What is it and what do you do with it: interactive play app featuring Fiete (and a couple of his friends).

Build a track using a variety of components (e.g. bumpy or muddy roads, bridges, ramps etc.) then drive your car and collect stars to unlock extra pieces and vehicles.

20 vehicles, 6 'drivers', over 25 building blocks, road pieces and fixtures.

After your track is finished it can be saved (and edited later).

What we liked: the concept. Great variety of building components and special items (e.g. ramps, whoopee cushions etc). Tons of possible combinations (perfect for experimentation with various setups). Great range of fun vehicles (plus a horse!) in the full version. Ease of use. Sound backgrounds and sounds.

What we didn't like: limited educational value.

Appysmarts

What is it and what do you do with it: interactive play app with 6 construction vehicles.

Help Jinja the cat and Rosie the squirrel build and decorate a house (6 different 'house designs' to choose from).

e.g. use an excavator to load Rosie's dump truck with dirt, then drive the dump truck to the building site.

What we liked: the concept. Simple scenes and interactions and mini-games suitable even for young kids. Simple illustrations and animations. Fun animal characters. Humor and fun factor. Ease of use. No ads or other distracting features.

What we didn't like: limited educational value (no narration or spoken instructions). We wish there was more variety in the scenes.

Appysmarts

What it is/what you do with it: build a toy city and play around with various vehicles ('missions' include: selliing ice cream and treats from the ice cream van, emptying the garbage truck and sorting the garbage in the city dump, putting out fires with the fire truck etc.).

9 different buildings, 7 different vehicles, 5 mini-games.

What we liked: the concept. Good variety of play scenes and vehicles. Humor and fun factor. Sounds and sound backgrounds. Easy controls. No distracting elements.

What we didn't like: educational value could be higher. No spoken instructions. We wish there was more variety in the 'missions' (they can quickly get repetitive).

Appysmarts

What it is/what you do with it: drive around your farm with a vehicle (or animal) of your choice (tractor, farm truck, combine harvester, cat, horse, pickup truck or monster truck) and complete simple missions: feed and milk cows, shear sheep, pick vegetables in the garden etc (5 missions in total).

What we liked: the concept. Fun 'driving' experience. Humor and fun factor. 3D visuals. Sounds and sound backgrounds. Easy controls. No ads or other distracting features.

What we didn't like: educational value could be higher. No spoken instructions. We wish there was more variety in the 'missions' (they can quickly get repetitive).

Appysmarts

What it is/what you do with it: drive around your farm with a vehicle (or animal) of your choice (tractor, farm truck, combine harvester, cat, horse, pickup truck or monster truck) and complete simple missions: feed and milk cows, shear sheep, pick vegetables in the garden etc (5 missions in total).

What we liked: the concept. Fun 'driving' experience. Humor and fun factor. 3D visuals. Sounds and sound backgrounds. Easy controls. No ads or other distracting features.

What we didn't like: educational value could be higher. No spoken instructions. We wish there was more variety in the 'missions' (they can quickly get repetitive).

Appysmarts

What it is and what you do with it: 4 play scenes featuring various construction vehicles (an excavator, front loader, crane and dump truck).

Each scene has 2 stages: first 'build' the vehicle by completing a simple puzzle, then complete a set of simple tasks (e.g. use the excavator with different attachments to dig soil or break rocks).

What we liked: the concept. 4 fun vehicles to play with. Kid-friendly illustrations. Simple animations. Ease of use. Realistic sounds.

What we didn't like: just 4 vehicles to play with. The scenes are a bit basic and could offer more interactive features. No narration or spoken instructions.

Appysmarts

What it is and what you do with it: 4 play scenes featuring various construction vehicles (an excavator, front loader, crane and dump truck).

Each scene has 2 stages: first 'build' the vehicle by completing a simple puzzle, then complete a set of simple tasks (e.g. use the excavator with different attachments to dig soil or break rocks).

What we liked: the concept. 4 fun vehicles to play with. Kid-friendly illustrations. Simple animations. Ease of use. Realistic sounds.

What we didn't like: just 4 vehicles to play with. The scenes are a bit basic and could offer more interactive features. No narration or spoken instructions.

Appysmarts

What it is and what you do with it: a set of simple puzzles with a selection of popular means of transportation: plane, helicopter, air balloon, motorboat, sports car, bulldozer, tow truck, kick scooter, police car, school bus, fire truck, cement mixer, vintage car, steam engine, van or motorcycle.

Put the puzzle pieces together to hear the vehicle's sound and its name read out by the narrator.

What we liked: fun graphics. Nice selection of vehicles.

What we didn't like: limited feature set. Ads.

Appysmarts

What is it and what do you do with it: build and drive a simple stunt car. Combine 6 body styles and 6 wheel styles to construct the vehicle.

Tilt the tablet or phone to navigate the car around one of the 15 tracks (5 themed sets, 3 tracks each: Wood Toy, Space, Candy, Sports and Western.

What we liked: the concept. Good variety of fun tracks. Simple controls. Ease of use. No distracting elements.

What we didn't like: we wish there were more interactions with various objects found around the tracks (some kinds may find the 'driving' boring quite quickly). Car design is very basic. Car designs are not saved.

Free preview: if you are not sure, please see our 'See before you buy' video (below) or try the free version of the Tizzy ZigZag Cars app.

Appysmarts

What it is/what you do with it: a set of construction activities with 2 vehicles: mobile crane and dump truck.

What we liked: the concept. Overall quality of the app. Beautiful, detailed graphics. Lots of interactions and 'little touches' (sounds, animations).

What we didn't like: only 2 vehicles. Educational value could be better.

A note about this version: this is a demo version of the Cars in the Sandbox app. At the time of our review it was fully functional, did not have any external links and in-app purchases.

Appysmarts