2021 Thunkable Apps of the Year
As 2021 comes to a close, it is our favorite time of the year. As we begin planning Thunkable’s goals in 2022 we look back on the amazing and inspiring creations that have been developed and released by our global community from those that dared to make their ideas Thunkable. Our team has the privilege of working with millions of app creators from all around the world ranging from students to CEOs. Each and every app we see is beautifully unique and inspiring, so we opened calls from our Thunkable Community to submit for our annual App of the Year awards. After careful selections from our team and trusted advisors, without further ado — we are excited to announce our 2021 Apps of the Year!
This year there are 4 categories:
- Game of the Year: The best game built on Thunkable, including animations, interactivity, and fun.
- Social Good App of the Year: The app that benefits its users and solves for a specific problem that would otherwise be unaddressed without this app developer’s effort.
- Start-Up of the Year: This award goes to a business that is creating an app with a mobile-first approach.
- App of the Year: The best overall app based on design, complexity, novelty, and purpose.
Game of the Year: One Tap Calculator
Ioannis Rougeris built this math-centric game to help his brother improve his math skills, and it quickly grew into a fun, yet complex puzzle game that is sure to excite the Sudoku fans of the world. The goal of the game is to use a number and symbol only once to achieve the predetermined number. This app will improve the users math skills and provide hours of entertainment while the user carefully selects the right numbers to make the puzzle work. Keep track of your high scores and see how you match up against other users by logging your scores on a leaderboard. And the cherry on top is that there is an ongoing competition where the users at the top of the leaderboard can win money each month.
Make sure to download this app and test your math puzzle skills against other users out there! Check out the iOS version here and the Android version here.
Runner Up — Game of the Year: Chess Master Tutorial
Another puzzle-based game from Ioannis Rougeris that improves players’ skills at the game of Chess. Learn new methods, train against given scenarios, and get access to training curriculum from Chess masters. This game reduces the learning curve on the most strategic board game. Get your Queen’s Gambit on and give this one a try! Just like One Tap Calculator, there are leaderboards and monthly prizes for winners. Download the iOS version here and the Android version here.
Second Runner up for Game of the Year: Space Game
An oldie but a goodie! This Thunkable user created a Galaga-like game on Thunkable that is a great way to kill some time while seeing if you break your high scores. The complexity of the app build shines through in the simplicity of the gameplay. The animations are seamless and the controls are simple & effective, culminating in a wonderful game to add to your daily mix. Be sure to check this one out and send us your high scores!
Social Good App of the Year: Little Kwéyol Learners
This app is a phenomenal example of what is possible on Thunkable. Mishael Fontenelle built an incredibly interactive app; full of animations, sounds, and activities that make learning the St. Lucian Creole language fun. Picking up a new language or dialect can be intimidating for children, but Little Kwéyol Learners provides four simple categories that will build kids’ confidence through game-like activities. As users progress, they will pick up more words and phrases aided by reinforcement visuals and sounds. This is a wonderful app that helps anyone get started learning the St. Lucian language. Check out this app and you may even learn a few new words to add to your repertoire!
Start-Up of the Year: Closer
Closer helps you build, maintain, and amplify gratitude in your personal life through a “gratitude ecosystem.” Users can record videos, set reminders, comment on others’ progress to win amazing prizes. The team founded Closer with the idea that social media and app-based communities should serve a larger purpose than just ‘likes’ and ‘shares.’ Rather, it should bring people together to inspire each other and strive towards a greater purpose. Users can select their practice, like improving gratitude or becoming more mindful, then share & track these goals with a larger community. This type of networking will push people towards their own personal development by leveraging positive reinforcement from a network of like-minded people. As users progress towards their goals, they will not only be living a better life but be encouraged to inspire others to do the same. Closer is bringing the world closer together by fostering a culture of gratitude in everyone, everywhere.
Sign up for Closer today and stay tuned for the official launch of their app shortly! Visit Closers website to learn more and start living a life full of gratitude.
App of the Year: StreetTT
We are excited to announce that StreetTT has been selected as our app of the year! Earlier this year we did a profile on Louis and Junwei’s effort to connect the table tennis community during Covid lockdowns. Since that story, StreetTT has continued to explode — picking up formal partnerships from local governments & tablet tennis organizations. StreetTT is on a mission to connect tablet tennis players to coordinate matches, orchestrate tournaments, and build local leaderboards. Louis and the team put QR code stickers on public tables to drive users to access the app, create an account, and get started. Once a user creates an account, they can coordinate matches against players of similar skills sets. Once the match is over they log the results and see how they stack up against the community.
We love everything about this app; the design, the complexity of the build, the simplicity of the user experience, and the problem it solves for. Bravo to the StreetTT team on creating the 2021 App of the Year. And if you are interested in joining or creating your own network of table tennis players — be sure to sign up for StreetTT.
Download the Android App here or visit their website here.
Runner Up: Fishing Helper App
The Fishing Helper App is a wonderful tool for conducting fishing tournaments. There are two versions of the experience within the one app. Organizers can set up the tournament for any location, timeframe, and as many contestants as they want. The participants can log & track their catches. Submissions entered are automatically posted to a leaderboard based on the number of catches, size, location sector, and more. Organizers and participants can view the tournament results in real-time which makes fast-paced fishing fun for any type of angler. Down the Android app here.
To our millions of users — thank you for an amazing 2021! We are so grateful for our global community of app developers. We are continuously inspired by your creativity and genius. We can’t wait to see what you’ll accomplish and 2022.
🎉 Onwards and upward to the new year! 🥳
❤️ The Thunkable Team
