Yes, the summer holidays are upon us – and if you've got young kids around, your top priority is keeping them occupied!
With that in mind, our Agents have put together this list of apps and games specifically suitable for kids. From exciting games to creative crafts, these picks are sure to keep young minds active over the long summer months.
All of these apps should be reasonably safe and child-appropriate – but please do bear in mind that adult supervision is always recommended!
Pokemon Go
Niantic, Inc.
Free for Android and iOS
Surely everyone has heard of this by now, if not played it! Worldwide phenomenon Pokemon GO is a perfect choice for the summertime: a game that encourages you to get out and about and explore the world around you, as you walk through your local neighbourhood and nearest parks to find and capture Pokemon.
Everyone seems to be playing one of the most popular apps in history – and once you get out there and start catching these wonderful creatures, you’ll find new friends, as so many other children (and adults) are playing it too!
While wandering, you'll come across the little Pokemon creatures randomly scattered throughout the world for you to capture by flicking Pokeballs at them. As well as catching the creatures, you can also explore Pokestops, where you can receive in-game items, and Pokemon Gyms, where you can train or battle against opposing Pokemon to gain vital experience.
As this app does involve roaming around outside, it's perhaps most suitable for older children – and ideally, we recommend playing this with your kids. Enjoy the outdoors, stay safe and try to catch ‘em all!
Camp Pokemon
The Pokemon Company International, Inc.
Free for Android and iOS
If your kids are a little too young for Pokemon GO, then Camp Pokemon really stands out from the other games in the popular franchise for its appeal to younger children.
Camp Pokemon offers a variety of Pokemon-themed minigames, like ‘Guess the Evolution’ and ‘Pokemon Focus’, where you must guess the Pokemon based on either a silhouette or a character trait, or ‘Find the Pokemon’ where you must scan the landscape for Pokemon, then track them for a few seconds to record them in your Pokedex.
Some activities will earn you 'Pins', which unlock new areas of the island to visit, and appear in your hut to view at your leisure. Kids will love collecting these colourful badges, and a steady stream of unlockable content should help keep them occupied.
I like Camp Pokemon because it’s a very friendly game: it manages to be entertaining without having the combative elements of more mature Pokémon games. The minigames are easy to understand, but challenging enough that you’ll need a couple of attempts before you complete them – so kids will be able to play the challenges over and over again without getting bored!
Minecraft: Pocket Edition
Mojang
£4.99 for Android and iOS
We’ve recommended and talked about Minecraft: Pocket Edition before – and if you (or your kids) have played the PC or console versions, but haven’t played the Pocket Edition yet, now's the time!
Mojang's hugely popular construction sandbox is already a massive hit with children worldwide. Much like Lego and similar construction toys, you can craft, create and explore your world, with infinite possibilities for what you can build. The only limit is your imagination!
From a relatively bare-bones start, the Pocket Edition is now a pint-sized rival to the full Minecraft experience. Particularly useful for larger families, there's now a Wi-Fi multiplayer option – so you can join your family and friends and play together.
How to Make Origami Animals
Mobilicos
Free for Android and iOS
Constructing origami is a great way to pass the time – all you need are a few pieces of paper to keep your kids occupied! How to Make Origami Animals is a wonderful tool to help teach children (and adults) how to make animal shapes from a single piece of paper, quickly and easily.
Follow the step-by-step instructions and watch the animations to understand exactly how and where to fold your paper, and within minutes you’ll have a finished origami animal – ready to play with or show off to everyone!
I especially would recommend this app to anyone with kids who like to get hands-on with crafty activities. You won’t need to remember to bring rulers, pens or glue with you to enjoy origami, just a few pieces of paper – making it a perfect app to keep the kids occupied when you need a few minutes to yourself.
And it's not just for kids: if you feel like trying some origami yourself, check out some of the more advanced origami shapes you can make – although you may need to bring extra paper!
LEGO Juniors Create & Cruise
LEGO Systems, Inc.
Free for Android and iOS
Lego Juniors is aimed at younger children, aged four to seven – something that's reflected immediately in the simplicity of the gameplay.
At heart, this is a driving game: you press the accelerator to drive your car across the level, collecting gold Lego pieces along the way. Once you’ve collected enough gold pieces, you’ll earn a new Lego model for your collection – either a new car schematic, scenery additions or extra body parts to personalise your character. The creative excitement lies in piecing together your new vehicles: you can mix-and-match a number of unlockable parts to make a new custom car to cruise in.
If you’re in need of an app suitable for young children that can entertain without adverts, microtransactions or an internet connection, Create & Cruise is perfect for a spot of light entertainment. While the actual ‘building’ of the Lego blocks isn’t detailed enough to suit older children, the easy play style and plentiful customisation options are enough to keep any kid’s mind off a long journey, boring que or rainy day.
Roblox
ROBLOX Corporation
Free for Android and iOS
Roblox is a fun little app that's packed full of user-created minigames to enjoy with friends or other players around the world.
If you’ve played Minecraft or similar games, you’ll recognise a lot in Roblox –from the blocky graphics to the non-challenging game style. There’s no combat in Roblox, making it ideal for younger children to enjoy!
Each ‘level’ is different, and has its own unique rules and objectives – whether that’s avoiding disasters, creating pizzas, escaping sharks or even just hanging out with your friends in a virtual waterslide.
Because all the content in Roblox is created by users, there’s a constant supply of new and fun minigames to try out. While you’ll struggle to create your own level using a smartphone, Roblox can also be enjoyed on PC, Mac and Xbox One where you – or your kids – will have a few more tools to work with.
If you’re just looking for something fun and casual you can enjoy on a smartphone this summer, Roblox is definitely worth checking out – although it's worth bearing in mind that it does require an internet connection.
That said, while it is a multiplayer game, the chat options are limited to prevent ‘griefing’ or online bullying. Of course, we always recommend parental supervision – but these are still great features for a game aimed at younger children. Definitely one to check out if your kids are Minecraft-mad and looking for something new to play this summer!
YouTube Kids
Google, Inc.
Free for Android and iOS
This app is pretty straightforward: it’s YouTube for your little ones!
YouTube Kids has four simple categories – Shows, Music, Learning and Explore – to make discovering videos easy and fun. Big buttons and easy scrolling make navigation easy for little hands, allowing them to find content which suits them.
Most importantly, though, YouTube Kids makes sure your kids are safe from inappropriate videos – giving you total peace of mind. While a broad swathe of child-inappropriate videos are excluded from the app by default, adults can tweak these settings a little bit more – allowing you to restrict what is shown even further, and even set a timer so the kids know when enough is enough.
As always, we recommend you keep an eye on what your kids are watching – after all, no filtering system is perfect – but we’ve found it to be very reliable.
BBC iPlayer Kids
Media Applications Technologies Limited for the BBC
Free for Android and iOS
For kids who love CBeebies, this version of the popular BBC iPlayer has been crafted especially for them!
First, you'll create a profile for your child which allows you to save their favourite programmes. There’s a plethora of programming to choose from, it saves a separate ‘favourites list’ for each child's profile – making it particularly useful for larger families.
Another great feature is that you can pre-download shows while you’re connected to the internet at home – so when you’re on the road, kids can watch to their hearts content! This could be a crucial lifesaver for those long flights or car journeys.
BBC CBeebies Storytime
Media Applications Technologies Limited for the BBC
Free for Android and iOS
Finally, CBeebies Storyime is another great app from the BBC, featuring plenty of free storytime books for kids, your favourite presenters from CBeebies and even characters from shows, like Topsy and Tim as well as Peter Rabbit!
Best of all, these aren't your standard bedtime stories: they’re interactive too! Allowing you to touch and swipe as you move through the story certainly makes storytime fun – but as a father, I would recommend not using this at bedtime. The kids will enjoy it too much – and always want ‘just one more story’!
That's it for our round-up of the best apps and games to keep the kids occupied this summer – but if there's anything we've missed that your kids love, why not share it with our readers in the comments below? And for more great articles from our Agents direct to your inbox each month, get your name down below for the Geek Squad newsletter.