A sleepy seed lies in a flower pot. When children hold the cloud in the sky, rain pitter-patters down, the soil gets wet and the seed wakes up and sprouts. Then they hold the sun, sunshine pours in and the seedling grows step by step: leaves, a bud, a flower and finally fruit. Letting go stops the rain or the sun, so children decide when and how long.
A plant needs both water and sunlight to grow. The water-drop gauge and the pot's face show what is happening: when the soil is too dry, the pot opens its mouth, the leaves droop and it asks for rain; when there is too much water, a puddle and a little worm appear, so it is time for some sun. Nothing ever wilts or fails: growing simply pauses until the weather changes.
There are 8 plants (sunflower, tulip, tomato, strawberry, pumpkin, apple tree, pea and eggplant). Each time, children pick one of 3 seed packets, and plants they have not grown yet come up first. When a plant is fully grown, a bee, butterfly, ladybug or little bird comes to visit, and "Into the book" adds it to their own plant book. A little secret: sunshine while it is still raining makes a rainbow!
How to play
- Tap "Plant!" and choose one of 3 seed packets. The yellow book button opens your plant book.
- The seed is asleep: hold the cloud on the left to make rain, and the seed sprouts once it has had a drink.
- After it sprouts, hold the sun on the right and the plant slowly grows. The 6 small icons at the top show the stages: seed, sprout, leaves, bud, flower, fruit.
- Watch the water-drop gauge by the pot. When the water runs low, the pot says it is thirsty and the leaves droop, so add some rain. When there is too much water, a puddle and a worm appear, so give it more sun. If nothing happens for a while, the button to press starts to glow.
- When the plant is grown, wait for a little visitor, then tap the yellow "Into the book" button (or the plant itself) and pick the next seed.
- Try this: make rain, then hold the sun right after letting go (or hold both with two fingers) to see a rainbow.
Controls
- Phone / tablet: press and hold the cloud on the left to make rain, or the sun on the right to make it shine. Let go and it stops. Two fingers can hold the cloud and the sun at the same time.
- Seed packets, "Into the book" and the other buttons are a single tap.
- Mouse: hold the left button down on the cloud or the sun.
- Keyboard: hold ← or A for rain and → or D for sunshine. When the plant is grown, Enter or Space puts it in the book. Esc returns to the title.
For parents
- Made for ages 3–5, with plenty for 6–8 year olds to notice about cause and effect. Because things happen only for as long as a button is held, children feel for themselves that plants need both water and sunlight, that seeds need water before they sprout, and that too little or too much water stops growth. They also see the stages of a plant's life (seed, sprout, leaves, bud, flower, fruit) and meet different flowers and fruits. Try asking "What does it need now?" or "Why did a rainbow appear?"
- There is no losing, no score and no timer. Plants never wilt away: growth just pauses, and the pot's face, the gauge and a glowing button give gentle hints. Nothing changes while no button is held, so children can take their time. The buttons are large, and press-and-hold suits little ones who cannot yet tap precisely. There is no chat, no in-app purchases, no ads and no outbound links, and no name or personal information is ever asked for.
- Only the plant book (how many times each plant was grown), whether a rainbow has been seen and the sound setting are remembered, in this device's browser (the game still works if saving is blocked). Sound can be switched off with the speaker button, and the game also works offline.
