Common Sense Media Review
By Mieke VanderBorght, based on child development research. How do we rate?
age 4+
Open-ended play rules in a virtual urban dollhouse.
-
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Toca Life: City is like a virtual dollhouse in which kids can explore, imagine, and play. It joins the previously titled Toca Town -- now Toca Life: Town -- in a Toca Life series the developers describe as its "storytelling" app series. As usual, there are no rules, no guidelines, and no right or wrong way to play. Kids simply poke around four city areas and experiment. A recently added feature allows kids to record their voice as they moves things around on the screen, and save their stories to the device: For this, they'll need access to the microphone and the camera roll. There's an icon on the home screen that features weekly videos and silly facts about the Toca Life characters. In their device's settings menu, parents can turn off the music, or hide the Weekly News and Toca news icons. A short letter from the developer and articles on the website provide inspiration and suggestions for how to best accompany kids on this adventure.
-
Products & Purchases
very little
Small icon on the home screen takes users to ads for other Toca apps; actual purchase protected by a parent lock. Parents can hide this icon in the settings menu on their devices.
-
Ease of Play
a lot
No rules, and nothing complicated here: Simply tap, drag, and drop to explore.
-
Educational Value
some
Kids can learn through imaginative and creative pretend play. They'll experiment with self-expression, routine interactions such as shopping or getting food at a restaurant, and social situations. By being in charge of what happens in their city, kids can feel empowered to try out different roles, practice different actions, or simply enjoy getting to call the shots. If kids play with a friend, they'll also work on social skills such as collaboration, compromise, and team problem solving. When paired with extension activities and offscreen imagination games, Toca Life: City can be one high-quality, fun piece in kid-driven play.
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Toca Life: City
Parent and Kid Reviews
See all
- Parents Say (2)
- Kids Say (8)
age 4+
Based on 2 parent reviews
gftgffdr B. Parent of 11-year-old
August 4, 2023
age 5+
Belinda N. Parent of 6, 9 and 12-year-old
September 14, 2018
age 3+
A good game for kids 3 to 8
My six year old likes these games, and I let him download a few on his IPad Mini, with this being one of them (the other ones being Toca Nature, Toca Dance, Toca Blocks, and most recently Toca Life: After School). The game is really easy to play. There are no rules, just tap and drag objects to make them move. The games do cost $2.99 a piece, so I only payed for this and Toca Dance, with the rest being purchased using a $15 dollar iTunes card, so that’s a warning in case you don’t want to spend money on some game. But it is a nice game for little kids.
See all 2 parent reviews
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
- Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
- Unclear whether personal information are shared for third-party marketing.
- Personalised advertising is not displayed.
- Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
- User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
- Data profiles are created and used for personalised advertisements.
What's It About?
TOCA LIFE: CITY has four places to visit: a mall, a loft apartment, a hair salon, and a food truck park. In each, kids choose as many characters as they want and use their imaginations to make up stories as they explore the almost infinite number of things to do. Shop for clothes, groceries, or pets; color and style hair; prepare sushi or order fish and chips at the food truck of your choice; invite some friends over for a party, then water the plants and read a book before getting into PJs, turning offthe lights, and going to bed. There are no rules,objectives, or a linear story to follow.
Is It Any Good?
Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (8):
This kind of open-ended, imagination-driven, kids-in-charge play is truly important for kids, and though Toca Boca creates magical worlds, there are still limitations. Overall, the design is very appealing, withlots of interactive layers. However, some aspects are a bit disappointing; for example, the hair salon could be more interactive and better developed, and it would be nice to see the characters react more to what kids do with them. The bigger question is whether a screen is the best platform for imaginative play. The power of kids' imaginations is remarkable: They may be better off when they truly are in charge and can create literally anything and everything with something as simple as a cardboard box. Yet, given thelimitations of what an app can do, Toca Life: City is a more than decent attempt at inspiring creativity and pretend play.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what kids see in this virtual city and how much it's the same as or different from what they see in their real-life cities(or towns).
Play with your kids and let them take the lead as they dictate what happens throughout the city. Always follow their lead, but provide helpful relevant suggestions that can make their play more meaningful, such as, "I see you've invited some friends over to your apartment. What do you think you can do together?"
Encourage screen-free creative and pretend play with dress-up clothes and props. For example, an extra sheet can make a great cape, or faces drawn on popsicle sticks can be puppets.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire
- Subjects : : storytelling
- Skills : Creativity: imagination, Self-Direction: initiative
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Release date : June 25, 2015
- Genre : Education
- Publisher : Toca Boca
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 6.0 or later
- Last updated : February 8, 2019
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Toca Life: City
Suggest an Update
Your privacy is important to us. We won't share this comment without your permission. If you chose to provide an email address, it will only be used to contact you about your comment. See our privacy policy.
