Storest by Pixle has to be, hands down, one of the cutest apps we've seen so far this year. The app has two modes: the first is a virtual store where a kid can play at shopping, checking out, paying and getting change, on the tablet itself. The other mode provides materials to be printed and cut out, so a real store-themed play space can be set up in the physical realm, with the app used as the cash register. Storest isn't so much a game as an educational tool or prop to facilitate play, and we are utterly charmed by it.
The virtual store consists of a shopping cart and several displays of themed items one might find in a big box store: food, toys, and holiday decorations. The cart can be filled with any number of any of these items, and rolled down to "check out." Items are then dragged onto the moving conveyor belt of the checkout stand, where each item is scanned and bagged.
As an item gets scanned, its price is tallied on the register, and it's listed on the receipt, with a picture of the item and the price. Then the view shifts to the register, where the user selects bills and coins of various denominations to "pay" and get their change. Once the user is done paying, it starts over again.
It's unlikely the "single-player" experience in Storest will teach children much about staying within a budget, or even that budgets exist. There's still counting out money and getting change back, though, even if the user spams the highest denomination bill into the till, eventually some math will sink in.
Before entering the other mode in the app, the user can tap on the print button to select what items they want to print out. The app will either send directly to a networked printer, or email a PDF to be printed out on another device. Each "merchandise" pack includes products with QR codes attached, and a display stand. Everything is cut out, and the stands are assembled into triangular tubes with a sort of pouch in the front for the items to be stored in. There's also a pack for play money that goes with it. Once it is figured out how the stands go together, it's all very simple for the kids to do themselves.
The tablet and the app then become the register, using the front-facing camera to scan the QR codes on each item and add them to the tally and the receipt. Depending on how much of the play money is printed out, this is where learning about keeping within one's budget can be taught ... unless the kids in question play with credit cards. We suggest occasional parental guidance to help manage expectations down the road of life in that case. The only real downside is that it's all paper, so if there's an open window or a fan on then the store is in for a world of trouble.
Can you spell "charcuterie" boys and girls?
We really like the idea of using an app to encourage play in the real world, prompting kids to interact with each other directly, rather than a multiplayer game where everybody has their nose glued to a screen -- not that we have a problem with traditionally set up multiplayer games, mind you.
Storest is available for $3 from iTunes.
Storest is good for:
A way for multiple kids to play together with only one tablet between them. It tangentially teaches kids about math using real-world examples, and can be used by parents to develop concepts like budgeting, or even business owning.
Storest isn't for:
People who don't have kids, though we admit there are a few adults who could use some remedial education on the math skills available here.
-- Michelle Elbert (
@mcelbert)
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