PBS KIDS Games

Review by eFreeware

PBS KIDS Games is a free educational app from PBS KIDS, the public broadcaster's children's media arm. It collects more than 280 curriculum-based games for kids ages 2 to 8, built around characters from shows like Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Wild Kratts, Arthur and Sesame Street. The main reason to consider it is simple: a large, free library of learning games with no ads and no in-app purchases, aimed at the preschool and early elementary years.

That combination is rarer than it sounds. Plenty of children's game collections break up play with advertising or hide content behind purchases, though this one does not. PBS KIDS Games does neither. The games are free, and the app contains no ads and offers no in-app purchases. For a parent handing over a phone or tablet, that alone changes the calculation.

The app has been installed more than 10 million times and holds a 4.3 average from over 55,000 ratings. It first appeared in April 2016 and was last updated in September 2026, so it is a long-running product rather than a one-off release. The content is rated for Everyone.

If you are looking for a single place to keep a young child occupied with something that teaches rather than just entertains, this is a strong candidate. What follows is a closer look at what the games cover, how they are organized and where the limits of the offering lie.

A library built around familiar characters

The premise is straightforward: take the characters children already know from PBS KIDS television and build short learning games around them. The roster includes Daniel Tiger, Wild Kratts, Lyla in the Loop, Weather Hunters, Carl the Collector, Acoustic Rooster, Work It Out Wombats!, Rosie's Rules, Alma's Way, Donkey Hodie, Odd Squad, Pinkalicious & Peterrific, Arthur, Elinor Wonders Why, Let's Go Luna, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, Scribbles and Ink, Clifford, Molly of Denali, Sesame Street and Nature Cat.

That breadth matters for families with more than one child, or for a child who has a favorite show and wants to play inside its world. Rather than a single branded game, this is a collection spanning many series, ages and interests. The developer describes the games as kid tested, and the target range of 2 to 8 covers a wide stretch of early development, from toddler-friendly activities up through early elementary material.

The educational framing is curriculum-based. The developer organizes the games around school subjects: math, reading, science and art, alongside preschool and kindergarten activities. There are also games built around social concepts such as kindness, mindfulness and emotions, and activities that encourage healthy habits through daily routines.

For a parent, the appeal is that the app does not require you to research each title individually. The characters provide the hook, and the subject categories provide the substance. A child who likes animals can gravitate toward the wildlife-themed games while still practicing reading or problem solving.

What a game session looks like

The activities themselves are short and varied. According to the developer, the collection includes mazes, puzzles, dress-up, coloring and more, with science and math puzzles aimed at building STEM skills. That range means a session might involve guiding a character through a maze, matching shapes, coloring a scene or solving a simple puzzle.

This is the mini-game model rather than long-form play. Each activity is designed to be picked up quickly, which suits the attention span of a preschooler or early elementary child. The variety also means a child can move between subjects without leaving the app, which keeps the experience from feeling like a single repeated task.

New games are added frequently, with weekly additions. That is a meaningful commitment for an app with this much content already, because it means the library continues to grow rather than remaining fixed. It also gives families a reason to check back periodically.

Newer games include accessibility features, which is a useful detail for children who need them. The app can be played in English or Spanish, and more than 50 of the educational games are available in Spanish. Bilingual households can therefore use the same app in either language, with characters like Alma and Rosie appearing in both.

Why families keep it installed

The strongest argument for keeping this app around is the combination of scale and cost. More than 280 games, all free, with no ads and no purchases, is a lot of content for a parent to draw on. It covers the years when children move quickly through interests and skill levels, so a single install can serve a family for a long stretch.

The subject spread supports that longevity. Math, reading, science and art games sit alongside activities focused on emotions, kindness and daily routines. A child who is not yet reading can start with coloring or matching, then move toward reading and math games as those skills develop. The age range of 2 to 8 reflects that progression.

The bilingual option adds another layer. Spanish-speaking families can play more than 50 games in Spanish, and bilingual children can switch between languages. That is a practical feature rather than a token one, and it extends the app's usefulness to households where English is not the only language spoken at home.

The developer also points parents toward related PBS KIDS apps, information about the television shows including intended age and learning goals, and local station schedules. Those resources sit outside the games themselves, but they help a parent connect what a child plays with what they watch. For families already familiar with PBS KIDS programming, the app fits naturally into that ecosystem.

Free to play, with nothing to buy

On cost, the picture is unusually clean. The app is free to download, it contains no ads, and it offers no in-app purchases. There is no subscription tier to evaluate and no premium content to unlock with money. The games are free educational games.

For parents, this removes the usual friction of children's apps. There is no risk of a child tapping an ad, and no pressure to spend to reach more content. The app is part of PBS KIDS' broader educational mission of curriculum-based media.

The developer points to more PBS KIDS apps in the store and games at pbskids.org. Those are separate products, not purchases within this app. Within PBS KIDS Games itself, the full library is what you get.

It has received industry recognition, including Kidscreen and Webby awards. Those are industry recognitions rather than guarantees, but they indicate the product has been recognized over time.

Where the app draws its limits

The scope here is deliberately narrow in one respect: this is an app for young children, specifically ages 2 to 8, and everything in it is built around that audience. It is not a general-purpose game collection, and the content is designed for early learners rather than older kids. Families with children beyond that range will find the material aimed below them.

The game format is also short-form. The activities are mini games, puzzles and creative exercises rather than extended narratives or long play sessions. That fits the intended age group, but it means the experience is built around brief interactions rather than deep engagement with a single game.

Content is tied to the PBS KIDS catalog. The characters come from those shows, so the appeal depends in part on a child's familiarity with or interest in them. That is a strength for families already watching PBS KIDS programming, and a consideration for those who are not.

The app is updated regularly, with the most recent changes described as bug fixes and performance improvements. New games are added weekly, so the library is not static.

A dependable choice for early learners

PBS KIDS Games is worth installing if you have a child between roughly 2 and 8 and you want a free, ad-free source of educational games. The library is large, the subjects are broad, the characters are familiar, and the bilingual option extends its reach. The absence of ads and purchases makes it easy to hand over without second-guessing.

It suits families who already watch PBS KIDS shows, parents looking for curriculum-based activities rather than pure entertainment, and households where Spanish and English are both spoken. It also works well as a single app to cover several years of early development, since the content spans preschool through early elementary.

The limitations are the flip side of its focus. It is built for young children and short play sessions, and its characters come from a specific set of shows. Within those bounds, it does what it sets out to do, and the 4.3 rating from more than 55,000 users suggests many families agree.

If you want a straightforward, no-cost way to add learning games to a young child's device, this is one of the more sensible options available. The combination of scale, safety and price is hard to argue with.

What's new in version 6.13.0

Squashing bugs and performance improvements.