Stylist and makeover games
Salon and stylist games ask you to pick a hairstyle, outfit and accessories for an occasion: a party, a hike, a stage show, a trip. It's an exercise in combining colors and shapes, not in following trends.
Genres
Creative game genres
By creative games we mean games where the point isn't winning or speed but what you make yourself. There are many genres, and the lines between them are blurry: in a life sim you can furnish a house, in a building sandbox you can tell stories, and in a cooking game you can work out how to plate a dish. Here is a short guide to the main directions.
A genre can tell you where to start. How it ends is up to you.
How this section works: genres are described in general terms, without game names or scores. For a specific game's features, purchases and chat rules, see its app store page.
Looks and spaces
Genres where you decide what characters look like and what the places they live in look like.
Room and house design
You get an empty space and furnish it: choosing furniture, finishes, lighting and small items. The fun really starts when the room gets an owner with habits of their own.
Life sims
Here you create characters, build their homes and watch how their days go. The genre combines a character creator, interior design and storytelling, so it's easy to spend a lot of time in it.
Building sandboxes
A world of blocks or parts with no set goal: you can build a castle, a city or a bridge across a river. Sandboxes teach you to plan and not to be afraid of starting over.
Drawing, sound and taste
Genres for anyone who wants to draw, compose or come up with recipes.
Drawing and coloring
From simple coloring pages to editors with layers and brushes. Coloring helps you get a feel for color, while free drawing helps with composition.
Music games
Some are about hitting the beat, others about putting tunes together from ready-made sounds or writing your own. Both train your ear and sense of tempo.
Cooking games
Follow a recipe, keep up with orders or invent your own dish. These games teach you to do things in the right order — and remind you that a real stove is only turned on with an adult.
How to pick a genre to start with
- Think about what you enjoy outside of games: drawing, rearranging furniture, humming, making up stories.
- Start with a game where you can get a first result quickly and save it.
- Check whether the game needs an internet connection and has a public chat.
- Check the age rating and in-game purchase labels on the game's store page.
- If the game is for a child, play together the first evening and talk about what you liked.
Related reading
- Guides
How to plan a room in a design game, step by step. Plus the catalogue of our articles.
- Techniques
The color wheel and palettes, layers and symmetry, saving versions, planning a space and smart spending.
- How to judge
Your own criteria, no rankings: creative freedom, fair purchases, privacy and accessibility.
- Hair games
Archived address: how hair and makeover games and character creators work, and how to choose one.
What we rely on
- PEGI — age category descriptions
- App store help pages on parental controls
We describe genres and techniques in general terms. Every game has its own menus, button names and purchase terms, and they change over time, so check the details in the game's own help section and on its app store page.