What children this age do on the screen
At this age, pressing an exact spot is still hard. So the first games come in two kinds: ones that answer wherever a finger lands on the screen and ones that answer when a picture is touched. The second kind includes games where the whole screen is the target, like the keys and the drum, and games where you follow a slowly moving picture, like the balloons, the soap bubbles and the stars.
Neither kind has a right way to press. Tapping fast, holding a finger down, pressing with the whole palm — none of it breaks anything, and none of it can leave a child stuck.
Games that answer wherever you press the screen:
Peekaboo / Fireworks / Rattle / Drawing / Wipe and see / Shine the light
Games that answer when a big picture is touched:
Pop balloons / Bubbles / Crack the egg / Inflate the ring / Animal sounds / Piano / Drum / Busy board / Vehicles / Catch stars
- Guessing is fineWhen a touch misses, nothing happens: no sound and no mark points out the miss.
- No ending arrivesThere is no time limit, no game over and no score. You can stop the moment interest runs out.
- No reading neededThere are no written rules and no screen that has to be read to go on. Pictures and sounds do all of it.
- The sounds are synthesizedThey are played under a fixed volume ceiling. No sound suddenly turns loud.
- Back sits top leftThe mark that ends a game is in the top left of the screen. Pressing with a whole palm can land on it and return to the home screen.
Games for ages 0 and 1 (16)
All of them sit in the same collection of mini-games. You start by picking a picture on the home screen, and games other than the 16 listed here are lined up on that same screen.
- Pop balloons
- Balloons rise from the bottom and pop when a finger lands on one. When a touch misses, nothing happens.
- Peekaboo
- Wherever a hand lands on the screen, a hidden animal looks out. A whole palm brings the answer too.
- Bubbles
- The bubbles drift slowly, so there is time to bring a finger close. Popping one gives back a soft sound.
- Fireworks
- A ball climbs to the spot you touched and opens there. The place you pressed and the place that lights up are the same, so it reads as your own doing.
- Rattle
- It sounds whether you press or slide a finger. There is no need to shake the device itself.
- Crack the egg
- Each touch on the egg adds one crack, and on the third an animal is born from inside. Then a new egg comes back, so it never ends.
- Inflate the ring
- Rest a finger on the ring and it puffs up a little at a time for as long as you hold. Let go and it simply stops there — it never shrinks back and nothing has to be started over.
- Animal sounds
- Touch an animal picture and its voice and its movement come back. Every voice is a synthesized sound.
- Piano
- Press one of the big keys and that note sounds. There is no tune and no order to press in.
- Drum
- A cymbal, a wood block, maracas and a drum can be struck one by one. The sound of the spot you hit comes straight back.
- Busy board
- Press a catch, or press and slide it, and each one answers with its own sound and movement. There is no order and no right answer.
- Drawing
- From where the finger lands, a line that keeps changing color stretches out. There is an erase button, but nothing forces you to use it.
- Wipe and see
- Rub anywhere on the screen and the mist clears just that much, letting the picture underneath show. Stopping partway is fine.
- Shine the light
- The room is dark, and wherever a finger rests a round light switches on there. Three sleeping animals wake and call out when the light reaches them, and drift back to sleep once it moves away. The light never goes out, and nothing ever ends.
- Vehicles
- Touch a car or a train and it sets off. There is no destination and no order; they can run as many times as you like.
- Catch stars
- A falling star turns into a sparkle where a finger meets it. Missing one takes nothing away.
The detailed account of safety, and the games for ages 6 to 8, are gathered on the Kids Games home page.