How To Play
With this app, kids place their finger within a hoop on the screen, and by making a circling motion, they cause the hoop to spin at a certain speed. Presented as a series of puzzles, the app challenges kids to change the speed of their spinning to match a marker found on a musical meter. Spinning faster pushes the marker up to the top of the meter, and slow movements bring the meter down. In the process of spinning, players create music that is both calming and magical.
What Makes It Good?
Finger Hoola is unlike any other app. It does a nice job of providing puzzles that use fine motor control along with some deductive reasoning. It engages kids because spinning these virtual hoops is physically demanding, and they create visuals that are fascinating to watch.
Beware of Game Center Connection
Since Finger Hoola isn't an app created exclusively for young children, it uses Game Center integration to create leaderboards and achievements. These features can allow kids to communicate with strangers and connect to social media from within the app. To keep kids safe, parents of young children should turn off Game Center by going to the general "Settings" app and scrolling down to Game Center. Under Game Center, you turn it off by tapping on your Apple ID and following the directions in the pop-up window.
Best For
When your wiggle-worm kids have turned into a constant state of antsyness, bring out Finger Hoola. It is also a perfect travel app. Since most travel involves being confined in a small space of a car, plane, train or bus, giving kids a hoola hoop to burn off steam isn't possible.
All tech products are judged on a five star scale by looking at the following factors: fun, education, ease of use, value, and technical.
