Ludi App

What is Ludi App app?

Ludi App is aimed at young children. It shows the player objects and ideas from the world around them and asks them to categorise and match them. The app depicts each item in a high-quality image accompanied by an option to name it out loud.

The app is especially good for children who like calmer experiences or who struggle to focus as Ludi App has a minimalist, though attractive, design. The app is designed for use on phones. It will work on an iPad, but it either occupies a phone-sized screen area or is stretched to fill more space.

What we love about Ludi App.

Judging by most apps aimed at young children, you'd think early learners exclusively want apps to be dripping with animations and visual effects. There's certainly nothing wrong with those apps, but some young kids undoubtedly prefer a calmer play experience, and Ludi App provides this.

Ludi App has a refreshingly clean and uncluttered play area. The images chosen are sharp and easily recognisable. Its sound is just as clear with spoken descriptions of each image available.

What skills does it improve?

The app's features make it relevant to learning different skills and knowledge. Hearing the names of objects shown in images will introduce kids to new words.

They will see how they can categorise items in different ways. The lack of distracting elements in the games will help kids develop their concentration and focus.

What age is it appropriate for?

Kids aged between 2 and 6 are the target users for this app. There are three difficulty levels for the games.

Is Ludi App easy to use?

Each of the sorting games is available directly from the home page of the app. All that the player needs to do is scroll through the options until they reach the one they want.

Depending on the sorting tasks, there are different numbers of spaces for choices to be dropped. Players enter answers through a simple drag-and-drop mechanic, and the pictures to be dragged are large so that young children can easily manipulate them.

How will students benefit?

Not all children learn well when there are a lot of 'entertainment'-style visual effects. While for some kids, these act as incentives, for others, they distract from the learning.

Ludi App's refreshingly spacious and pure approach gives these kids a calm and effective place to learn. With no timers or scores, they can go at their own pace and never need to fear failure.

How will teachers benefit?

Teachers could use Ludi App's large bank of images in many ways. As well as working with their class discussing how to sort the objects, the photos might be helpful for language teaching and learning keywords for other lessons.

How will parents benefit?

With so many sets to categorise and match, parents will always be able to find an activity relevant to their child. The lack of time limits provides an opportunity for parents to talk and discuss the choices with their children, which will add to the learning experience.

What can Ludi App improve on?

When the user drops their selection, the drop target is determined by the location of the user's finger rather than the tile itself. As the tiles are quite large, this can result in occasional misses.

The user is directed to make sure that they always select a tile from the centre to avoid this misplacement. However, apps should be dealing with this rather than the user—especially when aimed at young children. A simple highlight to show the current target would make things a lot more predictable.

How much does Ludi App cost?

You can download Ludi App at no risk. The free version has a limited set of content that kids can play, but there is enough for you and your kids to see if this is an app you want to pay for.

What is included with the free version vs. paid?

A single in-app purchase unlocks the full app. There is no subscription to pay nor any further in-app purchase options at the time of this review of Ludi App.

Is Ludi App safe to use?

All of the images in the app are suitable for kids and feature appropriate subjects. Ludi App's privacy policy states explicitly that no advertisements or external links will be featured in the app.

There is an option for parents to share the app with contacts, but this is behind a parental lock that is difficult enough to be a block for any child for whom this app is intended.

Overall rating of the app.

Ludi App should be applauded for daring to think that not all young kids need a riot of colour and animations to learn. Its calmer approach provides a real alternative for these kids. Not that the app is unattractive—it looks excellent in its understated way.

The learning activity is quite simple and does not vary much aside from the objects to categorise. Still, kids learn through repetition, and the simplicity provides opportunities for parents and teachers to work alongside kids and enhance learning.

The simplicity of Ludi App's design and activities will split kids. For some, they'll love it, but others will find it lacking compared to other learning games.

For those that appreciate the clam simplicity of the app, it is worth five stars. We recommend that you try the free download of this app to see if the app's style and categorising activities will suit your kids. You'll then be able to make an informed decision whether to take up the in-app purchase option.