Games for Kids are No Longer What they Used to Be

Once upon a time, kids spent a major part of their playtime with toys such as balls and dolls. Today, the touchscreen has overtaken every other toy for kids, including action figures, dolls, board games and other traditional toys. While this bodes well for developers of online games for kids, others in the entertainment industry such as toy companies have taken a big hit. In the span of a few years, they have been thrown off track by the sudden popularity of mobile games for kids, affecting even recent technology such as the Nintendo Wii. This trend is quite understandable when you consider that with the purchase of a smartphone, children have access to hundreds of free and nearly free games for kids, all of which can be carried around and played at will. It isn’t easy coming up with a good alternative, but toy companies have been hard at work, and they seem to have reached a compromise: the latest trend in games for kids is to go ‘phygital’, i.e. to integrate the digital gaming experience with physical toys. Here are some of the interesting kids’ games they have come up with.

Image Credit: Official Leweb Photos

1. Ubooly

The Ubooly was not made by any toy giant, but it is a perfect example of ‘phygital’ formula that works. This innovative game for kids is in the form of a stuffed toy that brings an iPad/iPhone to life. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the mobile device brings the stuffed toy to life. Makes no sense? Well it’s like nothing you’ve seen before. This toy resembles a cute stuffed animal that is fast asleep. Go to the Ubooly app and slip your device into the stuffed pouch – the part visible through the head features eyes, nose and a mouth, effectively bringing your pet to life. The Ubooly uses its voice recognition software to interact with children and even updates its content based on your child’s interests. It tells jokes, plays educational games and generally does a lot of talking. Like any real pet, the more time it spends with your child, the more it adapts to his/her behaviour. The app can be used without the pouch as well to play Ubooly-themed mobile games.

2. Power Rangers Mega Mission Helmet

This interesting game for kids is another way to integrate the digital and physical worlds of play. Designed to help kids feel like the superheroes from the TV show, the toy lets kids download missions and assignments from the internet, and enact their favorite action scenes.

3. Words with Friends Luxe

This is a very interesting game for kids, as much for the gameplay as the story behind its creation. Scrabble is one of the oldest and most popular board games there ever was, a fine kids’ game from Hasbro. Zynga, the social game company, took the timeless game, made a few changes and rolled out a social gaming version of the game named ‘Words with Friends’. A smart move, since the game has 14.9 million monthly active users. Now here’s the interesting bit. Hasbro followed this with a board game version of ‘Words with Friends’, with a phygital touch! The game comes with a smartphone stand so that players can make use of the Word Check and Score Pad digital features while playing the game face-to-face.

The world of kids’ games is fast-evolving and as toy companies have realized, those who don’t jump on to the bandwagon will soon be left behind!