Lipa Train
Little engineers direct train's path in addictive puzzler.
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Lipa Train
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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 Lipa Train is a puzzler with just the right level of challenge for young kids. Each level gets a bit more challenging, adding more fruit and more train cars to a more complicated track. A 4-year-old may take a bit longer to get through a level, whereas a 6-year-old can move through levels a bit more easily. You can disable the music from the home screen, so kids can play quietly or minimize sensory distractions. There's no competition, time to beat, or penalty for choosing the wrong direction. It's all just fun exploration that's ideal for preschoolers.
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What’s It About?
Kids control a train's direction by changing the arrows directing the train along the track with the goal of collecting the right fruit in the right order to fill the train cars. They'll advance through 40 levels, starting with a simple track with two arrows and one fruit and advancing to more complicated levels with more challenging tracks and more fruits to collect. If the train gets to an arrow and can't move in the indicated direction, it stops and honks, alerting kids to try again. Once they've collected all the fruit, kids advance to the next level. The scenes move through the different landscapes, starting in a forest of trees and moving to a beachfront town and then to snowy mountains and finally to a city.
Is It Any Good?
The beauty of LIPA TRAIN is in the simple, lovely design. There's no sensory overload (music can be disabled) and no stress of getting a wrong answer. Kids direct the train along the track, trying another path if their original plan didn't work out. They can take as much time as they need to complete a level. The challenges increase at a steady pace, so younger kids can take the time to master the planning ahead needed at the more advanced levels before getting to the more complicated paths. Animated kid characters offer praise by saying "yes!" when kids complete a level, but all the play is for fun and the satisfaction of advancing to the next level with no scoring or times to beat.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Lipa Train compares to a toy train set. If you have a train set, work together to make a complicated track arrangement.
Work on some maze puzzles with pencil and paper together. For an extra challenge, ask your kid to design a maze for you to solve.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android
- Subjects: Science: engineering
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: decision-making, logic, problem solving, strategy, thinking critically, Self-Direction: work to achieve goals, Health & Fitness: fine motor skills
- Pricing structure: Free
- Release date: January 1, 2014
- Category: Education
- Topics: Trains
- Publisher: Lipa Learning s.r.o.
- Version: 1.0.5
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 4.3 or later; Android 4.0 and up
- Last updated: July 12, 2020
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