Don’t pet the strange dog. Don’t poke the sleeping cat. Don’t touch the dead bug behind the grocery store toilet. I can’t imagine how frustrating it is to be a child and have your exploration curtailed due to pesky things like hygiene and rabies.
Luckily, this adorable app for iOS features a menagerie of creatures that your kids can poke, pet, stroke, mix, match, and prod to their hearts’ content.
Herd Absurd is the brainchild of Australian start-up Tinybright that might as well be called PLEASE TOUCH. Kids 2 and up get to explore 15 brightly colored and ridiculous creatures, trying to match their tops, bottoms, and middles.
Of course, the fun part is getting them all mixed up. Lobster-sheep-bat or frog-beaver-fly? Pretty silly. And when different parts of each animal are touched, hijinks ensue; arms flail, tentacles unfurl, lips kiss, wings buzz, and the bat might try to sell you some watches. Be sure to poke the hedgehog a lot– especially in the tummy.
My four-year-old was especially into it, crafting creatures ridiculous enough to make Dr. Moreau giggle. My six-year-old was more into the challenge of collecting all fifteen completed animals. Once she’d finished them all, the finale wasn’t as big as we had hoped for, and she immediately lost interest. But my younger child still asks for “That funny animal game”.
Other bonuses for parents include the ability to turn off the background music and/or the animal sounds, not to mention that there are absolutely zero in-app purchases, ads, or ways for kids to get in trouble.
For little ones, it’s a great way to finally say, “Here. Touch this. Touch it more. Poke it in the mouth” without having to worry about hand sanitizer, afterward.-Delilah
Find Herd Absurd by Tinybright in the iTunes store for $2.99 or try out the mini version first.
