It's a little elaborate and even unnecessary, but it does add a bit of playful grandeur to the start of each race. When the buttons on each side are pushed, the cars are released onto the track, with the iPad camera scanning them as they zip by underneath into the tunnel. In the real world, Mindracers games will take place on a plastic base included with every set, which holds the iPad at one end and has two tracks for cars on the other. But rather than ask kids to simply push around a toy car in front of their iPad, Mindracers also borrows another staple from the Hot Wheels legacy: a plastic track.

The idea is that the camera will recognize the cars placed in front of the camera and then put those exact vehicles onto virtual tracks representing popular flights of fantasy like under the sea and in space. The Osmo system's been used to teach words, shapes and even music, but Mindracers represents the company's first product built for play more than education. Osmo is best known for its line of learning toys that combine physical play and an iPad: A mirror is clipped at the top of a vertically propped iPad running the app, allowing it to see blocks and other toy shapes that are placed on the table below.

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