Toca Life: Office
Open-ended play tackles superheroes and robbers.
Kids say
Based on 4 reviews
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Toca Life: Office
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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 Toca Life: Office is part of the Toca Life series of open-ended play apps. This one takes place in an urban environment complete with a bank (and a possible bank robber), offices, a court room, a jail cell, a day care, and an array of superhero costumes, so be prepared for more than a stereotypical office setting. The main screen has a parent section with instructions and tips, a Toca News area, and a Toca Life Weekly link with fun videos and tips. All of these, along with the music and video recording abilities, can be disabled from the app settings within your device. In terms of characters, they're diverse in terms of gender, age, and ethnicity -- one even appears to have vitiligo. Kids will also find a few wheelchairs around, to help in their storytelling. Younger kids may struggle with the fine motor skills to pick up and use some of the smaller objects within the app. Read the app's privacy policy to find out about the information collected and shared.
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What’s It About?
TOCA LIFE: OFFICE is a sandbox-style app with five different buildings in an urban setting. The three-story office building houses a bank with a vault, ATM, cashiers, and more. The second floor has a traditional office with a meeting room, cubicles, and a swanky office. The top floor boasts a cafe and a private helicopter. If the bank is robbed, have no fear: There's a courtroom and a jail cell for dealing with criminals. There's a condo building with a cute apartment, a day care, and a mysterious building with news cameras and some cool costumes. Kids who are Toca Life fans will find plenty of familiar features, such as a varied and unique cast of characters, pets, lots of interactivity, and some secret things to unlock. They can continue to enjoy acting out scenes and recording the on-screen display with their own voices. As kids explore, they'll find a wide variety of superhero costumes to use while creating their own comic book-inspired movies.
Is It Any Good?
This unusual take on the dollhouse app may have special appeal for kids who are more into action figures than fashion dolls. Toca Life: Office has the same open-ended play pattern as others in the series, but the addition of cops-and-robbers costumes paired with the large selection of superhero outfits provides kids a platform for a different type of story. Of course, having criminals and a jail may not appeal to all parents, but it does provide options for a range of kids. The continuation of the hidden items and puzzles to solve, as well as the ability to record your play, makes this an experience that kids can enjoy as they grow. Indeed, the Toca Life apps appeal to a wide variety of kids, including tweens. Although it's a bit quirky, Toca Life: Office continues with the fun and creativity that kids and parents have come to expect from Toca Boca.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about different jobs people might do in Toca Life: Office. What types of jobs do your family members have? Do they work in an office or a different environment?
Talk to your kids about screen use and limits. How can kids enjoy digital media in balance with other activities?
Discuss storytelling. If your kid wants to use the app to tell stories, encourage him or her to have a beginning, a middle, and an end and to use the recording feature in the app.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire
- Subjects: Language & Reading: storytelling
- Skills: Creativity: imagination, producing new content
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: September 20, 2017
- Category: Education
- Topics: Superheroes
- Publisher: Toca Boca
- Version: 1.0
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 8.0 or later; Android 4.4 and up
- Last updated: October 2, 2017
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