Fireworks
For grown-ups
Fireworks without the bang
Real fireworks are loud, late at night and over in a minute. These are quiet, happen whenever a child taps, and last as long as they like.
Settings for grown-ups
About this toy
A dark sky with a few stars fills the screen. Wherever a child taps, a rocket climbs from the bottom to that exact spot and bursts into a ring of soft-coloured sparks that drift down and fade. Each firework gets the next colour in a rainbow, and a quiet whoosh and a soft, low boom go with it. It is made for children from about three who would find real fireworks too loud: there are no bangs and the sky never flashes, because bursts come at most three a second however fast the tapping. With Less motion on, rockets climb slower and sparks stay closer.
How to play
Tap the sky where the firework should burst: high up for a tall one, low for a short one. Tap with several fingers for several fireworks. Each tap is one rocket.
A good first go
Tap left, middle and right in a row and watch three colours burst one after the other. Or tap the same spot again and again to build a bunch of colours there.
Good to know
To keep it safe for eyes, at most three fireworks burst in any one second; quick extra taps wait a moment for their turn, and the sky never lights up as a whole. The boom is soft and low, never a bang. With "Less motion" on, rockets climb more slowly and bursts are smaller.
How the sounds are made, with the numbers: how the sounds work.
Last updated
Why it's made the way it is
Bright things moving on a dark screen can be hard on some eyes, and fast flashing can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. The web's accessibility guidelines set the line at three flashes in any one second, so this toy never starts more than three bursts in a second, however fast the taps come. The sky stays dark the whole time; only the sparks themselves are bright, and they fade over a second and a half rather than blinking.
The sound follows the same idea: a breathy whoosh as the rocket climbs and a muffled boom, like fireworks heard from far away, with no crack. Everything goes through a limiter, and the first sound of a visit fades in.
Ways to play together
- Colour count: say the colour of each firework before it bursts. They go round the rainbow in order.
- High and low: launch one as high as possible, then one just above the bottom.
- Draw a shape: tap a row of fireworks to make a line, or a circle of them.
- Countdown: count "three, two, one" together, then tap.
Setting it up
The toy looks best in a dim room with the screen brightness turned down a little, much like real fireworks against a night sky. Turn the device volume down before the first tap; the booms are soft, but they are low, and low sounds carry through walls. On a phone, holding it on its side gives the rockets a wider sky. If a child is sensitive to moving lights, switch on "Less motion" in the settings above, or choose a calmer toy such as the water ripples.
Talking about real fireworks
Many children meet fireworks at a festival, a wedding or New Year and find the noise frightening. Playing with quiet ones first can be a gentle way to talk about them: what goes up, why it bursts into a ball of sparks, why the colours are different, and why the bang arrives a moment after the flash when they are far away. Real fireworks are for grown-ups to handle; these ones are safe to tap as often as you like.
Good to know
When nothing is flying, the page stops drawing until the next tap, which saves battery. On a slower tablet each burst has fewer sparks, so the animation stays smooth. The sounds and sparks are made on the device; the how the sounds work page describes the whoosh and the boom.
Questions people ask
Is it too loud for little ones?
No: there is no bang. The boom is soft and low, and every sound goes through a limiter. Turn the device volume down before the first tap anyway.
Why do some fireworks wait before bursting?
At most three fireworks burst in any one second, to keep the screen from flashing quickly. Extra taps wait a moment for their turn.
Can it be calmer?
Turn on "Less motion" in the settings above (or the device's own reduce-motion setting): rockets climb more slowly and the bursts are smaller.
What does the round arrow do?
It clears the sky at once and stops any rockets on their way up.
Does it work without sound?
Yes. The fireworks look the same with the sound off.
Can I use a keyboard?
Yes. Focus the sky with Tab and press Space or Enter to launch a firework somewhere in the middle.