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Kids entertainment can be a special kind of hell if you\u2019re not a kid. For every Bluey \u2014 a show that\u2019s thoughtful, funny, and thoroughly watchable if you\u2019re over the age of five \u2014 there\u2019s a Blippi. If you\u2019re not familiar, he\u2019s a kind of MrBeast for toddlers. But he\u2019s hardly alone: YouTube Kids is littered with low-grade, algorithm-optimized videos of colorful trucks and Cocomelon knock-offs. It\u2019s weird out there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
While prepping for our first cross-country flight with our toddler, I stumbled across a true gem: a collection of iPad games that aren\u2019t just tolerable, they\u2019re actually good.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
They\u2019re made by Sago Mini<\/a>, and every one of its games is just so goddamn cute.<\/em> Some of them are structured as \u201cplay sets,\u201d which are little interactive, open-ended cartoon worlds. Wander through a city or an airport terminal and you\u2019ll find tons of objects to interact with, vehicles to drag and drop, and funny little Easter eggs all over the place. You can adjust the speed of an escalator to send a character flying into a ball pit, and if you open the door to a bathroom stall, you might find a pigeon sitting on the toilet. That\u2019s just objectively hilarious.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Other games are a little more structured, though there\u2019s plenty of stuff to stop and explore throughout as you send an adorable little cartoon cat on a road trip to visit a friend or use various construction equipment to build a rocket ship. The attention to detail is excellent, and there\u2019s plenty to satisfy my kids\u2019 curiosity \u2014 and, if I\u2019m being honest, mine too.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n What makes these games stand out, aside from the fact that they\u2019re not unbearably obnoxious, is that they feel genuine. I don\u2019t feel like they feed on my kid\u2019s attention for views or downloads; they reward it. I\u2019d much rather have him spend his screen time playing one of these games than watching some ghoul who figured out how to monetize toddlers\u2019 attention romp around an indoor playground.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n These games don\u2019t feed on my kid\u2019s attention for views or downloads; they reward it<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Sadly, in a brutal reminder that parents just can\u2019t catch a break these days, Sago Mini recently took away one of my favorite features<\/a>: the ability to download and pay for games individually. Now, everything is in one app called Sago Mini World<\/a> behind a monthly subscription \u2014 $6.99 on iOS and $5.99 on Android. There really is no escaping the subscription economy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I guess it speaks to the strength of Sago Mini\u2019s games that I went ahead and signed up for a subscription even after I\u2019d paid for several standalone games. But there are dozens more games included in the subscription, and if I\u2019m going to screech about the lack of good kids entertainment, then I should pay up and support the high-quality stuff. I just wish I could pay for it once and be done, you know?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n