Dada Trains
© 2015 DADA Company
Beautifully illustrated and innovative, this is a set of five train-related games, each offering different types of play. Each game is like an interactive painting, featuring the illustration work from a different artist. As a result, this app is not only engaging from an interactive point of view. It's also a noteworthy aesthetic experience. Games consist of Look Inside (see the parts of a steam locomotive at work); Train Factory (color a locomotive in various scenarios and complete different challenges); Playground (discover hidden characters, overcome obstacles and explore worlds); Simulator (take a seat in in the engine, with a view through the tablet's camera, driving through swarms of bugs, rain, fog and high winds); and Magic Canvas (make drawings or collages with stickers and a basic set of coloring tools). Testers noted that one of the problem solving games uses parts that are clumsy to position. And the sound option is "all or nothing" -- if you turn off the music, you also turn off interactive sounds. But both are minor issues. This app contains art by David Maynar, Julie Escoriza, Nicolas Castell, Alejandro Grima and Natascha Rosenberg. The music was composed by Daniel Heredero (creator of Pocoyo's soundtrack). Learn more at http://www.dadacompany.com/en/apps/dada-trains/.
$2.99, iPad
Teaches: trains, logic, spatial relations, art, illustration
CTR Rating: 94%