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Thursday, February 1, 2018
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These are Carissa's app picks from the past month. You can see all of her picks on the Library's website and, if you want to learn even more, join us each month for a Tuesday evening program called The Supper Club at the Alicia Ashman Library. Check our calendar for dates and more information. Bring your family, bring your dinner and discover new apps... together!
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Reviewed on 01/19/18
A serene seek-and-find pictures app. Under Leaves features hand drawn, watercolor collage scenes and with each new level, an animal shows you what you’re looking for and how many of them you’ll find in that scene. The scenes themselves are not flat pictures, but have subtle movement like waving leaves or the underground ripples of water. Once you’ve found the hidden objects (and it’s surprisingly challenging!) you’re rewarded with the most beautifully subtle addition to the artwork -- maybe the ice crystals in the polar bear’s cave begin to twinkle softly pink instead of just blue. Or perhaps a small school of bright orange fish swims through the deep blue underwater reef you just explored. There are no time limits, no scores kept, and the only audio is nature sounds unique to each scene. If you get stuck, tap the question mark, solve a classic slider puzzle and the app will give you a hint to help you find the next object. Gorgeous, relaxing and just so nicely designed, this app is great for quiet times together.
Age group: Grades K-2, Grades 3-5
Platform: iOS, Windows
Keyword tags: Animals, Art, Concepts, Math, Nature, STEM
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Reviewed on 01/12/18
A unique puzzler game for older kids through adults. Enter the world of Gorogoa and explore. You’ll find lots of recurring images, a slowly unfolding story full of mystery and intrigue, challenging puzzles that are just right for older kids or for doing together as a family. There will be moments when you struggle, but when you figure out the solution, you’ll experience a delicious “a-ha!” moment of wonder. The content does include some images of buildings that have been damaged (though the cause of destruction is unclear) and injured people (one person falls from a height, someone is on crutches, someone is in a wheelchair) and some of the music lends a slightly spooky atmosphere, so it might be disturbing for very young children or kids who are sensitive to intense movie moments, but there is no explicitly adult-level content in the storyline. The beauty of this app lies in the unique gameplay. Move anywhere from 1-4 tiles around a four-square grid and watch as the image changes. You can zoom in or zoom out to adjust your point of view and watch for moment when multiple tiles might match up and interact with each other. A few of the solutions involve timing movements just right and younger children may need adult help with that. The gorgeous artwork, the groundbreaking gameplay and the clean, smooth game design and programming were all done by one single person (amazing!). Definitely a favorite game of 2017! *note: this game is also available for Nintendo
Age group: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12
Platform: iOS, Windows
Keyword tags: Art, Family Play, Favorites, Games, Growing Up, Nature, NBC15, Puzzles
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