Highlights™ Shapes vs Code Karts
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Highlights™ Shapes
This app helps young children learn and practice matching, sorting, and categorizing shapes and colors through engaging, story-driven puzzles. It features imaginative worlds and gradually increasing challenges to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Shape and color matching
- Sorting and categorizing activities
- Color mixing lessons
- Progressive challenge levels
- Exploration of imaginative worlds
- Ad-free environment
- Multiple language options
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Accompanied by a friendly fox - and other animal buddies along the way - young children will learn and practice matching, sorting, mixing and categorizing shapes and colors through imaginative activity-filled worlds. Visit an ancient jungle, the magical deep sea, mysterious outer space — even a wild savanna safari! The puzzle games are woven into engaging stories, and the games increase in challenge as your preschool-aged child plays. Kids will benefit from: • Development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills • Curiosity as they explore new worlds of shapes, colors, and color mixing • Learning to make predictions and understanding outcomes by discovering how primary colors mix together to form secondary colors • Confidence as they make decisions and advance to new levels • Learning key preschool and math skills like matching, sorting and classifying by shapes and colors • Identifying and naming 11 shapes from circles to octagons, 11 primary and secondary colors and color mixing • Development of fine motor skills • Security of an ad-free environment Features: • 6 progressing levels of challenge: o FREE Ancient Jungle Puzzle Pack – 4 shapes + 8 colors o Magical Underwater Puzzle Pack – 8 shapes + 11 colors o Mysterious Space Puzzle Pack – 11 shapes + 11 colors o NEW Jurassic Journey Puzzle Pack –Introduce color mixing! o NEW Savanna Safari Puzzle Pack – Expand on color mixing with even more colors! o FREE Sweet Arctic Puzzle Pack – 8 shapes + 11 colors •Hilarious surprises and delights to engage preschool children along the way •Track progress, skip and replay functions •3 language options (US English, UK English, Spanish) •A secure, ad-free experience (CARU COPPA Safe Harbor Certified) This app is fun, creative, confidence building and developmentally appropriate - brought to you by the early childhood experts at Highlights and Italian creative studio Colto. Highlights Shapes is an ideal first app for kids 3+, and easy for young children to play on their own. It’s playable in English (US + UK) and Spanish. PREPARES CHILDREN FOR SCHOOL As children progress through Highlights Shapes, they’ll develop creative thinking and essential problem-solving skills, both critical for the start of formal schooling. PROMOTES FUN, MEANINGFUL LEARNING Highlights Shapes combines geometric, sorting and matching skills that are crucial for preschool-aged children to grasp, with the fun of an engaging, age-appropriate game. Children will learn valuable math and vocabulary skills all while having a blast traveling through new and exciting worlds! PROMOTES CONFIDENCE AND CREATIVITY In this game, children will foster confidence, creativity and curiosity as they make decisions! They’ll build colorful geometric scenes, learn how colors mix to form other colors, and explore three exciting environments. DEVELOPS FINE MOTOR SKILLS As children touch and drag each colorful shape, they’ll develop their fine motor skills. INCREASES VOCABULARY As they correctly match and sort each object, children will hear their shapes and colors repeated aloud, helping them learn new words and increasing their existing vocabularies. ABOUT US Highlights for Children Founded by educators Dr. Garry and Caroline Myers in 1946, Highlights was built on the belief that “Children Are the World’s Most Important People™.” Today, 70 years later, every “Fun with a Purpose™” product is still designed to help children become their best selves: creative, curious, caring and confident. Colto Colto is creating imaginative and educational mobile play experiences for kids around the world based on original and branded properties. Our Team, made up of a Mum/Teachers and talented Game Designers, Developers and Marketers, strives to develop high quality educational Apps that kids love and parents trust. Our games are ethical, safe and designed to be non-addictive for kids. Required iOS 8.1 onwards
Code Karts
This app introduces children aged 4 and up to pre-coding concepts through engaging logic puzzles presented as a raceway. It teaches fundamental coding principles and problem-solving skills through interactive gameplay, including counting in binary.
- Pre-coding logic puzzles
- Learn to count in binary
- Develop sequencing and problem-solving
- Over 70 levels
- Two game modes
- Intuitive UI for young children
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Ready, Set, Code! Code Karts introduces pre-coding to children from the age of 4 through a series of logical puzzles presented in the form of a raceway. What’s more, it teaches kids the fundamentals of code while they race! New in version 4.0: Learn to count in binary with 5 new games! Kids will learn to count like a computer using only 0 and 1 numerals. These activities will sharpen their problem-solving skills and develop their understanding of the decimal system. With over 70 levels, a variety of puzzling obstacles, and two different game modes, there’s no shortage of educational content for kids to enjoy. In Code Karts, the objective is to use direction bricks to get the race car to the finish line. Through careful observation of the track ahead and some logical thinking, kids will quickly pick up on solutions to more and more difficult puzzles and will begin to absorb key elements of code-based thinking. For example, one of the obstacles, the switch, represents “if-then” statements, one of the most common programming tools. While there are a number of games that aim to teach children the fundamentals of code, we’ve found that they are often too difficult to truly educate their intended audience. Code Karts aims to teach the youngest of children the fundamentals of code, allowing them a deeper and more immediate understanding once they become old enough to actually begin writing code themselves. FEATURES: - 2 modes: Classic or Competition (race against the device) - Very intuitive User Interface for children from age 4 - Develop sequencing, problem solving and logic - 70+ levels - 21 languages In our technology-driven world, programming is becoming more and more of a vital skill. It’s a proven fact that the earlier you are introduced to something, the more likely you are to be able to master it as you learn. The same applies to code! By introducing kids to code at a young age, you can ensure that they get a head start in the fascinating realm of computer technology. And what’s a better way to introduce them than through Code Karts, our fun and engaging educational game! About EDOKI ACADEMY We founded EDOKI ACADEMY to bring our classroom experience with hundreds of children to the Digital world of tablets. As certified teachers, our aim is to develop a range of truly educational as well as beautiful apps based on the Montessori Method. All our apps can be used at home or in class. They can also be used by speech therapists. We are proud winners of several Awards from the Parent's Choice Foundation and Common Sense Media. For any support, please contact us on support@edokiacademy.com. PRIVACY POLICY We take personal data protection very seriously. We do not collect or share personal information about your child. You can read our privacy policy here: https://www.edokiacademy.com/en/privacy-policy/ CONNECT WITH US! If you have any support requests, comments, or questions do not hesitate to contact us at support@edokiacademy.com or visit the Edoki Academy Online Community at edokiacademy.com. We’d love to hear from you!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Highlights™ Shapes at every 6 weeks against Code Karts's every 4 months. Highlights™ Shapes also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Highlights™ Shapes sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Code Karts sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.8 for Highlights™ Shapes against 3.8 for Code Karts. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 325 and 147 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 63% of Highlights™ Shapes's written reviews are positive against 61% of Code Karts's.
Highlights™ Shapes ships an update every 6 weeks, Code Karts every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Highlights™ Shapes | Code Karts |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (325 ratings) | 3.8 (147 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 62.8% of reviews — better | 61.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 325 — better | 147 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 96 MB | 260 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Highlights for Children, Inc. | EDOKI ACADEMY |
Customer experience
Highlights™ Shapes
Code Karts
User reviews
Highlights™ Shapes
From 325 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👶 Excellent educational tool for learning shapes and colors
- 🎮 Engaging and intuitive gameplay mechanics for toddlers
- 🧠 Builds abstract reasoning, patience, and problem-solving skills
- 🎨 Appealing graphics and visual design
- 🦊 Charming fox character guide
Room to improve
- 🔊 Persistent sound/audio issues across multiple devices
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases for additional levels
- 🚫 No family sharing support for purchases
- 📉 Limited content - only 3-4 levels available
- ⏱️ Levels complete too quickly (3-10 minutes each)
Code Karts
From 147 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great introduction to coding
- 👍 Fun and engaging for kids
- 👍 Good for logic and sequencing
- 👍 Quick customer support
- 👍 No ads
Room to improve
- 👎 Requires purchase to continue
- 👎 Purchase not restoring
- 👎 Issues with family sharing
- 👎 Tedious arrow interaction
- 👎 Broken bonus level
Bugs and requests
Highlights™ Shapes
Reported bugs
8 issues- Sound/audio not working despite system updates and reinstalls
- Notifications must be enabled for sound to function
- Purchased levels not transferring to new devices
- Language switching glitch preventing Spanish audio
- Home button not protected from accidental child taps
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- In-app purchase system not functioning on some devices
- Account creation issues preventing purchase completion
- App support/live chat not responsive
Requested features
9 requests- More levels and increased difficulty progression
- Additional shape types and more complex puzzles
- Alphabet/letter learning app similar to shapes version
- Language options including Spanish and Chinese audio
- Family sharing capability for purchases
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- Parental controls and screen time timer options
- More diverse themes (animals, fish instead of artifacts)
- Ability to transfer purchases between devices
- More challenging content for advanced learners
Code Karts
Reported bugs
26 issues- Cannot restore purchases
- Purchased content not unlocking on new devices
- Family sharing not working for purchases
- Bonus level is unplayable/unexitable
- Back button not working in bonus level
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- App stuck on 'please wait' screen
- Errors when family member tries to access paid features
- Purchase not applying across devices
- Game won't open after purchase attempt
- Levels not unlocking after purchase
- Inconsistent silent mode
- Binary counting errors
- Frustrating race crashes
- Car crashes on corners in races
- Game freezes or pauses on first screen
- Purchased features not unlocking on other devices
- Trophy points not accumulating
- Coins disappearing after iPad update
- Coins not collecting
- Error when trying to buy full version (no internet connection)
- Black screen after completing level 20 on iPad 2
- Buggy purchase process
- App asks to buy again after previous purchase
- Binary game has errors in Turkish dubbing
- App doesn't work on iPad 3 (popup connection required)
- Silent mode is inconsistent
Requested features
12 requests- Extend free trial
- Improve arrow interaction
- Add more levels
- Add option to reset progress
- Improve Turkish dubbing accuracy
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- Fix binary counting errors
- Add more complex challenges
- Allow changing car speed
- Fix car not cleaning issue
- Provide clues for race crashes
- Add dark mode option
- Improve sound options
In-app purchases
Highlights™ Shapes
- Chapter Two$1.99
- Chapter Three$1.99
- Chapter Four$1.99
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- Chapter Five$1.99
- "Pack 2 + Pack 3"$2.99
- 25% Off Preschool Puzzle Fun!$5.99
Code Karts
- Full Game Unlock$2.99
Questions
Is Highlights™ Shapes free?
Is Code Karts free?
Which has better reviews, Highlights™ Shapes or Code Karts?
Do Highlights™ Shapes or Code Karts have ads?
Which is updated more often, Highlights™ Shapes or Code Karts?
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