Parents

Neighborhood Blocks - Letter to Parents

Dear parent,

One of the most delightful realizations I had after moving to Toronto was that, while this is a big metropolis with plenty of people living in it, it’s also a city made up of small neighborhoods, each of which are their own self-contained community. With Neighborhood Blocks, we wanted to create a world that celebrated local neighborhoods and the friendly faces that work within them — faces and places that even the youngest preschooler will recognize.

We know that everyone’s ideal neighborhood looks a little different, so we created a brand new tool to up the creativity and customization: paintbrushes! Tap a block with one of the brushes and it will completely transform your building into something new. (If only real home improvement projects were this easy.)

One of the best parts about living in a small neighborhood is meeting your neighbors when out and about — it’s not uncommon to run in to your exercise instructor at the coffee shop, or your local baker at the barber shop. Over eighteen of the friendly Sago Mini folk have moved into the neighborhood alongside you, so you’ll be sure to bump into a friend when you’re out running errands or grooving out at the annual block party.

I hope Neighborhood Blocks provides a fun sandbox for your child’s creative stories - and until I can make it to Barcelona (a city with some of my favorite neighborhoods of all), I’ll be daydreaming right alongside you.

Happy building,
Paul Tenk
Head of Production

How to play

Drag blocks onto the screen to start creating your first building. Try a humble cottage, local bakery or a town square with a moss-covered Harvey statue. Drag the drawer at the bottom from left to right to see all your block options. Want something new? Just drag a block offscreen and it’ll be replaced with a new one! Use the paintbrush tool on your blocks and buildings to redecorate. Each time you use a window or door, you’ll meet a new neighbor, who can also be dragged around for playdates. Don’t forget to make good use of the creative props, too!

To talk about

Ask your kids what daily life is like in their new neighborhood. What do the inhabitants do? Do they like visiting friends? Where do they do their grocery shopping? Creating building prompts can be loads of fun too – ask your little one to create a cozy sweets-inspired dwelling for the Candy Folk, or a community movie theatre to hang out at!

Settings

To access the settings, open the Settings app on your device and scroll down to Neighborhood Blocks. Here, you’ll find options to hide the “Sago News” and “For Parents” buttons on the title screen.