My Town : School

Children love to explore and add their imagination to activities. The My Town series of apps are like a series of interactive dolls houses that are crammed full of adjustable, posable, and interactive elements. The one under review here is themed around a school but others cover celebrations, events, and workplaces.  

Just like with a real playset there are no rules, time limits or any other restrictions on how children can progress through this app. They can wander through the rooms and imagine their character's day at school. They can look for items that respond to a tap with a fun animation or sound effect.  There's a robot waiting to be put together, a chalkboard that can be written on, musical notes to be played and much more.  

The rooms are themed appropriately with a science lab, music room, classroom, sports area, canteen, and bathroom. They are all presented in a bright and colourful graphical style with crisp and clear sound effects enhancing them further.  Navigating through the rooms is easy.  Doors are tapped to open and then an arrow is clicked to progress into the room. The app is so self-explanatory and natural to use that no tuition or instructions are needed.

My Town: School is free to explore, so teachers and parents can also exercise their imaginations to use the app to teach their children. Helping children to learn new words by identifying what they are interacting with or describing the varied characters in the app might be one use. Discussing safety in the science lab might be another. An adult playing with a child should be able to spot a myriad of ways to add a bit of appropriate learning to their time with the app.

There is the occasional frustration.  Some of the 'hotspots' where items' interactivity are triggered can be a little difficult to hit the first time, but are usually easily homed in on for a subsequent attempt. The icon to display the rest of the series of apps is always tantalisingly visible which may well lead to children focussing on what they don't have rather than what they do. If you suspect that your child will like an app from this series, it might be worth considering buying it as part of a bundle as this will grant a saving compared to the individual prices.

My Town: School is suited for 3 to 9 year-olds and this is quite right but whether it is the right purchase will depend on how you want to use it or on your child's preferred style of play. Some children might feel at a loss without the direction of a well-defined gameplay. Others will revel in the freedom to exercise their imaginations.  If you feel that this is the type of play experience that your child will enjoy, then this app provides a great way to provide it for them.

You can download My Town : School on your iOS or Android devices from the app stores. Download the My Town : School app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.