Some games are new, some old and well-established, but old doesn’t mean outdated, so we’ve included them, too. As always, feel free to share your suggestions in the comments below.
Puzzle 3D
Spodek Studio
This one is a relatively new puzzle game perfect for preschoolers. It features beautiful graphics and well-managed sound effects; the puzzles are realistic as if they were made of wood, and shifting them is a real treat for the senses. The puzzles are kid-oriented, but not entirely simplistic. Your kids will develop logical thinking and fine motor skills, and you can choose easy level for younger kids, too. The pictures for the puzzles are crafted with great creativity, matching simplistic and more complex, or cartoonish images with photography, beautiful and colorful. It’s fun to play, and features 77 images with cute hand-drawn and photographed animals, eye-catching and enjoyable.
This 3D puzzle features quality visuals and realistic sound effects. Moreover, it offers different game modes from flip (where you exchange puzzles position) to slide (similar to 15 puzzle) and rotate (tap the piece to rotate). We have tried it and genuinely enjoyed the experience.
Eduxeso – English
Eduxeso is a two matching game that will teach your kids some basic English/Spanish/Portuguese and more languages vocabulary. There are also versions of the game for other languages and you could check them out and the developers page on Google Play. It will train both your kids’ memory and language skills in a fun interactive way, as your kids solve puzzles in this classic board game. The developer claims you can start trying out this game for kids of all ages, including babies and teens, boys and girls alike. I guess it all depends on how early your kids start learning foreign languages.
The game offers a set of cards face down, and once you tap on a card, you will see its face and have to remember the picture. From there, you will have to find the corresponding English word for the image and match it to the initial image card. Thus you proceed by matching two cards in a set of themed games, where you kids will learn vocabulary for transport, clothes, nature, numbers and colors, animals and fruit, food and clothes. This may not be the ultimate tool for learning a language, but it’s a nice introduction for the beginners featuring engaging graphics and developing your kids concentration and recognition skills, as well as visual memory. The interface is intuitive and easy-to-use and to play.
Bad Piggies HD
Rovio Mobile Ltd.
This may come as a surprise app on the list of educational and developmental apps for preschoolers, but practice shows Bad Piggies may very well be the best developmental game by Rovio. It is totally different from the Angry Birds series, including the latest Angry Birds Epic.
The game task your kids with constructing the vehicle that would be able to overcome all the obstacles and challenges on its way and reach the finish line. It’s a great game for the little engineers and will give your kids an introduction to the physics, dynamics and basic laws of gravity, speed, weight of different materials, such as wood, stone and metal.
Most importantly, it features one of the most adored mobile gaming characters – the pigs. They are drawn as usual hilariously, and make funny noises when the vehicle starts driving on a bumpy road. There is a tutorial book that will give your kids hand- on how to construct a particular vehicle, but the best part about Bad Piggies is it’s not stuck to the required vehicle, which means your kids can experiment to their hearts’ content, building structures that might surprise you. There are various engines, gas balloons, bags of sand, explosives, umbrellas, ropes, spirals, and a multitude of wheel types users can implement while constructing the vehicles.
Educational apps come and go, your kids overgrow them, but the Bad Piggies have a chance of staying on your device for ages because it’s fun, addictive and boosts your kid’s creativity, encouraging innovation and unorthodox decisions in engineering.
It is free; features 170 levels, with additional 36 levels for those of you who manage to complete each level with three stars, and you can play perfectly well without in-app purchases. The game also features some fun cut-scenes, where you kids can feed the prince Porky sweets they’ve been collecting during the game.
CopyCat – Simon Says Game
IMGWERX
This one is a simple, yet challenging and very addictive game which will train your kids’ memory. All they have to do is watch the light sequence and repeat it accurately. Each new level brings new challenges and longer sequences with faster rhythm. It goes without saying that a single wrong tap ends the game. It is fun; it is free; and it trains the memory better than some highly advertised paid games (Lumosity and the likes). You can customize startup speeds and button theme styles as well as tone sounds, and participate in global leader boards. For a simple game as that, Copycat features pretty good graphics. It’s the classic of the genre, and you can keep it handy for the road trips in times when you need the kids to sit still and spend some time with good purpose.
Doki Ocean Kids Activity book
LivoBooks Publishing
Doki must be one of your kids’ favorite characters, and this activity book takes your kid on a journey with Doki as he dives to explore the ocean. It is a very engaging and addictive activity book featuring Doki taking a ride on a submarine, interacting with different sea creatures, both big and small, building, and practicing motor skills and essential learning skills.
The game features coloring pages and sticker albums, a number of memory games and “find difference” games. There are also fun sea-themed puzzles, Doki-themed melodies and some great sound effects accompanied by beautiful visuals.
The book features text in English, Spanish and Portuguese and is a fun way for kids to start building vocabulary in a foreign language, practicing memory, cognitive skills, fine motor skills.
Games for Preschoolers
Greysprings Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
This one is a beautiful app that combines fun games for preschool children that will help your kids develop learning skills, boost imagination, train memory, learn alphabets, colors, numbers, shapes and start drawing.
The games are simple and intuitive, ample for preschoolers, and featuring beautiful cartoonish graphics, both attractive and cute for kids this age. It is also free and provides a nice way for kids and parents spend some quality time together.
Fish School HD
By Duck Duck Moose, Inc.
Fish school features eight educational mini games teaching your kids alphabets, shapes, numbers, colors and more. The game features an intuitive interface and easy controls, but most importantly, it is fun because the fish do all sorts of hilarious tricks and sounds and by tapping on them you can interact with them. The game also features some classic ABC songs and is highly acknowledged by parents. It’s ample for early starters, and your kids will be able to master not only letters and numbers, but also tell the differences between pictures, or identify which objects do not belong in a scene, play the matching games and listen to some nice educational music.
Zoo Train
By Busybeestudio
iPad/iPhone | Windows 8 | Kindle | Nook | Android
Zoo Train is probably one of the best apps for kids since there is not a kid who is not crazy for trains, and there are plenty of trains in this app, featuring five complete games that focus on training preschoolers’ memory and learning skills. It is a fun, colorful and entertaining way for your kids to start learning letters, building words, recognizing shapes and patterns and more.
Zoo train features the following games:
- Puzzles – as your kid completes the puzzle, he then hears the voiceover for the image which identifies the object depicted.
- Music – where you kids can play a song on their own or listen, watch and play together with the app’s inbuilt songs.
- Probably the most fun section is where you kids build their own trains, while word builder will test your kids’ with matching letters and building words.
- Track Tycoon is a fun way of building tracks and watch the trains ride them. The game features stickers and rewards your kid collects while completing the challenges.
Even Monsters Get Sick
Busy Bee Studios, Inc.
Have you ever felt disheartened when your kids treat you with little care and compassion when you are sick or down, or exhausted and overloaded with work and deadlines? If you think your kids lack empathy, you can try out this fine little app that teaches your kids to be compassionate and caring. Featuring beautiful artwork and an original sound score, this interactive book engages your kids in a story that teaches them basics of emotions, care and empathy. It features six games that stick to the original plot, each with its unique activities and surprises. You can read the book yourself, or choose the voiceover by professional actor for your kids to enjoy while you can’t play with them.
We loved the hand-drawn illustrations, fun animations and sound score, while high level of interactivity adds to the fun factor, but most importantly, this app helps kids develop compassion and empathy. They will learn that from time to time everybody gets sick and that they should respect and care for their nearest and dearest and anyone who needs help. In addition to the interactive book, the app features fun mini games – mazes, physics-based game, memory challenges and shapes matching.
Wheels on the Bus
Based on the popular nursery rhyme, this app lets your children sing along à-la karaoke style, discovering music and many surprises here and there. For example you can change the language of the songs, or you can even record your kids’ singing. The game features many awards for its educational and entertainment qualities for a good reason. This fun interactive musical book will please your children, develop their language and learning skills, as well as fine motor development, but most importantly, it will encourage your kids to sing and read in English, German, Spanish, French and Italian. We loved that you can record your children singing, which makes it quite a unique app. There are several musical instruments you can switch between, such as violin, piano and cello, and a lot of interactivity areas in the book with fun surprises and a lot of interactivity.
