Great apps for traveling kids
— -- Whether a family road trip, a flight, or some other type of travel is in your near future, the right apps downloaded for your kids can help to make the trip go more smoothly. Here are a handful of great apps to keep your kids occupied, and several are even free.
FUN SOLO GAMES: Here are a couple of games that have lots of levels to keep kids interested for long periods of time.
Bag It! HD
From Hidden Variable Studios, best for ages 6-up, $2.99, iPad. (The iPhone/iPod Touch version is $.99)
Rating: 4 stars (out of 4)
Who knew that packing grocery bags could be a blast? Well it can be, especially when the groceries are alive and have distinct personalities. With over 60 levels of organizational fun, kids move anthropomorphized foodstuffs from a conveyor belt into a grocery bag. But you can't just throw them in willy-nilly; you need to figure out who is fragile and can't handle the weight, and who are your tough guys who aren't opposed to shouldering the burden of others. Some of these foods have special affection for each other; and if you can figure these relationships out and pack them next to each other, you'll gain extra points. This fresh and fascinating puzzle game is like no other; and it will make you smile and well as think.
Where's My Perry?
From Disney, best for ages 6-up, $.99, for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android.
Rating: 4 stars
If your kids love the popular "Where's My Water?" app, then they are going to have a grand time exploring this new variation from the same developer. Featuring Agent P, a semi-aquatic sleuthing platypus from the Phineas and Ferb TV show, and offering similar play mechanics involving drawing paths for water; this physics puzzler adds cool spy gadgets into the mix. Instead of merely tracing a path for water, in this set of puzzles the spy gadgets can change the form that the water takes, transforming it into steam and ice. A wacky story about sending Agent P through a series of water-powered tubes holds the more than 80 puzzles together. The result is wild conundrum fun delivered in four story chapters.
GAMES TO PLAY WITH OTHERS: Eventually, most kids get tired of playing by themselves. Here are a couple of games that can be played together by siblings or by a parent and a child.
Road-Trip-Bingo HD
From Bright Bunny, best for ages 4-up, $1.99, iPad
Rating: 3.5 stars
With this digital version of the old sticker game, your kids will be watching out the window to find things to fill up their bingo cards. Two kids can play it together at the same time. The bingo cards contain signs, animals, vehicles, and other roadside attractions. This is a must if you will be traveling by car, bus, or train.
OLO game
From Sennep, best for ages 4-up, $1.99, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch.
Rating: 3.5 stars
This social game for up to four players combines elements of shuffleboard and knock-hockey to create a fun game about sliding your OLOs (colored discs) into your target zone. There are walls to knock against, and of course part of the strategy is knocking your opponents' OLOs out of their scoring zones. It's nice to have a game that is so simple to play, but which provides bursts of madcap fun.
Monster Hunt - The Memory Game
From Innovative Mobile Apps, best for ages 4-up, Free, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Who wants family bragging rights for having the best memory? Playing "Monster Hunt - The Memory Game" will determine the winner. With adorable monsters that look like they belong on the set of the Disney/Pixar "Monsters Inc.," kids practice memory games by watching to see which grid cells contain monsters and then tapping on them when they have closed their doors. For young kids, you can start with only four squares present; but the game can progress to larger grids and more monsters. This is growling fun for everyone.
CREATIVITY: Looking for apps to get your kids creative juices flowing? Here are two and they're both free.
Coloring Farm Touch To Color Activity Coloring Book For Kids and Family Free Preschool Starter Edition
From Eggroll Games, best for ages 2-5, Free, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch.
Rating: 3.5 stars
For your wee travelers, here is a fun way they too can get creative. To color things on a farm, all toddlers and preschoolers have to do is tap their fingers within the black lines of an object. It will instantly fill with color. What is fun is that as kids tap, new things appear. Some are even funny; such as a young duck sporting an inner tube. We really like that there no menus for youngsters to navigate. More pages can be added as an in-app purchase for $.99.
Let's Color!
From Lazoo Worldwide, best for ages 4-up, Free, iPad.
Rating: 4 stars
This drawing app provides 18 different scenes into which kids can add their own creativity. Each scene prompts kids to draw something related to the scene. When kids add their own artwork and then hit the prominent "Go" button, their artwork animates. It is magical. To kids, it seems as if their paintings have come alive. A favorite scene shows a monster, and kids are asked to draw what is coming out of its mouth. This app is so much fun that it is hard to believe it's free. For those wanting more scenes, 16 additional pages are available as an in-app purchase for $1.99. We love that parents have the option of hiding the in-app purchase from their kids by controlling that option in the Parental Zone.
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Gudmundsen is the editor of Computing With Kids magazine (www.ComputingwithKids.com). Contact her at techcomments@usatoday.com.