I’m not a girly-girl by any stretch of the imagination – I don’t like pink, shopping for clothing makes me sweat, and dressing up has never been my “thing”. Of course my 4-year-old daughter is the girliest of girls; she won’t wear anything that isn’t pink and a dress, and her eyes light up when I ask if she wants to go shopping.
When I got a chance to preview new release Fashion Getaway, I knew instantly that the minute she saw the game she would be hooked. From the developers at Total Eclipse, the haute couture app offers endless creative play and some well-hidden educational content dressed up as a fun and engaging virtual world of dress-up.
Players first choose one of four models and then enter a boutique filled with hundreds of clothing and accessory choices. Tops, pants, shoes – even hairstyles – all can be customized and the colors changed to make the perfect outfit. Once the jet-set crew is perfectly coiffed, models can be whisked away on a dream vacation, like lounging in Santorini or sunbathing in Oahu. Take a break from shopping to play the memory mini-game, which helps memory skills and retention.
While the items in the boutique and the vacation destinations cost “gems” to buy, the game starts out with a healthy cache of 3000 gems to get players started. That’s more than enough to start a wardrobe; most clothing items cost around 50 gems and vacations average around 500. More gems can be bought with real money through IAPS or earned by playing dress-up or the memory mini-games. A parental “gate” can be activated to block IAPs so young players don’t rack up a huge bill.
I was right (as mothers usually are, ha!): my daughter absolutely loves this game. She has a blast choosing and matching and re-dressing her model and taking and sharing pictures of her in exotic locales. I like that the game is fun and engaging but also sneaks in some early learning skills, like global awareness (learning about new places) and color recognition. Ultimately the game is a great creativity booster as it allows for open-ended play.
Downloading Fashion Getaway is free, and if IAPs are disabled through the app or on your iPad it can be totally free to play as well. It’s a perfect addition to your app library, especially if your kiddo loves fashion, pink, and all things sparkly.
