Not since Talking Tom, the first kids’ app I ever played with, on the first iPad I had ever seen, has an app left me with my mouth open wide in wonder and delight.

Chromville (free on iOS) brings kids’ coloured-in pages to 3D life with augmented reality, and lets them use their creations in on-screen games.

To play, download colouring-in templates from the Chromville site, and print them out.  The pages tell the story of a distant world where colour is fading away and environment-based characters are losing their power, and can only be saved when they’re coloured in

 

Download the free app, and get your kids colouring in. When finished, point your phone or tablet’s camera at the picture, and watch it come to life. It’s good to know that even if your child scrawls some colour on the image, or goes out the lines a bit, it won’t affect the life of the character.

If you want to know more about how it works, have a look at the Chromville video below: