Play ABC, Alfie Atkins v1.8.3

Gro Play Digital

• In-app purchases

About this app

Play ABC, Alfie Atkins is an educational game that solves the problem of teaching children the fundamentals of reading and writing by engaging them in interactive letter and word games. This app benefits preschool-age children the most, as it provides a fun and interactive way to learn the alphabet and basic phonetics. Compared to other alternatives in the Game Educational category, Play ABC stands out with its simple and intuitive design, making it easy for young children to navigate. However, it falls short in terms of content variety and depth, which might limit its appeal to older children or those seeking more comprehensive learning experiences.

Pros

With over 100,000 downloads and a 3.5-star rating, Play ABC has demonstrated moderate social proof and a generally positive user reception, indicating a well-designed and effective learning tool.
The app's developer, Gro Play Digital, has a professional website and provides a clear contact email, suggesting a commitment to customer support and transparency.
Play ABC does not contain ads, which is a significant advantage for a children's educational app, as it ensures a distraction-free and safe learning environment.
The app's offline capability is a notable advantage, allowing children to learn and play without requiring a constant internet connection, making it suitable for various settings such as homes, schools, or during travel.
The update to version 1.8.3 indicates that the developer is actively maintaining and improving the app, which is crucial for ensuring compatibility with the latest Android versions and addressing any user concerns.

Cons

One concern is the limited content and depth of the learning material, which might not be sufficient for children who quickly grasp the basics and are looking for more challenging activities to progress their learning.
The in-app purchase model, with items priced at $9.49, might be perceived as expensive by some parents, especially if they are looking for a more comprehensive learning solution that could be offered at a better value through a subscription or a one-time purchase of a more extensive app.
The lack of permissions requested by the app could be seen as a positive aspect in terms of privacy, but it also raises questions about how the app's effectiveness and user experience are measured and improved without collecting any user data.
Some users might find the app's design and gameplay too simplistic or repetitive, which could lead to a shorter attention span and less engagement over time.

Best for: The ideal user for Play ABC, Alfie Atkins is a preschool-age child, typically between 3 to 6 years old, who is beginning to learn the alphabet, basic phonetics, and word formation, and requires an engaging, easy-to-use, and safe educational tool to support their early learning journey.

Developer Description

Play with letters, sounds and words together with Alfie Atkins.

Play with letters, sounds and words together with Alfie Atkins. Children love learning new things through play. This app, Play ABC, Alfie Atkins, stimulates children's language learning skills by clearly connecting the function and purpose of letters in an experimental, playful way.

Alfie has some extraordinary devices in his room: a letter tracer, a word machine and a puppet theatre. With the letter tracer, children will learn the appearance and sound of all letters and train their motor skills and muscle memory by drawing and tracing letters on the screen. Using Alfie's homemade word machine, children will spell new words using phonemes and letter tips. All new words are sent to the puppet theatre, where children use their creativity and imagination to tell fantastic stories. This playloop, with concrete results, has a motivational effect and helps children develop their language skills at their own pace.

Play ABC, Alfie Atkins is developed by language teachers and game designers. It was created and tested in collaboration with teachers and students of schools in Finland and Sweden. The app has been developed based on children's needs and does not feature points, time limits or other elements that could lead to failure or stress. Children will play and learn using the app on their own terms and at their own pace, in preschool, at school or at home.

Play and learn:
• The sounds, phonemes and names of letters
• How to trace letters
• How to spell around 100 different words
• How to read simple words
• Upper and lowercase letters
• Fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination
• The basics of literacy
• Creative storytelling

The app is available in 6 different languages, and the full version allows the creation of individual profiles for multiple children.

Please note that family sharing of in-app purchases aren't supported by Google. So if you want to purchase the full version of the app and share it with family members please purchase the separate premium, full version, of the app available on the Google Play Store instead.

Alfie Atkins (Swedish: Alfons Åberg) is a fictional character created by the author Gunilla Bergström.

Gro Play is an xEdu.co alumnus and member of the trade organization Swedish EdTech Industry. Gro Play collaborates with Playful Learning Center, the University of Helsinki, in the development of game-based learning. Please send your suggestions and feedback to info@groplay.com.

Privacy

Given that Play ABC requests no permissions, it appears to be a very safe and private app for children, with minimal risk of data collection or exposure to harmful content. However, parents should still monitor their child's activity and ensure they understand the in-app purchase mechanism to avoid unintended expenses. Regularly reviewing the app's terms of service and privacy policy, as provided on the developer's website, can also help parents stay informed about any changes.

Tips

For the best experience, parents should start by exploring the app alongside their child to understand its features and how to navigate through the different activities. To optimize performance and battery life, ensure that the device is running the latest version of Android and that no other resource-intensive apps are running in the background. Additionally, leveraging the app's offline capability can be particularly useful during travel or in areas with poor internet connectivity.

What's New

Improved support for the latest Android devices

In-app purchases

$9.49 per item

Version Information

Version: 1.8.3
Downloads: 100K+
Updated on: Oct 6, 2025
Released: Aug 8, 2018
Requires: Android 7.0

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Play ABC, Alfie Atkins users say on Google Play

★★★★★

A Google user

Being unable to share the paid version with family members is complete BS. In-app purchases aren't shared in a family app library... Edit: excellent support by dev.

★★★★

No complaints great learning tool. Only setback is i have to pay for the app when i shift phone. Allready paid twice with the same google account.

★★★

M Rye

Not so bad but heavily overpriced. The app is not so bad for learning letters. There are a few issues which could easily be fixed. Worst: the kid can easily switch the language on the title screen. Please make this protected like the other menus or put it into settings. Irritating is that the letters are usually word start but obviously the devs lack words and sometimes put the drawn letter in the middle eg you draw 'o' but get 'cow'. And then of course the ridiculous price. Half maybe...

★★

A Google user

Can't reactivate full version after new installation

★