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Parents' Guide to

Word Tag - Word Learning Game

By Mieke VanderBorght, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Paint walls with words, learn definitions, finish sentences.

App iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android Free to try Education
Word Tag - Word Learning Game Icon

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

  • Animal avatar in a virtual game setting with game control icons, a basic orientation map, and rewards counters.
  • Four sections of the word mag-nif-i-cent, with instructions to put the word in the right order.
  • Target vocabulary word, "staff," with its definition, part of speech, and three word it could be paired with.

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Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is not shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.
Learn more about our privacy ratings

What’s It About?

Parents need to sign up for an account using their email address and choose a subscription option to get started with WORD TAG - WORD LEARNING GAME. Then, automatically set the word list by choosing your kid's grade (2nd - 8th) and reading level (beginner, intermediate, advanced). A brief tutorial then shows kids how to play. A virtual joystick on the touchscreen controls the character's movement through the game environment. Kids' first task is to find and collect cans of spray paint and find new words (up to three per day). Once they have enough supplies, kids find a wall where they can tag (aka spray paint) a word on the wall, after which they hear the word's definition. After tagging the daily words, kids can do other tasks, such as collecting stacks of magazines to then choose the right vocabulary word to complete a sentence. As kids play, they collect stars, which they can use to buy items in multiple virtual stores. Keep playing to level up to different settings, and review collected words at any time from the main menu.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (2 ):

Kids may find this game world fun to explore, but the educational vocabulary pieces are disappointingly few and far between. When trying to gamify educational content, it can be hard to find the right balance. Word Tag - Word Learning Game succeeds in creating a rich game experience full of complexity and fun graphics. Unfortunately, there's so much game going on, it can take kids quite a while to get to the vocabulary. And when kids get there, the vocabulary-related activities tend to be short and simple, such as picking one word to complete one sentence. Then kids are back in the game mechanics, looking for the next multi-step task to complete. One plus is that word activities build on each other -- first the definition, then using in a sentence, and so on -- which is a solid way to introduce and reinforce new vocabulary. Indeed, the activities have potential if only the game didn't get in the way quite so much.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the words kids learn in Word Tag - Word Learning Game. Ask kids to use their new words in a sentence and try to incorporate the words in your every day conversations with them.

  • Encourage kids to read a lot. Whether they read on their own, or you read aloud to them, the more language kids are exposed to, the more vocabulary they have a chance to learn.

  • With such an involving game, it can be easy to just keep playing. Before they get started, make your family's screen time expectations clear. Check out our guides for some tips.

  • Talk about the objective of spraypainting on public property. When is it vandalism? When is it OK?

App Details

  • Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad , Android
  • Subjects: Language & Reading : vocabulary
  • Pricing structure: Free to try (Limited content available for free. Subscribe for $9.99/month or $83.99/month. 7-day free trial available.)
  • Release date: November 8, 2023
  • Category: Education
  • Publisher: Mrs Wordsmith
  • Version: 3.13.1
  • Minimum software requirements: iOS 12.0; Android 8.0 and up
  • Last updated: November 29, 2023

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