Kids Can Tickle Timmy To Their Heart's Desire
Timmy Tickle ($4.99) by Nimblebean is an interactive storybook designed for young children between the ages two and six. As the story is being read, children can tap around the screen to interact with Timmy the Octopus. Timmy is a ticklish, dishwashing, costume-wearing, color-changing Octopus who is sure to entertain your kids.
The app is beautifully designed. All the graphics are crisp and clean and the menus are clutter free. It is so simple that even a two year-old could operate it! There are two story modes, “read to me” or “read myself.” Younger children can opt for the “read to me” option and the app will read the two lines of text to them on each page, explaining how to interact with Timmy.
There are eight pages in the storybook. I think this is quite short, but hopefully more will follow in future updates. Each page has a different focus and children can tap on Timmy to make him laugh, change color, or play with different objects on the screen.
One thing that I found particularly annoying about the app was how long it took Timmy to complete an action. Children have very short attention spans, and they like instant gratification. But it is impossible to cut short any of Timmy’s actions by tapping again. So on the roller skate page, kids cannot tap both sides of Timmy and see him fall (which I am sure they would laugh at if they saw). The inability to interrupt an interaction with a second tap is Timmy Tickle’s biggest flaw.
Overall, Timmy Tickle is a very cute and entertaining game for young children. Little kids like repetition so I think Timmy Tickle has a moderate replay value. $4.99 is a bit steep, but you should still check it out in the App Store.
