The question of how to make an app stand out on overcrowded digital shelves is a perpetual one. But a glance at apps currently proving to be successful for indie app developers, reveals that design truly matters.

This week’s top paid smartphone apps for kids ages six to eight, as ranked by App Annie, are loaded with visually stunning graphics that captivate kids and get their imaginations going.

Case in point: Homes, the latest visual feast from New York-based app developer Tinybop. Along with Toca Boca’s Toca Nature, it topped the charts on the Apple App Store this week in countries including the US, Canada, Switzerland, the UK, Japan and Australia.

Homes takes kids to domiciles around the world, from Brooklyn brownstones and a Guatemalan adobe, to a Yemeni tower house and a Mongolian ger. Embodying Tinybop’s open-play strategy, the app is easy to use, as well as easy on the eyes. Kids simply pick up and play, exploring the houses without tutorials or gamification.

Tinybop’s approach is similar to that of open-ended play champion Toca Boca. The Swedish app maker launched Toca Nature last week, which featured a dream-like design that departed significantly from its previous apps. Notably, both companies describe their products as “digital toys” instead of apps, and their mobile offerings are popular across the board for their beautiful design and the inclusion of little to no text. And as independent developers, both are holding their own against publishers working with big brands like Disney.

Read on to see the other top-ranking apps, courtesy of apps analytics database App Annie.

Top 5 paid iPhone apps for kids ages 6 to 8:

US
1. Toca Nature – Toca Boca AB
2. Homes – Tinybop
3. Elf Pets Reindeer – Elf on the Shelf – The Elf on the Shelf CCA & B LLC.
4. Toca Lab – Toca Boca AB
5. Frozen: Storybook Deluxe – Disney

Canada
1. Toca Nature – Toca Boca AB
2. Homes – Tinybop
3. Math Bingo – ABCya.com
4. Toca Builders – Toca Boca AB
5. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Official Storybook App) – Cupcake Digital

Switzerland
1. Toca Nature – Toca Boca AB
2. Homes – Tinybop
3. Pippi Langstrumpf: Villa Kunterbunt – Verlag Friedrich Oetinger GmbH
4. Math Bingo – ABCya.com
5. King of Math Junior – Oddrobo Software AB

United Kingdom
1. Toca Nature – Toca Boca AB
2. Squeebles Spelling Test – KeyStageFun
3. Talking Carl! – Tayasui
4. Squeebles Times Tables 2 – KeyStageFun
5. Math Bingo – ABCya.com

Japan
1. Toca Nature – Toca Boca AB
2. Homes – Tinybop
3. Toca Lab – Toca Boca AB
4. RoboTone – Masahiro Mizutani
5. Gocco Fire Truck Pro – 3D Games for Tiny Firefighters – Smart Education, Ltd.

Australia
1. Toca Nature – Toca Boca AB
2. Toy Drive – Toywheel
3. Toca Cars – Toca Boca AB
4. Cake Doodle – Shoe the Goose
5. Slice Fractions – Ululab