Applaydu family games
Parents say
Based on 1 review
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Applaydu family games
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Applaydu family games is an immersive Augmented Reality app from Kinder, the internationally known chocolate brand, designed for family co-play. Though no chocolate purchase is necessary to play the game fully, there are some connections between the app and the developer's products. For example, Kinder chocolates include a QR code that can be scanned to add new characters to the app. Those characters are animals, aka Natoons, featured as collectibles with each chocolate purchase.
To use the AR features, including voice recording to make characters talk, kids need to allow access to the camera and microphone. However, at the time of this review, the record function did not work properly. Kids also need to be able to move safely around a room while holding the device. When making their avatar, kids have a limited range of choices for skin color, and choosing a gender is requested, but optional. There are significant parts of the app that require reading skills but don't have any voice narration, If kids can't read yet, they'll need help from someone who can. Registration isn't necessary, but if parents provide an email address, they have more options available including creating multiple user profiles. Basic parent reports give data on what kids are doing in the app and include some suggestions for engaging with kids on and off the screen. Read the developer's privacy policy for details on how your (or your kids') information is collected, used, and shared and any choices you may have in the matter, and note that privacy policies and terms of service frequently change.
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What’s It About?
After parents agree to the terms of use and privacy policy, kids start APPLAYDU FAMILY GAMES by customizing their avatar and choosing one of three age ranges. Then, in the playroom, choose from four activities: interactive story creation, reading completed stories, mini games, and augmented reality play. Create a story guides kids' avatar through an adventure that includes coloring some scenery, playing mini-games, and interacting with animal characters. When the adventure is done, kids can read a text-only story that explains what the adventure was all about. Mini-games like hide and seek or tower blocks touch loosely on early learning themes such as numbers, pre-coding, or attention to detail. The AR option places animal characters in the room. Kids can add scenery, experiment with giving the animal food, or exit the AR to explore the animal's natural habitat. Kids collect new animal characters by playing games to earn stars, printing up to three QR codes per day, or scanning the QR code that comes with purchase of Kinder chocolates.
Is It Any Good?
This set of immersive stories, games, and AR looks great and encourages family interaction -- but despite big learning claims it's more fun than educational. There's a lot going on with Applaydu family games. With no explicit explanations or instructions, play and navigation can get confusing and it's easy to lose track of what the big picture is. On the other hand, each little step has such overly explicit directions that kids don't have the chance to make their own judgments about what to do next. This creates a strange situation of too much direction in some places and not enough in others. The games touch very lightly on learning themes and often misjudge the target age, so it's quite a stretch to expect kids to learn much. And, while it's a nice idea to engage kids in creating a story to make them to protagonist, it's often quite confusing to explore the story setting with no idea about what's going on. The stories are sometimes odd, and they're completely text-based, which makes it impossible for pre-readers to play on their own.
All that said, there's lots to explore and some kids may really enjoy looking around, experimenting with the AR, taking silly selfies, and so on. And, it's nice that kids can play without ever really knowing that Applaydu family games is associated with the Kinder brand. Though if they do know, parents may want to be prepared to manage kids' expectations about buying chocolates to collect more characters. Overall, parents looking for an app to play together with their kids for some silly family fun may enjoy Applaydu family games -- but don't expect much in the way of learning, and be ready to provide lots of help.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the animals featured in Applaydu family games. Ask kids what they know or have learned about the animals such as what they eat or where they live.
Play together with your kids. What's different about playing with the characters in AR versus in the virtual world on screen? Read the stories together and ask them about the characters' emotions and motivations. Check out the parents' section for more suggestions for engaging with your kids with the app.
Talk to kids about the link between the app and the developer's brand. Does Kinder promote its chocolate brand with this app? Why or why not? Does playing the app make you want to buy Kinder chocolates?
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
- Subjects: Language & Reading: reading, Social Studies: geography, global awareness
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: solving puzzles, spatial reasoning, Creativity: imagination
- Pricing structure: Free
- Release date: August 16, 2021
- Category: Education
- Topics: Science and Nature, Wild Animals
- Publisher: FERRERO TRADING LUX S.A.
- Version: 2.0.0
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 11.0 or later; Android 5.0 and up
- Last updated: August 30, 2021
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