Happy Geese for iPad is a board game app for young children and children with special needs. Since it was launched three weeks ago, the app has already been downloaded by over 40.000 families in 86 countries. Apple has noticed Happy Geese and has included in its list of “New & Noteworthy” apps on iTunes in 17 countries from April 12th to 18th.

Happy Geese offers a simplified version of Snakes and Ladders and other board games, and is designed to encourage families to play together. It includes boards with clean designs and various levels of difficulty, cells and dice of different types (colors, shapes, letters, etc.) and other items that allow you to tailor the game to the abilities of each child. Visual help can be enabled to assist children in finding what the next move is that they should make in the game. We have even included a feature called King/Queen of the round, which ensures that the chosen player wins the round for sure: a very popular feature that helps avoid disappointments with children who are new to the game.

Educational features have been included in the design of Happy Geese: the app includes visual hints, dice with colors, shapes, letters and numbers, great animations and other elements that allow parents and educators to adapt the game to every child’s abilities. The app also helps to teach how to take turns and the clutter-free design eliminates unnecessary distractions – a key requirement for children affected by ASD.

Happy Geese is available on iTunes as a free app that is fully functional and includes 4 boards. Six additional boards are available for AUD 1.99 as an in-app purchase.

The app has received great initial feedback from the media and from its first users. Parents are increasingly looking for apps that are fun, educational and without violence. Happy Geese fills this need with a game for everyone.