Montrealer created a screen-free gaming platform to help limit screen time for kids

Before Montrealer Ralph Nakhle became a dad, he saw what screen time was doing to so many and wanted his family and other parents to know that there are alternatives. That entertaining your kids doesn’t have to be done through screens.

He developed Tokidos, a screen-free gaming platform for children, particularly those aged 3 to 8.

The game is called Play Cubes.

“What inspired me to create PlayCubes is the fact that children are spending way too much time in front of screens. They love technology, we love technology, but the type of screen, the type of technology we’re putting in front of them, and the type of content they’re being exposed to is not entirely designed for children. And it’s really harming their cognitive, social, and behavioral development,” said Ralph Nakhle, founder & CEO of Tokidos.

“It’s so important to offer parents and children alternatives, right? Something else they can do that’s totally engaging, that’s totally technological, that they can adopt themselves, but that doesn’t harm them and that sort of doesn’t create or develop addictive behaviors,” he adds.

The game has a personal connection to Nakhle, as he hopes his children will also benefit from it. He founded the company seven days before his first child was born.

“When I was becoming a father, it sort of gave me, it felt like it gave me the credibility to be able to go do it because it’s starting to concern me personally. And I’m so glad because it’s just so fun and so technologically advanced, but at the same time, you get the chance to hide it entirely behind these beautiful, familiar shapes of cubes. And children love it,” he explained.

“They don’t need to know how much technology goes into it. But they do know that it’s a technologically advanced product, and my children love it. And it’s just so rewarding when you’re doing something also that fulfills your personal needs,” he added.

A starter game kit includes 5 cubes, 3 game cards, and a carry box with a rechargeable base. There is a bundle for 3-5-year-olds, and one for children aged 5-8. It features animations and flashing colourful lights. A variety of other games are included. The product is designed to grow with the child in their stages of development.

The game works by turning on the five cubes by pressing the buttons on top of them. There are game cards that can be inserted into the mouth cube. The game then begins and starts on all five cubes. Each cube has four buttons. You shake the cubes to listen to sounds.

“They come with different educational and social games. And so, although a lot of them, and all of them, have educational value, PlayCubes have been designed for you to be able to play alone, but also to play with your family,” said Nakhle.

“You can play interactive stories, you can play educational games, you can play social games. The amount of activities and experiences you can build is literally infinite.”

Nakhle was also featured on Dragons’ Den, where he pitched the idea.

He hopes to send a message to other parents.

“I hear them, and we hear them. Everybody at Tokidos hears them. Screen time is painful, and we’re all dealing with and battling that. And they shouldn’t despair because there are really good products on the market, and we’re bringing additional good products to the market so that their kids can be in good hands, can learn new things, can play together, and don’t need to be in front of screens all the time,” he said.

“Our vision has always been to build products that match the intelligence of our kids, because they’re way more intelligent than the products we put in their hands right now.”