Tuesday 2 August 2011

Tati's Hotel - Magic Muddle













In the second of an occasional look at kid-friendly games and apps, ReadItDaddy was fortunate enough to be sent a promo of Tati's Hotel - Magic Muddle. This kid-friendly app once again assumes that you, as a trusting parent, don't mind your youngster pawing your favourite smartphone (or iPad) to play a distracting game while mummy or daddy juggle the housework, drive the car or push the shopping trolley around. 

I'll admit that we've never heard of Tati's Hotel, a CITV show. Apparently I've heard that it's sort of like a child-friendly version of Fawlty Towers (the mind boggles!) and this app shows off some of the whacky characters from the programme. 

Essentially it's an extremely simple puzzle game that lets toddlers press away at the screen in order to rearrange a muddled up picture of a character, restoring it to normal. It's as simple as that. Tap a block or swipe it to move it around the screen, and once you've completed the picture your best times on each puzzle are recorded. 

Unlike most kid apps, this one doesn't kick you firmly in the wallet at 69p. Alas though there's so little to it, and even if your children love the show and the characters they might very swiftly get bored doing the same thing over and over again (and 'best times' are lost on most toddlers so there isn't even the competitive hook of getting a great score). 

Charlotte's best bit - Easy to control

Daddy's favourite bit - Wallet friendly, unlike a lot of kid apps

Rating: 2 out of 5

Tati's Hotel - Magic Muddle on iTunes (Universal, 69p)