When I was a kid I suffered from horrible allergies. In a vain attempt to rid myself of the symptoms, I use to get allergy shots regularly. Not a big deal really, but it caused me to spend a lot of time in the doctor’s waiting room. The only good thing about hanging out in that drab environment while awaiting my injection was picking up the latest edition of Highlight’s Magazine and trying to find all the hidden objects on the pages full of, well, hidden objects. In that same spirit of discovery comes Little Things, an ingenious app that combines the quest for hidden objects with my other love, jigsaw puzzles.
The brainchild of Little Things is game developer Matthew Hall at KlickTock. Based in rural Australia “among the sheep”, Matthew spent about 5 years mulling over the idea for Little Things in an attempt to recapture the fascination he also had with seek and find books as a child. Matthew is a seasoned developer and his experience shines through from the moment you fire up Little Things. Each level contains an simply elegant illustration of an ordinary object, such as a shoe or a dog, which is made up of many other everyday objects. The goal is to find a specific list of objects in each level. The game keeps track of time and rewards the player’s success accordingly. Matthew has incorporated a clever system of providing hints if the objects prove too elusive for some players. After completing 4 levels successfully, the player is rewarded with a jigsaw puzzle to work out before advancing to the next stage of the game.
The artwork, music, colors, and even the instructions in Little Things all fit together in a well thought out and executed game that will have you searching through the collection of items as eagerly as your child. Though I don’t like to cover games in this space very often, this is one game that is not only entertaining, but helps develop children’s problem solving and object recognition skills. And oh by the way, it heaps of fun for any age. Frankly, I wish more strictly labeled “educational apps” could claim to be as fun as they are educational.
Little Things is available for the iPad for $2.99 at the iTunes Store and will challenge your child’s mind (and yours) for hours. Reina and I both give it 5 stars.
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Photography: www.chrislay.com
Blog: www.beijing-kids.com/blog/beijingkids/Christopher-Lay
