# Hideout: Early Reading — user reviews > 107 indexed App Store user reviews of Hideout by Third Rail Games LLC, rated 4.40/5 from 33 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hideout-early-reading/id625966929/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hideout-early-reading/id625966929.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 25 · 4★ 3 · 3★ 2 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 3 ## What do users think of Hideout? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🎵 Catchy, engaging music and sound design - 🎨 Colorful, attractive visuals and artwork - 📚 Excellent phonics and early reading instruction - 🎮 Interactive games that keep children engaged - 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Effective for diverse learners including special needs children - 🆓 Free app with no mandatory paywalls - 🧠 Teaches word families, blending, and rhyming effectively - ⭐ Well-designed progression from letters to words to sentences - 🎯 Intuitive interface and smooth navigation - 💪 Recommended by speech-language pathologists and educators **Cons** - 🔊 Sound issues and volume problems on some devices - ⏱️ Limited content - only three word families - 🚪 Navigation issues - difficulty exiting screens - 💰 In-app purchases blocking access to full content - ⚡ App feels too fast-paced for some learners - 🎯 Confusing illustrations in some activities - 📵 Abandoned development with no updates **Commonly reported bugs** - Sound not working on some devices despite volume settings being correct - No way to exit screens or return to home menu - App crashes or freezes on certain devices - In-app purchase system incompatible with school MDM systems - Support website broken with outdated information **Most requested features** - Add more word families and sound combinations - Expand content with additional phonetic patterns (ch, wh, th, sh, long vowels) - Create a paid full version with more content - Add controls for presentation speed for auditory processing needs - Implement proper menu buttons for navigation - Develop a complete reading program series - Add more levels and progressive difficulty ## Newest reviews (16 of 107) ### 4/5 — iap bought *2021-08-18, version 2.02* workshop area ### 5/5 — I love this app! *2016-11-23, version 2.02* This is an engaging, interesting app for early readers. Great supplement for any reading curriculum. ### 5/5 — Love the new endings *2016-11-15, version 2.01* Thank you for adding 3 new endings! They're great! My daughter played through all of them and loves them-especially the snack rack. Keep the updates coming! ### 5/5 — Excellent *2016-11-12, version 1.4* My kids love this app! I have probably 250 games on my phone and several iPods. My young kids quite consistently will play this game, for multiple years now. Very glad to see a huge update. Thank you BYU and those that developed this! ### 5/5 — Excellent app *2016-03-10, version 1.4* My children both love this app! ### 5/5 — Best phonics app I have found *2015-12-04, version 1.4* I had to research phonics apps for my master's degree. This was the only truly excellent one I found. I've long since deleted all of the others but have hung on to this one. Kids love it, and so do their parents. ### 5/5 — One of the best learning apps! *2015-11-19, version 1.4* This is probably my favorite app I've downloaded for my kids. I'm a kindergarten teacher and this app is amazing for teaching word families. It is also my kids' favorite, engaging for 2-7 year olds. The little games are awesome as is all the music! ### 5/5 — Wonderful phonic game *2015-09-28* We hope there are more sound pairs. The first 3 were excellent. Great game design. Good repetition of sounds. Lets the young reader really participate. Thank you. ### 5/5 — Great app *2015-08-15* Best app out there My 4 yr old loves this app and can near read all the word without help :) ### 5/5 — Mom of three ... One w/ special needs 😍 Love It!! *2015-06-29, version 1.4* ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I'd rate this about 12 stars if I could!! 🏆 We live in the burbs of Chicago, and I'm not a Morman. I have no affiliation with BYU at all. This app has been thoughtfully arranged on *several* levels. It's darn near genius!! As a mom of a gifted 6th grade gentleman, a kindergarten age frilly Frozen-loving Dancin' Queen schweetheart who happens to have Down syndrome, and a rock 'em sock 'em highly imaginative and articulate preschool dude, I have scoured the App Store over the past 4 years looking for that perfect blend of engaging & entertaining and educationally robust. After testing more than 300 apps, this wins *all* kinds of awards from me!! First, the catchy rhythm sets the scene and helps activate both hemispheres of the brain which dramatically increases assimilation and retention of the material. The intuitive initial graphic presentation of the words demonstrates sound blending. The use of rhyme and rhythm throughout makes it fun and captures the interest of the child, while the individual (varied) games for each word family reinforce the sight and sounds of that word family. To top it off, the words are used in a sentence as well. If only we could taste those words, we'd have all five senses activated. I fell in love with the app within minutes and have yet to find anything out there that's remotely close. Well done SEEL team. This app rocks! (Literally!) Now that it's back on the App Store, I can continue continue my 'campaign' to let all the Early Childhood professionals, therapists, para-pros, and parents know how amazing this app is. Puh-leeeeeeeeaze keep building more!! I would gladly pay for extra content. ### 5/5 — Kids loves it *2015-05-26, version 1.4* The kids enjoy this app. They'll choose this app for their limited screen time instead of a show. ### 5/5 — Beautiful and fun *2015-05-10, version 1.4* This app is a great way to teach my kids to read. ### 5/5 — Glad to see more activities *2015-05-08, version 1.4* The activities capture children's attention, and now they have even more options for learning early phonic patterns. I've never introduced this to a child who hasn't been enthralled by it. ### 5/5 — Great reading tool for kids *2015-05-08, version 1.4* There's nothing that makes me feel like a better parent than introducing my kid to something they're gonna love (and, ps, they're learning a ton while they play)... My preschooler especially loves this app and I can happily hand him my phone cause it's exactly what he needs to get ready for kindergarten... Understanding that words are separated by a space, can be divided into sounds you can apply to lots of different words, and oh yeah, reading is a lot of fun. These games, sounds, and animation are particularly hilarious, my kids can't get enough (am I allowed to play too??) Thanks Hideout! Can't wait to see what you make next! ### 5/5 — It’s awesome *2015-05-08, version 1.4* Our little girl isn’t even quite 18 months old and she’s already learning the sounds of the vowels and trying to speak the words she is learning from this amazing app! It’s entertaining and it’s been a valuable learning tool. Highly recommended! Five stars isn’t enough. ### 5/5 — Great rhyming tool *2015-05-07, version 1.3* I have two boys with autism and teaching them rhyming concepts can be difficult. This app does a beautiful job teaching letter/word sounds as well as rhyming. I was surprised such a wonderful app was free and it was put together beautifully by the developers. I would pay for more options in this app because it's just that great! Thanks so much for this app! ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — I can't find where to buy it! *2023-01-11, version 2.2.1* I can't find where to buy it! ### 1/5 — Not a great ux app at all *2016-11-13* Clicked on a screen showed animation and no way of getting back to home screen. ### 1/5 — Hideout an apt name *2014-03-17, version 1.1* There is no sound, and no menu buttons to take you out of a page, so still needs some work. ### 2/5 — Love it! *2014-12-20, version 1.3* We love this app but all of a sudden the sound won't work. It's just Hideout that has no sound so we know it's not on our end. We hope this is fixed soon. It's really a top notch app! We will change our review when the sound is working again. ### 2/5 — Great but gets boring quickly *2013-12-31* I really like what this app has to offer. It's creative, fun, and gets kids interested in playing and reading. All my students are special needs and they love it. The problem, however, is it's limited to three word families. The promised "Summer" update of 2013 never appeared and the makers have offered no further information. I would happily pay for more words and activities but it seems that the makers are done with this app and have no further plans to expand. This had so much potential. What a waste. ### 2/5 — Good idea, but missing the point *2013-04-18* I really wanted to like this app. I have used the print version of the SEEL program and really liked the fun activities. My children did as well. The app, however, is too busy and flashes the words too quickly on the screen. Adults tend to forget that it takes children up to 6 times longer than an adult to process information. I hope the developers choose to slow down the words and sounds. Also, the music, though catchy, is a bit loud and distracting. In the mean time, I think I will stick with the Starfall apps. ### 3/5 — In app purchases are not good for schools *2017-02-01, version 2.02* I love this app and would have given it 5 stars until it added an in app purchase. We work with schools that use an MDM and in app purchases can not be made. Also the way the app brings the student directly to the letters that require an in app purchase is not helpful. If you want to make another dollar on the app charge the full price in the App Store so students can use your full app. ### 3/5 — Thg *2016-11-16, version 2.01* Jfy ### 3/5 — K teacher *2014-12-17, version 1.3* I love this app and so do the kids in my class! I have this app on another iPad that I use in my classroom. I just put it on my new iPad and there isn't any sound. I've checked the volume on the iPad, and it is on. Ive gone into the home part of the app and sound is on. I've deleted the app And reloaded it. So.... Help! ### 3/5 — Nice but limited *2014-04-08, version 1.1* Needs more combinations. Love the concept but this is more like a lite version and my kids went through this in 15 minutes and we're wondering why there wasn't more and so was I. Please expand! ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Great game!! *2023-03-09* This is a game I remember playing as a kid! I wanted to find it again, and my little sister did. I’m so happy she did because it brought me so much happy memories!! I love this game and would recommend it! Anyone reading this, know that you are loved and you’ve got this!! ### 5/5 — Low sound love app *2023-01-26, version 2.2.1* I love this app as an SLP! The only issue is that I cannot increase the sound on my iPad and there doesn’t seem to be a way to do it in settings of the app. I can barely hear it. Not sure if others have this issue. ### 5/5 — Fantastic *2022-05-09* A great app. Love the visuals. Very entertaining. Kids love it. ### 5/5 — Excellent! *2021-08-30, version 2.02* Very engaging, easy & made to be lots of fun even for me (grandma). ### 5/5 — Speech language pathologist recommends *2021-08-18, version 2.02* As a speech-language pathologist working with young children, Hideout is one of the main apps I recommend to parents to help their children learn the basics to reading. The app is great for typically developing children or developmentally delayed children. Hideout can help boost phonological awareness through its repetition, rhythm, word families, blending, and sentence awareness. ### 5/5 — Great for Rhyme Time *2020-04-20, version 2.02* I love this app for a quick Kindergarten rhyme time review. it is not only fun for kids but adults are captivated too. This program incorporates song, movement, and visuals to review word families. Also this Swiss family Robinson tree house hideout naturally taps into a young child’s intrigue. Way to go! ### 5/5 — Kids' favorite game *2018-02-25, version 2.02* I can't believe I've never left a review for this game. My 6 year old loved this game when he was younger, and it's now his little brother's favorite game! I love the pop up words and engaging games. The levels are well balanced with straight reading instruction and game play, perfect for a kid's attention span. Thank you for making an amazing game! ### 5/5 — My Son Like This *2017-08-27, version 2.02* My son love this app. I can see where there's a lot of possibilities with this app. Going inside the three house. Setting the app to make the child read this out load to score points to access different areas in the tree house. My son love the hip music too. It's a great start. ### 5/5 — Very Educational! *2017-06-13, version 2.02* I have 3 kids ranging from 5 to 1. All three of my kids love it. It's entertaining and helps them become familiar with word sounds. ### 5/5 — Great phonics reinforcement. *2017-01-15, version 2.02* Love this app. It's easy to use. My children love it. It teaches new letter combinations and reviews previously learned phonics. Can you please make an app for long vowels? Thank you. --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*