Lipa Knight Review
Price: FREE
Version Reviewed: 1.2.5
App Reviewed on: iPad 3
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I am eager to let readers know about a new app, Lipa Knight, from the developers at Lipa Learning, whose focus is educational apps for preschool-aged children. Two of my personal favorite apps of theirs have been Lipa Train, a logic game that can be enjoyed by slightly older children, as well as this new app, Lipa Knight,which is also a thoughtfully developed game that will flex children’s spatial reasoning as one builds bridges in order to help a knight save his princess from a monster.
Lipa Knight opens up with a short, charming sequence where a cyclops invades a picnic and drags off a princess, taking her back to his castle – reminiscent of the set-up of Donkey Kong. From here the knight will have to venture to the castle, but to do so bridges will need to be constructed for his safe passage. Each level consists of a large break in the road that the knight is crossing, which needs to be filled in. Bridge pieces are offered, and players must use them to create an area for the knight to cross on foot or horseback. They vary from the most simplistic of a single piece placed over the open area to challenging situations where multiple pieces must be placed in correct order to facilitate crossing.
My son and I have really enjoyed this delightful science app; it’s a wonderful problem-solving app for children. I do believe that Lipa Knight may become a little complex for those in preschool to complete alone, but it is a very good choice of application to share with a young child and a wonderful choice for early grade school children as well. My boy enjoys Lipa Knight both on the iPad at home as well as an app to keep him occupied when we are out and about. The look of this app is bright and colorful, with a nice level of variety seen in the background of these puzzles as one gets a look at the countryside of the kingdom while building bridges. Even after completing it, my boy still comes back to Lipa Knight to continue to work on these puzzles, which says a lot about its longevity.
The only detail I could do without in Lipa Knight is how, after one clears a level, one is congratulated by a child popping up in the corner of the screen to remind one that they have completed the level that they were on – moments that I do not feel added much to this experience. I did, however, enjoy the short animated scene where the knight saves the princess, forgiving the cyclops in a way that is cute and fun – a very nice conclusion to a job well done. Because some of these puzzles can be difficult, it would be nice if the hint button included information on helping players to succeed on the level they are currently working on instead of a basic overview of how it is played.
Even with these notes, Lipa Knight is a polished educational app that both my son and I have enjoyed working on, and it is an app that I can easily recommend.