Today we have some INCREDIBLY exciting news – our brand new fairy tale app, Jack and the Beanstalk, is out now on the App Store.
We’re so proud of this app – we think it’s our best one yet. It blurs the distinction between story and game more than ever before to create a completely new kind of reading experience for children: Jack and the Beanstalk is where on-screen gaming and reading meet.
You can watch our video trailer for the app at the top of this post, and find it on the App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch for $4.99/ £2.99 here.
Conceived and created with reading for pleasure at its heart, Jack and the Beanstalk rewards the reader’s success with more story, and encourages repeat play with endless variety. You can play games in different rooms of the giant’s castle, and collect keys to unlock more of the story – and every so often, Jack meets the sleeping giant, and your success (or failure) at collecting his treasure determines the outcome of the whole story.
It’s a brilliant re-telling of the story that contains all the familiar elements that everyone knows and love – along with lots of imaginative new features.
Jack and his mum have to sell their only cow (and you can help get Daisy ready for the market by feeding her, cleaning her, and putting her bell on):
But on the way to the market Jack meets a strange-looking man who offers to swap Daisy for some magic beans (you can count the beans into Jack’s backpack):
The beans grow into a giant beanstalk (which naturally, you can climb):
And at the top of the beanstalk is a rather grand-looking castle:
And inside the castle is where the fun REALLY starts. We’ve created an exciting, open environment to explore: find the right key to open nine different doors in the giant’s castle, each with unique games and characters behind them. Here’s what the castle hallway looks like:
And here’s just one of the nine rooms inside – can you help Jack free the dragon from its cell?
But be careful you don’t wake up the giant…
He’ll chase you out of the castle and back down the beanstalk – and the ending of the story will change, depending on how many of the games inside the castle you’ve completed!
The app uses a totally non-linear narrative – you can work your way through the castle in a different order every time (and jump to your favourite scenes using the castle map):
We’ve made the app with an emphasis on reading for pleasure that we think will be especially good at encouraging reluctant readers (and reluctant boy readers in particular) who love on-screen gaming to participate in a reading experience.
As with our other fairy tale apps, there’s rich, detailed artwork, animation, original music, sound effects, voice work and interactivity that will keep young children engaged every time they re-visit the app.
We know you’ll love it. And if you do buy Jack and the Beanstalk, please do consider leaving a review on the App Store – it really makes a big difference! You can also sign up to our apps mailing list here, and we’ll keep you up to date with all our new apps and offers.
Find Jack and the Beanstalk on the App Store.
Have fun with the app – and please do let us know what you make of it!
