Reviewed by Amanda
What we love…
open ended creative play, pretend play,the illustrations and realistic sounds
What we’d love to see…
This app is perfect the way that it is! All of The iMums kids love it!
Summary
This app caters for 2-8 year olds which is appropriate as it’s simple enough for the younger users to play with yet detailed enough to keep the older kids entertained too. All of The iMums kids love this app!
Our Rating
Shimon Young is a genius. Shimon is the developer of the universal My PlayHome app and has managed to find a way to keep my iToddler (2.5) entertained for more than just a few minutes. Not an easy task. My PlayHome brings the dollhouse into the digital age by offering an entire virtual home, complete with an adorable family of five that kids can explore and interact with. Also available on the iPhone (Pocket PlayHome!), this app features beautiful hand-drawn illustrations and realistic sounds associated with each interaction. My PlayHome also has a simple user interface very easy for little fingers to control.
The house consists of four fun-filled rooms containing many elements for the user to play with including, but not limited to, watching TV and playing CD’s in the living room, making breakfast and washing up in the kitchen, playing basketball or blocks in the bedroom or brushing teeth or taking a shower in the bathroom, and so much more. You can also go outside into the garden to bounce on the trampoline, play in the tire swing or even grow some carrots for a healthy snack. The user will never tire of using their imagination to create and recreate scenes over and over again. My boys always have a giggle to themselves when they make the baby drink a cup of coffee in the kitchen. The baby in the app, not their little brother. 😉
The My PlayHome house eerily mirrors my own house in many ways. I too have a baby that won’t lay down in his cot; a cat that lives on the window sill to avoid her tail being pulled; a crowded kids room with toys strewn all over the floor and there always seems to be pizza in the fridge. It’s just like playing with my own family members without the dirty nappies! I only wish my place came with a ‘Tidy the house’ button like in My PlayHome. *Sigh*
There is so much to discover in My Playhome and it’s actually quite addictive (yes, even for me). Since there is no “game over” you may need to set a time limit on their usage or you may not see your iPad or iPhone ever again. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements within the app, which is just another reason I like it so much. There is a lite version of the app to try, but when you can almost be guaranteed at least five minutes of time to yourself, the $2.99 cost will pay for itself over and over again. This wonderful app will be popular with boys and girls from two to ten (or 30…) and parents can delight in knowing their children will be learning valuable life skills while having fun. Highly recommended. 🙂
UPDATED:A recent addition to My Playhome is the backyard, in which you’ll find a trampoline for the children to bounce on (or the parents if they wish!), a tree house to climb in an apple tree, complete with a classic tyre swing and a flower and vegetable garden where the family can pick vegetables to eat or water the flowers. In addition to the new play area, there are also new family members from many different nationalities! They also added a bedroom for Mom and Dad as well as the ability to change clothes. This app just keeps getting better!
This app caters for 2-8 year olds which is appropriate as it’s simple enough for the younger users to play with yet detailed enough to keep the older kids entertained too.” Quite a comprehensive app but still very easy to use by its intended audience. One of the best kids apps I have come across on the App Store!”
iTunes Link:My Playhome Lite
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My PlayHome Lite
by PlayHome Software Ltd
Price: $FREE "My PlayHome Lite" gives your kids a taste of the acclaimed "My PlayHome". Get the full version for more rooms and free updates! |
iTunes Link:My Playhome Full Version
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My PlayHome
by PlayHome Software Ltd
Price: $3.99 USD ▶ Featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES: Apps to Keep Children Happy |
The Australian iMum Amanda is a married mother of three young boys from North Queensland and has a background in Business Administration and Information Technology. An Apple enthusiast since 2005, Amanda was donned the nickname ‘The iMum’ due to her growing addiction to their products and her many, many apps. She now owns an iPod Nano, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad Mini, 27″ iMac, 13″ Macbook Air and two Apple TV’s.
I have this app and my elementary special needs kids love it! Its a fun app and has many possibilities of scenarios. I love the option of different ethnicities for the people in the house. Very educational for following directions, identifying rooms of the house and identifying objects in the rooms.
I like the cause and effect of this app, for example after showing upstairs in the bathroom if you don’t dry off you drip until you are dry in the house.
we’re still discovering things in this app, but it was definately worth the money for the peace and quiet it brings! my kids love the running water best, it’s always on as the background noise to anything else they do in the game.