Doodle | Magic Joy . . . an Awesome Free Android Drawing App for Any Age

I rarely blog about apps, but I always make an exception when I come across one that I find to be outstanding.  This free app (with ads) is called Doodle | Magic Joy and has me and my children hooked.

I first discovered this app by seeing an ad for it on a mobile game I was playing on my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.   Then I let my 9 year old daughter try it on my phone and she didn't want to give my phone back.  Luckily, I was able to put this app on both her and her twin brother's android tablets.  YAY for getting my phone back!  Not too long after that, our 12 year old son wanted this app for his Android phone too.

What's great about this app?

1. It's free!
2. After you've saved your drawing, you can click the play button and it will replay how your doodle was created from start to finish!
3. It's extremely user-friendly.  Just drag your finger across the screen to draw.  A 2 year old could use it, as well as someone who is 90 years old.
4. There's an 'undo' button that let's you go backwards as many steps as you would like.
5. There are 10 different background colors.
6. There are 6 different brushes.  You can change brushes anytime while drawing a picture.
7. There are 16 different repetition patterns, including one that does not repeat at all, so you can draw free hand.
8. The ink color changes whenever you lift your finger off the screen and start a new line.
9. No two drawings have ever come out the same for me and it's so much fun to experiment with different ways of dragging your finger around on the screen.
10. You can share your finished art on your social media channels, save it to your mobile device to use as a wallpaper, etc . . . 

I have to say that my 9 year old son does not usually enjoy drawing, but he very much enjoys this app.  It's a wonderful creative outlet for those who do not have a natural knack for drawing.  I can feel how proud my children are when they show me their finished works of art, which pleases me very much.

Have you discovered any amazing free apps recently?  Share them with us in a comment here!

Checkout the Top iOS & Android Mobile Game Apps by Big Fish Games!

Thank you to Big Fish Games for providing a prize for our giveaway and for sending a Google Play credit and a Big Fish Game code to me as a thank you for taking the time to share these fun mobile game apps and PC games with my readers.  All opinions expressed are my own.

You may have heard me complain once or twice (or 20 times) about being too busy to do much gaming in recent years.  I have turned to Big Fish Games many times in search of shorter mini games to play on my computer that require less commitment than MMO's.  Now that mobile devices have pretty much taken over our lives, I can play games on-the-go and sneak in a little gameplay whenever I have some extra time . . . while I watch TV in bed at night, during my children's Taekwondo classes, and even while I'm waiting for pasta to boil.  If you're always looking for a fun new mobile game to try, a great place to start is the lists of iPad/iPhone/iPod game apps and Android game apps at BigFishGames.com.

Even though I enjoy playing games on my phone and tablet PC, I still love playing games on my widescreen computer monitor.  Hidden object games are my personal favorite with Diner Dash following at a close second.  Since there are so many out there, I consult the current list of Big Fish Games' Top-Rated Games when I'm looking for a new game.  You can see the current top 6 games below . . .

4 Tips for Gaming Fun with Big Fish Games . . . 

1.  Big Fish Games releases a new game everyday!

2.  Some games are free to play and some are paid.

3.  You can try any game for free for up to an hour before deciding to purchase it.

4.  The casino games at Big Fish Games use virtual money, so you can gamble for fun without using real-life funds.

To view all the games currently available at Big Fish Games, visit www.BigFishGames.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. A random drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.

The 2014 Guinness World Records Book Amazes Fans with a Companion Augmented Reality App

Thank you to Guinness World Records for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.  All opinions expressed are my own.

The Guinness World Records is a huge company who makes a book every year of world records that is categorized by types of records.  I have five Guinness World Records books so far, including the 2014 book.  The 2014 GWR book is very different from all the other books because there is a free See It 3D app for your Android or iOS phone or tablet.  The app makes 3D images pop-up on the screen that aren't there in the 2-dimensional book, using augmented reality technology and your device's camera.  Each 3D image has a special feature that allow you to do things that affect the image.  Some things that pop-up aren't images that you can play with, but are videos of the records in the making.

On page 26 and 27, there is one of my favorite 3D images about Prehistoric Life.  It is a Spinosaurus, the largest carnivorous dinosaur, compared to the sizes of a London phone booth and a double-decker bus.  There are three buttons used to control the 3D image.  One moves it around the page, another makes it roar, and the last one makes it bite down with its jaws.  It would have been even cooler if we could make the Spinosaurus destroy the double-decker bus and the phone booth.

The app on page 14 and 15, the Restless Planet, makes an image of the world flattened out on a flat surface.  Then, with the press of a button, it rolls up into a globe.  If you press the button on the bottom right corner, you can pick a certain natural disaster that you want to see pictures of.  It also tells you which natural disaster it is and where it happened.  My favorite natural disaster from this feature of the app is volcanoes.  It is my favorite because it is neat to see pictures of volcanoes erupting.

On page 28 to 29, the section on Snakes, the 3D image is a giant spitting cobra popping out of a lidded basket and spitting poison all over your screen.  This page is one of my favorites because you get to see how a giant spitting cobra would act in that situation, plus it is very action-packed.

At the beginning of the section Animal Extremes is Hercules, an adult male liger.  A liger is a mix of a lion and a tiger.  Hercules is the largest living cat in the world.  This is quite a coincidence because I saw Hercules in person at the Tiger Show at King Richard's Faire in 2012, but unfortunately in 2013 he retired.  I like this section because it's great to see Hercules in the Guinness World Records book.

I recommend the 2014 Guinness World Records book as a Holiday present to kids 7 and up.  There are cool photographs if the child can't read all the words.  I hope that, in the future, the next book will have augmented reality features for more pages, as the 2014 book only contains a handful.  To learn more about the 2014 GWR book, visit www.GuinnessWorldRecords.com.

Popar Toys Interactive 3D Puzzle Games Embedded With Augmented Reality

Thank you to Popar Toys for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Popar Toys is in the business of making augmented reality toys that get kids using their brains and then envelop technology into the mix. Their new interactive 3D puzzle games take this augmented reality idea and make it into a really fun, challenging, yet informative way to play. We received their Soccer and Planets 3D puzzle game and we were very excited to try these out, having had such fun with one of their augmented reality books previously.

The puzzles are as well made as you’d expect a puzzle to be and with 300 pieces in each, they are fairly challenging as well. They really got us using our logic skills as well as fine motor. It took us about an hour to complete each puzzle and then the real fun started when we used the apps.

To use the apps, simply open the corresponding app, point the camera on your iOS or Android device at the puzzle, line it up with the guides, and then the games “unlock” and you can play. The soccer puzzle’s app features lots of cool games and mini games to play that are soccer themed and utilize the touch screen and tilt action to play. From my 6 year old on up, we’ve all had fun playing this Popar Soccer Puzzle app.

The Planets Puzzle was the same concept but it was more of an informative app that told facts and other information about our solar system. It did have several mini games too that were really entertaining. My kids love learning, so they liked the info more than the games but the games were fun too.

Both apps are really cool and truly bring the puzzles to life in a unique way. Each puzzle retails for $14.99 and the corresponding apps are free on the app store. You can purchase these on Popar’s website at www.popartoys.com.

Our contest winner will choose to receive one of the following Popar Interactive 3D Puzzle Games . . .

• Basketball
• Football
• Soccer
• Construction Machines
• Picnic
• Planets
• Princess (Winner of the Summer 2013 Tillywig Toys & Media Award)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. A random number drawing will be held shortly after the contest closing. The winner will be announced here and will be contacted via email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Popar Toys’ Augmented Reality Books for iOS or Android Devices

Thank you to Popar Books for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize. All opinions expressed are my own.

We are tech people here in my home (as most of my readers already know), so when Popar Books offered me one of their “Augmented Reality” (AR) books, Bugs 3D, I was excited to try out this new technology. These AR books use any computer, webcam, or mobile device (iOS or Android) to create an impressive virtual reality experience. This turns an ordinary book into something quite extraordinary with 3D objects that come alive in your hands. This technology takes the old concept of pop-up books to a new and amazing level.

Words cannot tell you how absolutely incredible this book and app are! We used our iPad to bring our bug book alive and it is the neatest use of technology I’ve possibly ever seen. The animation is very detailed and the information both in print and via the narrator is very educational.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

Since the first day we received this book, we have been completely engaged. The kids have loved interacting with the bugs and learning things they didn’t already know. This is a seriously fun and interesting way to learn and we will be keeping an eye on Popar Book’s future uses of technology.

You can learn more about Popar Books on their website, www.popartoys.com. This book retails for $19.99 and the app is free to download on iTunes and on Google Play.

Our contest winner will choose one of the following augmented reality books to receive . . .

• Bugs 3D Book
• Princess and Her Pals 3D Book (Recipient of The National Parenting Center's Spring 2013 Seal of Approval)
• Construction Machines 3D Book

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck in the drawing!