animals. Fighting against time, your only weapons are your multiplication skills and your speed. Leave no species behind! Keep on practicing, improve your score and top the leaderboard!
Even though the game is about practice, it may appear to be repetitive for those who quickly become good at multiplication. If this occurs, Running Noah will not be as engaging as for those who are just learning. To ensure that this does not happen, the game contains forty-eight levels which are divided into four episodes with difficulty increasing after every level and multiplication problems of up to 12X12. There are 144 bridges to be built and 48 different animal species to be saved in Running Noah. Furthermore, players who become skillful are able to increase their score and rank on the international leaderboard.
Running Noah is one such game that couples math with a fast pace environment in order to apply their multiplication knowledge in a beneficial way.
The release of many mathematics games has occurred with the aim of making learning various concepts interesting. Running Noah is one such game that couples math with a fast pace environment in order to apply their multiplication knowledge in a beneficial way. Playing mathematical games such as this will facilitate strategic thinking as students seek various problems solving strategies and improve their understanding of multiplication.
Following my passion in the realm of business and entrepreneurship, I am always eager to develop skills that enable me to learn, build, and grow. My previous projects, both academic and personal, reflect my dedication towards expanding and applying my theoretical knowledge for practical results in these fields.
Engagement of our little ones in education has been a challenge for majority of parents across the globe. One important being the approach that we have been following. During the early years of education, it is important to keep kids involved in an activity that they enjoy, with the integration of challenges that encourage learning.
Animalia engages kids through a fun story and encourages them to resolve challenges in order to perform activities of kindness. Through this fun interactive story, kids are taken on a journey into a techie jungle where they are introduced to the problems animals face today. The messages passed on through the story revolves around kindness, collaboration, negotiation skills, problem solving and this is all achieved without a glimpse of negativity. The tech aspect of the story introduces children to tools they often see around them and interact with. Kids learn just enough about these gadgets for their age.
Learn with Fun Games and Interactive Story for Kids based in a Techie Jungle. – A revolutionary approach to digital education – Adapted from the popular storybook “The Lion and The Mouse” – Fun mini games to engage the kids while learning – Interesting facts about gadgets kids come across in their daily lives – Challenges to encourage kids explore the story – Kids-Friendly interface The Story The children story about animals in the jungle was originally written in 200 BC is what some say.
The educational story nicely integrates mini-games linked with animals in the jungle as kids progress. These mini-games challenge the pre-math concepts and engage them with other fun activities that kids can relate with. In certain areas, kids also learn animal names and the different sounds they make. Simple visual tips through the app allow kids without the knowledge of the language to navigate through the entire story with very little or no guidance from parents. This not only contributes to the development of a child’s intuitive skills, but also builds their problem solving skills.
To sum it up, the EduGame packs learning of language, morals, pre-math concepts and much more and presents it to the audience in a way that encourages them to pursue education by will and learn through interactive experiences that remain with them for life. While doing this, the messages passed on through the story have been adapted to what matters in the world we live in today.
How can we deal with all those information we meet in every second of our lives? How can we manage to find a way in the jungle of data? We categorize, use stereotypes and associate. Stereotypo, Timur Yakubov’s freshly launched app, spiced with just a perfect amount of sarcasm, will help you to discover if you are all about conventions or can think differently.
What our minds do all day is associating and organizing new information mainly based on stereotypes. It is a quite normal human activity but taking recent social reactions and problems into consideration we might should be careful with them. Steretypo is an entertaining, easy-to-learn yet very engaging application that makes its user go deeper into his stereotypes and associations regarding the simplest phenomenon or even a complex one.
The game consists of different categories and to unlock a new one users need to collect coins and stars. How they can be earned is the essential of the game. There is always a word given with a set of pictures. The task is to select all those pictures that are related to that certain word. Of course not all pictures are related and that is the trick – Stereotypo offers a playful way of showing how people use the same schemes when categorizing but also how much the player has a unique way of perceiving the outside world.
Unlike other association games like Word Wall or Word to Word, Stereotypo offers a multidimensional platform as it combines the verbal and the visual skills instead of focusing only on one of them. World of Stereotypes is another game in the field working with existing categories in our heads but it is limited only to nation and country related stereotypes. The real novelty of Stereotypo is covering a multiple and a very diverse scale of concepts thus highlighting the fact that these stereotypes are existing on every field of our lives.
http://stereotypo.net Life is all about stereotypes and associations. The goal of this game is to match suitable pictures to words. Unleash your inner intellectual! Many tasks in the game require you to really get your brain in gear. Examples of tasks: what does a woman keep in her purse?, night, France, the Oscars, what do people think about when they’re in danger?
The strength of Stereotypo lies in its entertaining and simple characteristics – it is super easy to learn how it works which helps to make the users engaged as they don’t need to suffer with understanding complicated rules despite in the case of many newly developed applications. Also, it is just the ideal game to play on the tram on the way to work as it requires just the right amount of brain activity combined with great graphics to please the eyes as well. Stereotypo is building on the idea that while we all have some common ideas of the world, our thinking is not totally similar which makes the application challenging. At the same time, it is not hard to get stucked on some certain levels which can result in some players giving up on the app.
What really should be pointed out about Stereotypo is the fact that time to time it reminds the player that having different associations – meaning giving the wrong answer – is actually good and makes the person unique and is rewarded by a short message. At the same time this is a small weakness as well: it is rewardable but it does not get rewarded by any coins or stars. At the end what is rewarded is exactly thinking conventionally. Though on the other hand it is true that being able to receive coins for any kind of answer would ruin the game.
All in all, Stereotypo offers a relaxing yet intellectual fun for spare time and boring situations with a spoonful of humor and sarcasm and encouragement to think outside the box.
I work on the field of tech journalism for three years. My favorite topics are tech and media related subjects as I am an enthusiastic user of new media and tech innovations.
