Color & Shape Run: run to the matching shape
A shape comes up on the wooden sign, like a blue triangle, with a picture of it beside its name. Three archways come down the path, each with a shape on a board. Each kid steps into the lane with the same shape and color, and their runner races through. It starts with simple shapes, then colors, then both together.
Why the camera? It鈥檚 how the runners copy each move, and the video never leaves this device.
How it plays
- Look: at the sign: a shape comes up with its picture and its name, like a blue triangle.
- Find: the same shape on the archways. It's the big shape on each board; the small badge on top (a blue circle, a gold star or a purple triangle) only marks the lane.
- Step: into that lane before the archway arrives, and run through.
Levels
Ten levels. It starts with three shapes in one color (a circle, a square and a triangle), then stars, hearts and rectangles, then all six. Next come colors: red, yellow and blue squares, then orange, green and purple ones, then any three. From level 7 it's color and shape together: find the green square when a green circle and a red square are there too. Each kid climbs at their own pace, and each player's level is remembered on that device.
Setting up takes two minutes
- A laptop, tablet or phone with a camera. Prop a tablet or phone up sideways, on a shelf or against a few books.
- Put it at about chest height, camera facing the room: a laptop on a table or TV stand, or a tablet or phone propped up sideways. A laptop plugged into the TV makes the runners easy to see.
- Step back 2 to 3 metres: Player 1 on the left, Player 2 on the right, head to toe in view.
- Hands up to join, and play.
Nothing leaves your device
There are no accounts or logins, no ads and no tracking. The camera video is processed on the device and never uploaded, so no video, photos or body data leave it.
Questions
Does my child need to read?
No. The sign shows a picture of the shape to find beside its name, so a kid who can't read yet matches the picture.
Does it work for color-blind kids?
The six colors are picked to stay apart with the most common kinds of color blindness, and the colors that are still closest are never the only difference between two answers. Levels 1 to 3 use shapes alone.
Can two kids play together?
Yes. Two kids play side by side, each on their own level, so an older and a younger sibling can race at the same time.
Is it free?
Yes. Color & Shape Run is free for good, and so are Hopadoo, Sum Run, Word Pop and Monkey Mirror. The optional Family Unlock adds Sneak, Ten Jar, Word Hop and Number River, with one payment and no subscription.
What ages is it for?
About 5 to 12.
What if the camera isn鈥檛 working?
Every game also plays with the keyboard, so nobody misses out.
More games: Hopadoo 路 Sum Run 路 Word Pop 路 Monkey Mirror 路 Sneak 路 Ten Jar 路 Word Hop 路 Number River 路 Times Tables Run
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