Puppy Pals

Controls

Tap, drag and rub. Scrub with the sponge, drag food to the bowl, fling the ball and pull the blanket over the puppy. The bow and puppy buttons at the top open the dress-up corner and the puppy picker. Keys: Space or Enter does the current step a little at a time, arrows and Space choose in the menus, D opens dress-up. P or Esc pauses.

How to play Puppy Pals

Your child picks one of six puppies, and the day begins. There are five things to do, one after another: a bath, a meal, grooming, playtime and bedtime. At bath time they rub off the muddy spots with the sponge, rinse the bubbles away with the shower and dry the puppy with the towel. At mealtime they drag three treats into the bowl.

Grooming means brushing out the tangles, then choosing a bow, hat or collar to wear. Playtime is three throws of the ball for the puppy to fetch, then a tug toy to wiggle. At bedtime they pull the blanket over the puppy and tap the lamp to turn off the light.

Dress-up and the puppy day

Your puppy starts with three dress-up items, and each finished day adds one more, up to 24. The dress-up corner mixes them across four spots: head, neck, face and back, from crowns and party hats to glasses, capes and a balloon. Your child can switch to another puppy at any time.

There is no timer, no score and no way to fail. If your child stops for a few seconds, a pointing hand shows the next step.

Tips for grown-ups

• Talk through each step together: muddy, wet, dry, hungry, sleepy. Short words fit the pictures.
• Bedtime ends the day and brings the new dress-up item, which makes a natural place to stop.
• If dragging is hard for small hands, Space on a keyboard does each step a little at a time.
• Two bonus puppies and six extra dress-up items sit behind a note for grown-ups that offers a short ad. Skip it and nothing changes, the rest of the game stays free, and the button stays.