Tangiplay Review: Tangible Coding Learning Toys for Kids aged 4+
Our girl is 6 years old, so we are preparing her for future adult life, by developing her mind and independent thinking. We have bought lots of STEM toys for her. We understand that in her future life, programming and engineering knowledge will be valued, that is why we focus on developing these skills. And now, finally, we have tested new Coding Learning Toys that have been just launched on Kickstarter — Tangiplay.
What Is Tangiplay? What Do We Like?
These are 12 multi-colored robot toys that are very pleasant to the touch because they are made from silicone. This is not just another cool startup, but it is a team of 3 dads who have more than 10 years’ experience in either software or hardware development.
What we liked and what is particularly important for a child is that the tasks do not imply right or wrong answers. These are open-ended puzzles where children need to look for an optimal solution to the problem.
We looked for offline courses on coding logic, but such classes are available for older children and teach real programming.
In this sense, a coding Tangiplay is a breakthrough as you can teach basic coding to children over 4 years old at home in your spare time. Easily, while playing so that the child feels confident and could gradually master the basics of programming.
The problem of all children lies in their dependence on gadgets, pads, which is bad since most of the content is not interactive. A child just consumes information, cartoons or videos.
Coding Skills. Why Is Tangiplay Better Than Other Games?
Most computer games available on the market have little interactivity and, as a rule, these games have a predetermined end and outcome. However, the worst thing about computer games is not the predetermined outcome but rather the fact that there is the only right way to achieve a result.
This is not the case in programming. There are always dozens and hundreds of various ways to achieve a goal or obtain a result. And this is what Tangiplay uses.
Are there competitors?
Yes, you can find a lot of computer games that teach programming, such as Human Resource Machine, Rabbits Coding or Code Combat. But they are too complicated for a child under 10 to understand. And until now, there have been no games that combine interactive exchange with physical objects to develop motor skills in children.
LEGO robot toys are more about developing purely engineering skills rather than computational thinking required in IT.
That is why we hope that Tangiplay will be our salvation. Because it allows a child to interact with the content and create their own reality rather than simply play. Currently, the application includes over 100 games, but the developers promise to go further.
How to play Tangiplay
Our Verdict: Excellent. Recommended!
Tangiplay on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tangiplay/tangiplay-tangible-coding-learning-toys-for-kids-aged-4
