Frequently asked questions

The storymaker is for ages 3 and up. Story difficulty adjusts as your child grows.

Yes! The storymaker has no screen. Kids build stories with physical blocks and listen to them. While we're on the topic, it also has no mic, camera, or ads.

They use physical blocks, which each correspond to a character, place, object or concept. Kids place up to three of these on the storymaker, then hear a story built from their choices.

Each book is a world of its own, built from the ground up by a children’s author. The author creates the world’s places, the characters who live there, and the friendships and rivalries between them. Then they fill it with objects that hold meaning, and learning concepts for kids to discover along the way.

A book comes with six new blocks — characters, places, objects and concepts from its world. Each of these blocks can be mixed and matched with any other playgeni blocks your child already has. Every book also builds in 20 learning concepts that get more challenging as your child grows.

Yes! Kids can use DIY Blocks to turn any idea they dream up into their own creation. Every DIY Block is blank, so kids can draw their idea right on it. Once they’re done, scan it into the parent app, add a quick description, and it’s ready to play.

A bit of both. Your child picks the ingredients — who's in the story, where it happens, what's going on — and the storymaker spins them into a brand new story.

Swap one block and the story changes; kids see how their choices shape what they hear. And with DIY blocks, they can turn their own drawings and ideas into totally new story ingredients.

Unlimited. Even the same three blocks make a different story every time, and playgeni books add new worlds and more blocks.

Yes, with story cards. When a story finishes, tap a blank card onto the storymaker to save it. The card replays that story on any storymaker, so kids can keep it or give it to a friend. To reuse a card, clear it in the playgeni app.

The storymaker, 3 playgeni blocks (2 story blocks and 1 DIY block), 3 story cards, and a USB-C cable come in the box.

No book needed: it works right out of the box. playgeni books are optional add-ons, each with a new story world and six more story blocks.

There are two ways to listen: wired headphones with a standard 3.5mm plug, and the storymaker’s built-in speaker. Bluetooth headphones are not supported.

Yes, on iOS or Android. You’ll use the parent app to connect the storymaker to Wi-Fi, choose settings like story length, language preferences, and set up new DIY blocks.

Wi-Fi is only needed to create new stories. Up to 700 stories are saved on the storymaker. Without Wi-Fi, you can replay any saved story by placing the same blocks and choosing the same story type you used to make it. 

No. The storymaker only needs your phone for setup and settings. Once that’s taken care of, it works on its own.

No. Everything the storymaker does works without a subscription or monthly fee.

Up to 8 hours of play per charge. A full recharge over USB-C takes about 3 hours.

You can read every story your child makes, create custom themes for each story, set story length and manage content in the playgeni app.

Yes. Add a custom theme in the playgeni app, like “sharing with a little brother” or “being brave when trying new things.” Themes shape each story’s plot and the lesson it teaches.

Yes. Add your child’s interests in the app, like dinosaurs, art or space, and they’ll show up in every story.

Vocabulary, sentence complexity and learning concepts are matched to your child’s age, and they get more challenging as your child grows. Each playgeni book also builds in 20 learning concepts.

You choose: 3, 5 or 10 minutes. Set it in the playgeni app.

Currently, the storymaker can tell stories in the following languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

They can pick up the basics. Choose a secondary language in the app, and the storymaker adds a few words from it to each story. You can pick any of the same languages.

Yes. Choose from several narrator voices in the app, and set how fast the narrator speaks.

Yes. A generative story engine turns the placed blocks into audio stories based on the worlds created by a children’s author. The backstory of each block comes from the author, which the AI connects into a story. Learn more about how we use AI.

It's built not to. Kids create with blocks only, never by talking or typing. Every sentence in every story passes a safety check before it plays, and you can read the full text of any story in the app. Learn more about our safety approach.

No. The storymaker has no microphone or camera and records nothing. Read our Privacy Policy for details.

No. We never use your child's information to train AI, and our AI providers are contractually barred from it too. playgeni is designed to comply with COPPA: we ask your consent before setup, show no ads, allow no third-party tracking, and you can review or delete your data anytime in the app. Read our Privacy Policy.

They're saved by the storymaker, so your child can replay them anytime, even offline. They’re also stored on the app so you can review them at any time. Favorites can also be linked to a story card.

You're charged when you place your order, and you can cancel for a full refund anytime before it ships. See the storymaker product page for the current shipping timeframe.

Anywhere in the US, including Alaska, Hawaii, APO/FPO and PO boxes. Standard shipping is free. We don't ship internationally yet. See our shipping policy.

We accept returns within 30 days. See our return policy for more details and instructions on how to start a return.

Yes. The storymaker comes with a one-year warranty. See our return policy for more details.