Page: Best free and discounted apps for kids for arcade games
Best arcade games for kids.
Playing on the iPhone or iPad can be entertaining and fun but also can be a good eye-hand coordination practice and teach logical thinking. It also keeps your children busy while waiting or during a long road trip. There are plenty of classic games suitable even for the youngest kids.
We picked only the best arcade games for your kids iPhone or iPad – below you can see the results.
Best for: Games, Attention & concentration, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Thinking & problem solving, Understanding of the world
What it is: the kids version of the 'natural physics' arcade game.
What you do with it: try to put out the fires with a water sprayer, overcoming more or less absurd (but funny) obstacles.
What we liked: good graphics, great load of humor, high 'fun factor', easy operation, no time limits. The game is really well suited for kids (if you feel your kid needs to play games at all).
What we didn't like: limited number of levels. Some of the levels are more difficult than others. The 'real physics educational factor' should be consider rather as a gimmick. The navigation could be a little easier.
Best for: Games, Attention & concentration, Eye-hand coordination
What it is: an arcade game requiring attention and good eye-hand coordination with 100 levels and 2 difficulty settings.
What you do with it: tilt the device to help the witch collect ingredients for hers spells. Avoid touching mushrooms and voodoo dolls.
What we liked: simple gameplay, humor and fun factor, sound backgrounds and sound effects.
What we didn't like: not much educational value. We would like to see an alternative set of on-screen controls (for kids, tilting the iPad can be a bit difficult). Some sort of voice feedback would make this app even more appealing to kids. GameCenter integration should be optional.
Best for: Games, Attention & concentration, Eye-hand coordination
What it is: a simple arcade game requiring attention and good eye-hand coordination.
What you do with it: find the required object among other objects and 'feed' it to the pig as quickly as you can.
What we liked: simple gameplay, nice graphics, fun factor, a very good multiplayer mode (e.g. a child playing against his parents).
What we didn't like:may get boring quickly as there is not much variety in the 'tasks'. Even the slower level may be too fast for children with average eye-hand coordination. Rather limited educational value. Some parents may find the 'fun' part objectionable (you feed the Pigster items like old shoes, crayons, TVs, socks etc.).
Best for: Games, Attention & concentration, Eye-hand coordination, Thinking & problem solving
What it is: a simple arcade game (4 scenes, 24 levels) requiring attention and eye-hand coordination.
What you do with it: help the cat shoot down the birds, watch out for stones, tree stumps and other obstacles.
What we liked: simple graphics, 'real game' experience. Good for attention and eye-hand coordination practice.
What we didn't like: limited educational value. We wish there was more variety (can get boring pretty fast).
Note to the parents: before buying, try the free version of the game and decide if this type of 'humor' (shooting birds down using mice as projectiles) is appropriate for your child.
Best for: Education, Attention & concentration, Early math, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Thinking & problem solving
What it is: multiplication and estimation practice in a game-like environment.
What you do with it: the main concept of this app is to compare 2 number representations displayed on the screen and point to the bigger number. Depending on the difficulty level, the representations have different visual forms (e.g. rows of squares, grids, symbols).
The math challenges are packed in a game-like environment: you control a bird flying from island to island (tilt the device and point to the correct answer). Various islands represent various challenges and various different difficulty levels.
What we liked: the concept (combining gameplay and math practice), great educational value (presents various concepts of number representation, develops intuitive sense of multiplication), 'look and feel' of the app, the rewards system (you build the nest and win colorful feathers for your bird), extensive instructions with a special section for parents where the educational concepts are explained.
What we didn't like: the pace of the game may be too fast for less competent kids (or alternatively a sort of 'pause' button to 'stop and think' would do the trick). Parental assistance necessary to explain the concepts. A bit expensive when you consider purchasing all the levels.
Bottom line: if you are looking for an app for practicing multiplication this is probably the best choice!
Note about in-app purchases: we tested the fully unlocked version of the app (all levels for $7.99). Alternatively you can purchase the levels separately (pre-multiplication, basic multiplication, advanced multiplication) for $2.99-$3.99 each.
Best for: Games, Attention & concentration, Eye-hand coordination
What it is: a simple arcade game (digital version of a traditional game known also as 'Statues' or 'Red light/green light'. 1-4 players.
What you do with it: watch the leading character (Curator) - when he turns his back to the field, tap in the corner to move your player as fast as possible, when the Curator turns around - stop. The player who 'tags' the Curator first wins.
What we liked: the concept. Up to 4 players (e.g. a child can compete against the parents). Funny animations. No distracting elements.
What we didn't like: the controls are difficult to understand at first. Very little variety in the game. Limited educational value.
Best for: Games, Attention & concentration, Eye-hand coordination
What it is: a simple arcade game (digital version of a traditional game known also as 'Statues' or 'Red light/green light'. 1-4 players.
What you do with it: watch the leading character (Curator) - when he turns his back to the field, tap in the corner to move your player as fast as possible, when the Curator turns around - stop. The player who 'tags' the Curator first wins.
What we liked: the concept. Up to 4 players (e.g. a child can compete against the parents). Funny animations. No distracting elements.
What we didn't like: the controls are difficult to understand at first. Very little variety in the game. Limited educational value.
Best for: Games, Attention & concentration, Creativity, Eye-hand coordination
What it is: an arcade game requiring good eye-hand coordination. 27 levels.
What you do with it: bounce the ball with the magic carpet to remove the diamonds and clear the scene. Exchange collected diamonds for different items which can be used to decorate our Feebidu planet.
What we liked: the concept (buying items for virtual currency earned through the game), multiple user accounts, decorating activity, nice music background.
What we didn't like: limited educational value. May be too challenging for less game-savvy kids or kids with average eye-hand coordination (even for us the operation was a bit difficult). Every time you lose the game you have to come back to the first level. Only text-based instructions and hints.
Appysmarts
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Ducky Dive
by Virtuaego
Price: free
iPhone + iPad
Overall Score: 77/100
version reviewed: 1.0
reviewed:
Best for: Games, Attention & concentration, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction
What it is: a simple arcade game requiring attention and good eye-hand coordination.
What you do with it: help the duck to dive and catch the fish (while controlling the power and air levels and avoiding piranhas).
What we liked: fun to play, simple controls (can quickly be mastered even for less competent kids), 'realistic' interaction with the objects (a simple physics engine is used for buoyancy, hitting obstacles etc).
What we didn't like: kids can quickly get bored (not much variety in the game, the numerical scoring system may not be enough to keep them occupied).
Best for: Games, Attention & concentration, Early literacy, Eye-hand coordination, Interaction, Language, Understanding of the world
What it is: a simple arcade game teaching letters, words and spelling.
What you do with it: help the frog 'lick' the letters and 'spell' the words.
What we liked: the concept, nice graphics and animations,simple controls. Additional minigames, good scoring/awards system.
What we didn't like: choice of words (too many abstract words, we did not quite understand the choice), app teaches letters (phonics would be better for kids who learn to read - perhaps as an option), game may get boring too quickly (little variety, despite inclusion of the minigames).
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