New Interactive "Thomas & Friends™: Engine Activities" Game App Pulls Into the Station From HIT Entertainment and Callaway Digital Arts

NEW YORK, Dec. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In time for the holidays, HIT Entertainment, one of the world's leading providers of high-quality children's entertainment, and Callaway Digital Arts, Inc., leading publisher of premium children's and lifestyle applications for mobile devices, are pleased to announce the launch of Thomas & Friends™: Engine Activities. Now available in Apple's App Store, this multi-activity game app for iPad®, iPhone® and iPod Touch® features come-alive puzzles, coloring pages, matching games and a series of collectible engine cards from the world of Thomas & Friends.

Thomas & Friends™: Engine Activities includes two activity packs based on popular Thomas & Friends home entertainment releases,Pop Goes Thomas and Creaky Cranky.  Each activity pack captures fan favorite scenes and engines with three creativity-boosting coloring sheets, three animated puzzles, and three collectible engine cards.  A matching game featuring collectible engine cards helps develop a child's memory and hand-eye coordination. Additional activity packs tied to new home entertainment releases are currently available for in-app purchase, and more activity packs will be released in coming months.

"Collecting engines is a unique aspect of the Thomas brand and this new game app extends that experience to iPad, iPhone, and iTouch," said Natasha Fishman, Senior Vice President, Global Brand Management and Digital Media, HIT Entertainment.  "With multiple activities, collectible engine cards and the ongoing addition of new activity packs, this is the ultimate engine app for Thomas fans that will provide an endless supply of fun and adventure to little engineers everywhere." 

"Thomas & Friends™: Engine Activities allows parents to customize their child's digital experience by choosing games, puzzles, and coloring pages based on favorite Thomas stories," says Callaway Digital Arts Chief Creative Officer Nicholas Callaway. "By merging appealing interactive activities with great design and beloved characters, Callaway and HIT are delivering a kids gaming experience like no other."

HIT Entertainment and Callaway Digital Arts have previously published three Thomas & Friends apps, Misty Island Rescue, Hero of the Rails, and most recently, Day of the Diesels, all of which have reached #1 in the App Store's Books category. In addition, they launched the game app Angelina Ballerina™'s Bubble Pop! and Angelina Ballerina™'s New Ballet Teacher, a story app based on the CG animated series, Angelina Ballerina The Next Steps, which also reached #1 in Books.

Thomas & Friends™: Engine Activities is available for $1.99 USD/1.49 GBP from the App Store on iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch at www.itunes.com/appstore/. Additional Engine Activity Packs will be available for in-app purchase for $0.99 USD/0.69 GBP.

About Callaway Digital Arts
Callaway Digital Arts, Inc. (CDA) publishes innovative mobile and tablet applications for children and families. Funded in August 2010 with an investment from Silicon Valley's Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, CDA creates meaningful digital experiences that transform the way families connect with media and with each other. With a grant from the Department of Education, CDA is reinventing learning by creating a series of game-based mobile applications that builds reading and math skills for children ages two through eight. All but one of CDA's apps have reached the number one position in the Books or Lifestyle categories in the Apple App Store. In addition, CDA apps have been featured as App of the Week and among Apple's Best Interactive Story Apps of 2010. For more information on Callaway Digital Arts, visit www.callaway.com.

About HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment is one of the world's leading independent children's entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT's portfolio includes properties, such as Thomas & Friends™, Barney™, Bob the Builder™, Fireman Sam™, Angelina Ballerina™, Mike the Knight™, Pingu™ and Rainbow Magic™. Launched in 1989, HIT's lines of business span television and video production, content distribution, publishing, consumer products licensing and live events and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan.  HIT is a part-owner of US-based preschool channel, Sprout®. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.

SOURCE Callaway Digital Arts