Pepi Ride
© 2014 Pepiplay
Third in the Pepi series (see also Bath and Doctor), this silly, noisy app is ideal for the graduates of an app like Sago Road Trip. You pick out a car, decorate it, and then drive it on different tracks. We liked how the jump control is on one side of the screen, and the speed controls (forward/back) are on the other. Because they both operate independently (thanks to multi-touch) two children can collaborate to drive the car. We also liked how the challenge presented by each track varies, starting easy and getting more challenging. You start in the garage, where you choose a vehicle from four cars, give it a paint job, and accessorize with a horn or a rocket pack. As you drive, you unlock new tracks, from nine available. There's a nice variety of challenges, from a sunny beach with simple hills to stumps, tree ropes, footbridges and rocks. Although there's no reading required to us this app, the instructions come in English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Turkish. Need to know: Sadly you can't turn down the repetitive background music.
$2.99, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
Teaches: mechanics, spatial relations, cars, driving, cooperation, transportation
CTR Rating: 94%