PLAY vs Numberblocks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PLAY
This app uses virtual Play-Doh to teach children the alphabet. Kids can trace letters, learn new vocabulary, and create custom Play-Doh scenes. It also includes letter matching games and progress tracking for parents.
- Virtual Play-Doh letter tracing
- Vocabulary association with letters
- Customizable Play-Doh creations
- Play-Doh scene building
- Letter matching games
- Progress tracking for parents
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“Top 20 Best Apps of the Week” - The Guardian UK “The perfect blend of nostalgia and learning opportunities” - About.com “Fun, mess free way for learning”-Yahoo Voices “Well-thought out, educationally beneficial, colorful”- The Learning Treehouse “Completely transforms the way kids interact with technology” - Appshappens.com Learn your ABCs using ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH modeling compound with this delightfully interactive educational app! PLAY-DOH Create ABCs application is designed to help children develop the essential skills required for reading and writing. Using this app, children will learn to: recognize letters, write letters using proper stroke order and associate letters with sounds. WRITE AND CRAFT! Learn how to write letters of the alphabet by using ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH modeling compound. Discover new vocabulary words that start with the same letter. What starts with the letter A? An alligator! But be careful, it’s ready to chomp! When you successfully complete each letter, you are rewarded with a ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH treat that you can create and customize. Want to change the color? Go ahead! Want to squish it? You can do that, too! CREATE AND SHARE! Build your own PLAY-DOH scenes with your PLAY-DOH creations. The PLAY-DOH gallery is just a click away on the ‘create and share’ button. There you can enjoy all the animated, colorful objects you make as you work your way through the letters of the alphabet. Select your favorite background and then bring PLAY-DOH scenes to life with custom PLAY-DOH pictures. Save your creations on your phone or tablet and share them with others! LETTER MATCHING Click on the ‘match’ button and you can enjoy a new activity: matching letters with the PLAY-DOH creations. The ‘match’ feature reinforces initial letter sounds by matching letters with objects that start with the same sound. A letter select screen allows you to play the activity on any letter you choose. Can you match the letters of the alphabet to the different PLAY-DOH creations? Give it a try! PLAY-DOH Create ABCs includes: -Tracing of uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet -Exciting ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH treats -Poem and animations to re-enforce learning letter sounds -‘Squishable’ PLAY-DOH animations! -A matching activity to match letters with pictures -A letter select screen that allows children to choose any letter to play -A creativity zone, the PLAY-DOH gallery, where kids design custom PLAY-DOH scenes -A save-to-camera feature where parents can save and share their child’s colorful creations -Curriculum developed and reviewed by preschool education expert s -Multiplayer profiles that allow more than one child to play and save their progress -Parental reporting to show progress PLAY-DOH Create ABCs will help children develop: -Language and pre-reading skills, including letter recognition and phonemic (sound) awareness and knowledge. - Fine motor skills and coordination -Their creativity via ‘learning by doing’ NOTE: Before you download this experience, please consider that this app contains in-app purchases that cost money. Additional content cannot be unlocked without spending money. ABOUT PLAYDATE DIGITAL PlayDate Digital Inc. is an emergent publisher of high-quality, interactive, mobile educational software for children. PlayDate Digital's products nurture children's emerging literacy and creativity skills by turning digital screens into engaging experiences. PlayDate Digital content is built in partnership with some of the world's most trusted global brands for kids. Visit us: playdatedigital.com Like us: facebook.com/playdatedigital Follow us: @playdatedigital Watch all our app trailers: youtube.com/PlayDateDigital1 HAVE QUESTIONS? We'd love to hear from you! Your questions suggestions and comments are always welcome. Contact us 24/7 at info@playdatedigital.com
Numberblocks
This educational app helps young children learn addition and number bonds through interactive play. Children find hidden characters, combine them to perform number magic, and discover new playthings as they reach milestones.
- Find hidden Numberblocks
- Add Numberblocks together
- Predict addition outcomes
- Discover new interactive playthings
- Gradually increasing difficulty
- Recognize amounts on sight
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From the multi award-winning animators and producers of BAFTA nominated pre-school learning favourites Alphablocks and Numberblocks, we bring you Numberblocks Hide and Seek. As seen on Cbeebies. This app helps your child get to grips with addition, number bonds and other key number skills. Find the hidden Numberblocks, add them together and see what happens. ● Every time you get to Ten, you win something new to play with. ► Play hide and seek! Tap on the Numberblocks when they poke their heads out. ► When you have found two Numberblocks, drag one on top of the other to start the number magic. ► Predict what will happen when you add them together - if you don’t know, take a guess. ► Make the number magic happen yourself: drag both Numberblocks into the white shape. Watch the number magic happen. ► Keep finding more Numberblocks and adding them on until you make a Ten. ► An animation plays to celebrate every time you make Ten. ► You will also discover a new interactive plaything in the park. Try playing with it! As you keep playing, the sums get gradually harder and the Numberblocks try out new number shapes. This helps children get better at recognising amounts on sight. If a Numberblock looks unfamiliar, try counting their blocks! Keep going to fill the park with playthings. After discovering all 20, you can restart the game and play again. Repeat play is a great way to get better at your number bonds and predicting which Numberblocks you will make.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: PLAY at Free against Numberblocks's $2.99. PLAY also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.4) and review sentiment (51% vs 41%). Numberblocks's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and device support 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
PLAY is free to download; Numberblocks costs $2.99 up front. PLAY sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Numberblocks asks for nothing beyond the download.
PLAY holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 26 and 65 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of PLAY's written reviews are positive against 41% of Numberblocks's.
PLAY ships an update every 2 months, Numberblocks every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PLAY | Numberblocks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.2 (26 ratings) — better | 3.4 (65 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 51.2% of reviews — better | 41.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 26 | 65 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 243 MB | 278 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PlayDate Digital Inc. | Blue-Zoo |
Customer experience
PLAY
Numberblocks
Bugs and requests
PLAY
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Numberblocks
Reported bugs
4 issues- Screen goes black after reaching number 10
- App crashes or freezes during gameplay
- Incorrect math calculations displayed
- Inability to progress past certain levels
Requested features
4 requests- Add numbers 11-20 or higher
- Include subtraction, multiplication, and other math operations
- Improve stability and fix bugs
- Provide more engaging and challenging content
In-app purchases
PLAY
- Remove Ads$1.99
- Unlock All Alphabets$3.99
Numberblocks
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is PLAY free?
Is Numberblocks free?
Which has better reviews, PLAY or Numberblocks?
Do PLAY or Numberblocks have ads?
Which is updated more often, PLAY or Numberblocks?
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