Children prefer apps to board games | Key4Communications |

The toy industry looks askance at tablets, smartphones and apps, as they feel that they could take part of its business. And it is true that a growing number of parents prefer to download cheap apps for their kids instead of buying a toy for the same price, given how easy and convenient it is to purchase one of these programs.

Educational games are also threatened: a recent study by the Technical University of Valencia and the Technical Institute AIJU, both from Spain, show how educational games for mobile devices are as effective as educational board games when increasing knowledge of children.

Children even experience mobile gaming as more fun and informative, and also prefer these games to traditional ones. 90% of children said to prefer the Iphone version of the game and 96% said they would play with it again. As for augmented reality, 91% would like to use such tools in class. All children who participated in the study said they had learned something from the mobile game, while in the case of the game board, the percentage dropped slightly to 93%.

Of course, it is likely that this enthusiasm for mobile games is due to the effect of novelty, although, as stated in the study, you can not leave out the educational possibilities offered by these tools.