A weekend project that turned into something bigger than we ever imagined.
It started on a rainy Saturday. My two kids had set up their toy shop in the living room, complete with stuffed animals as customers and hand-drawn price tags. They were having the time of their lives, but kept turning to me: "Dad, how much change do I give back?"
I thought: what if there was something simple that could help them practise the money part on their own? Not a flashy app to replace the toy shop. Something to go with it.
So that weekend, I built a rough version of myplayshop. Just a basic cash register on a screen with real coins and notes. My older one loved it. He'd scan his toy bananas and teddy bears on the real shop, then hop over to the screen to ring up the sale. The pretend play didn't stop. It got richer.
But my youngest wasn't quite ready for the coin maths. He wanted to play too, but couldn't work out the change fast enough. Cue the sibling fights. "You're doing it wrong!" "It's my turn!" Sound familiar? So I added tap-to-pay with card and phone. No coins, no counting, just a satisfying beep and a happy customer. He got the full shopkeeper experience without the frustration, and his older brother got to keep practising change. Peace restored.
A few weeks later, a friend came over for coffee. He saw photos of the kids playing and said: "My daughter would love this. Can I try it?" His daughter did love it. And then he showed his cousin. And his cousin told friends at school.
That's when it clicked. This wasn't just a thing for our family. Other kids wanted to play shopkeeper too. Other parents wanted a simple, free tool that let their children learn about money without handing them a device and walking away.
We get it. Many parents worry about screen time, and honestly, so do we. That's why myplayshop was never designed to be another "park your kid in front of a tablet" experience.
The best moments happen away from the screen. Kids set up their real toy shop, arrange products on shelves, write price tags by hand, and serve stuffed-animal customers. myplayshop is the cash register in the corner. It handles the maths so kids can focus on the fun: the imagination, the role-play, the social skills.
Think of it like a calculator for pretend play. Your child still runs the shop. They still decide what to sell, how to arrange the shelves, and how to greet their customers. The screen just helps them practise counting coins and giving change.
Many families tell us their kids play for a while on the screen, then spend the rest of the afternoon recreating the whole shop with cardboard boxes and crayons. That's the kind of play we believe in.
Every family should have access to fun, educational tools. myplayshop is free, and always will be. No subscriptions, no in-app purchases, no locked features.
Kids don't need another maths drill. They need to play shopkeeper, get excited about customers, and discover that counting coins is actually fun.
We don't collect personal information. We don't show ads. We don't track your children. The game works without accounts or sign-ups.
12 languages, 7 real currencies, and no install needed. Whether you're in Oslo, London, or Kyiv, your kids play with the money they actually see in real life.
No download. No sign-up. Just open it and let your kids play shopkeeper.