Hoopa City

App review by Amanda Bindel, Common Sense Media
Hoopa City Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 5+

Delightful discoveries abound with world-building open play.

iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire Free to try, Paid Education
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Parents say

age 4+

Based on 1 review

Kids say

No reviews yet.

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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 Hoopa City is a preschool-friendly world-building game that also will appeal to older kids. There's no reading involved. In fact, there are no instructions at all -- kids explore and figure out on their own what they can create and how. The iOS and Kindle Fire versions include the full app; the Google Play Android version is a free download that offers three building tools for free and the rest as in-app purchases. Work is saved automatically so kids can pick up where they left off. Parents might also consider that kids will need (and want) time to explore and discover while playing Hoopa​ and that they'll need adequate time to get into the flow of creative play.

Community Reviews

Noel M.
Noel M. Adult
April 17, 2017
age 4+

Best Game on the iPad

I am a first grade teacher. My students read reviews of Minecraft. We play Hoopa City regularly on the iPads during dismissal. We are learning how to write persuasively. Here is what they had to say about Hoopa City: N, age 6 writes "You can make anything like a skatingboarding rink. I like it because nobody gets hurt, there animals instead of humans, and they can ride bikes. If you get it, it is worth it!" S, age 7 writes "Hello, you should play Hoopa City! Some people may disagree with me, but I like it because you go to the game and there is no instructions. Kids get to figure out what to do and what to build. " J, age 7 writes, "Hi, I was just playing Hoopa City. It's a great game. There are buttons you press, then you press where you want it to go. The point is to create a city for the animals who want to live there. Some people may say Hoopa City is for babies, but I disagree. I like it because I like animals and because one of my favorite vehicles is a bike, and they can ride bikes. " Overall Hoopa City is a beautifully engaging game with gentle graphics and sound. I highly recommend it!

This title has:

Easy to play/use
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What’s It About?

Play starts slowly, with green grass, a blue sky, and a short strip of road. As kids explore, tap, and build a few roads, other building tools are added, two at a time, until kids can build with love, money, energy, roads, bricks, water, and nature as well as remove what they build with a shovel. Each tool, used alone, builds something distinct -- bricks build houses; love builds hospitals -- but the tools can be combined to build a variety of buildings. Kids explore and discover just what can be built and create a whole world.

Is It Any Good?

For kids, simply creating their own little worlds is certainly entertaining and valuable play, but HOOPA CITY becomes mind-blowingly fun as kids figure out all the building possibilities. It's even better -- and more exciting for them -- that they get to discover it on their own. Bricks and love: That builds a school. A leaves and energy combination builds a sports stadium and track. Put four playgrounds together to create an amusement park. The options are nearly endless. This isn't really a game that kids can fully enjoy and experience in 10-minute screen-time bursts, though. To really get excited and start discovering, they'll need bigger chunks of time for creative play with their devices. Fortunately, the worlds save automatically, so if kids can only play in short spurts, they can pick back up where they left off.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the different things they think towns and communities need. What is needed to build them?

  • Kids who are used to playing with rules may need some prompting to take risks while playing Hoopa. Parents can encourage them by asking, "What would happen if you tapped that building again? What about if you tapped the heart and then that house?"

App Details

Our Editors Recommend

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