It’s been a long time (has it ever happened? LeapFrog’s My Robot Friend came closest) since a single app cast this powerful a spell on both of my daughters at the exact same moment in time. The other amusements are shuttered and the entire hour, plus extra begged-for minutes, are devoted to constructing massive vacation homes by the sea with the assistance of a myriad of always-adorably-weird Toca Boca characters, each of whom bring a special talent (painting, block-laying, etc.) to the work site. When the Bear and Mouse play Toca Builder, things are different. You are gonna ride everything you love once instead of the one attraction you adore most 7 times in a row. They do this because when you’ve got a fixed amount of time, you want to touch all the bases, like being set loose in an amusement park for only an hour. Here’s how apps are played in my house: the kids get about an hour or so every couple of days and during that time they cycle through 6-8 apps, playing each for a short spell before moving on to another. And for anyone who has ever played, or watched their child play and fall in love with, one of Toca Boca’s perfectly built games for iPad or iPhone, you know just how much weight that statement is meant to carry. This brand new app is Toca Boca’s finest hour. As colorful as LEGO construction in the physical world and as architecturally engaging as the pop culture phenomenon Minecraft in the virtual one, Toca Builders is a sheer delight for children.

Toca boca builders for free