The iPhone Mom

This post is more than a little overdue but here goes. For Christmas Santa Claus brought me a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. What I had asked for was Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred DVD. That made it under the tree too but when I opened up the ice cream maker I decided that Santa has a wicked sense of humor.

The ice cream maker is fantastic and it couldn’t be easier to use. It comes with a freezer bowl that you store in your freezer. Then when you want homemade ice cream you pull out the bowl, mix up the ingredients and set the bowl down onto the ice cream maker’s base. There is a paddle that you set down inside the bowl and a cover that goes over all of it. After you’ve done all that it’s just a matter of turning the machine on. There’s no rock salt and ice to mess with and the machine is noisy but not so much that you want to chuck it outside. The best part for me? Homemade ice cream doesn’t come in a container that’s covered in nutritional information so  I can eat it without guilt. We’ve also used it to make more than just ice cream. I’ve put soda in the freezer bowl and turned it into a yummy slushie. Last week I made homemade cherry slurpees that were pretty darn tasty.

Santa also included Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. The recipes are easy to follow and yummy and they’ve included their most popular flavors along with some extra treats. Our favorite recipes so far? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and Chocolate Fudge Brownie. The homemade versions taste great and it costs a lot less to make up a homemade quart than to buy a pint in the store.

When I first tried playing Gluons I stunk. But I tried it again and after a little bit of practice I got better. Not great, but definitely better. This is an arcade style game that requires some quick moving fingers.

In Gluons you are trying to link up colored balls (gluons) before they run into the laser at the bottom of the screen. The longer the line of gluons that you create, the more points you earn. Colors need to be matched and there are special rules when it comes to some of the balls. You move the gluons by placing your thumb on the iPhone screen and creating a “force field”. When a gluon bumps into the force field it will bounce off and move. The trick is putting your force fields in the right spots so the gluons will bounce against each other and link up. You can also control how often the new gluons appear. Every time you tap the screen a new gluon shows up. So tap quickly to get gluons one right after another. Or tap slowly to give yourself more time to maneuver your force fields.  Each level has a specific amount of points that you are trying to earn in a set amount of time. When you earn the points, you’ll move up to the next level. If you have to leave the game then Gluon will save your spot so you can pick things right back up later on. Finally, the game has three different modes, smooth, mild and wild. So far I’ve only been brave enough to try out smooth.

My Gluons scores weren’t the best and it’s going to take some practice for me to get better at moving my thumbs and putting my force fields in the right spot. But once I got the hang of playing the game I actually had a hard time stopping.

Price when Reviewed: $.99 (on sale, normal price is $2.99)

Seller: 2 Cubed Ltd.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

I’ve received  another addicting app for my iPhone. It’s a good thing I don’t get much down time or else I’d be in the corner playing games all day long. This one is called Tumbledrop and it’s like a game of Jenga played with geometric shapes and a bit of physics thrown in.

You’ll want to make sure you begin at the beginning of the app. The first few rounds include tutorials that will explain how to play the game. I’m going to try my best with my own explanation. There is a special shape that sits atop a stack of various yellow shapes. All of the shapes are sitting on a platform in water. Your goal is to take away yellow shapes until the special shape rests on the platform. As you take away shapes they all start to tumble and bump into each other. They’ll move differently depending on which ones you get rid of. You’ll have to figure out what shapes to remove and when to remove them. If your top shape falls in the water you’ve got to begin all over again. Each round in the game becomes progressively more difficult to solve and involve new tricks to the  puzzles. There is also a quick play option that has you seeing how many random levels you can play without hitting the water.  There are currently sixty Tumbledrop levels available but according to the App Store description more are coming via an update.

Tumbledrop is one of those games that seems so easy when you begin playing. Then before you realize it you’ve been sucked in and are trying over and over to beat a level. (If you do beat all the levels you can go back and replay them to try and earn more medals.) I think my favorite thing about this app is the faces on the shapes. They’re animated and show real emotions depending on what’s going on on the screen. They definitely don’t like it when they’re headed towards the water! Cute app that’d be fun for the kids and mom and dad.

**Update 1/27/10 - I’ve just gotten word that the price of Tumbledrop has been lowered to $.99 The app has been selected as a finalist at the Independant Games Festival in San Francisco in March. In order to raise the funds needed to get to the festival from the UK, Dock (the developer) has put the app on sale. More details are available on his blog.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

Free version available-has 20 levels.

Seller: Starfruit Games

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

Have you heard about Train Conductor yet? It’s a terrific, new app that falls into the “traffic management” game category. The idea is to match numbered trains to their numbered tracks. You do this by tapping and dragging your finger to move the trains from track to track. You’ve got to be quick. If the trains collide you’ll have to begin all over again. You will earn points for successfully delivering trains and you will lose points for sending them to the wrong track. The game has five locations (all in Australia) and as you earn experience points you are able to unlock them. There is also a “Ghost” mode which you takes place at night. The ghost trains do not collide but they also do not stop and they move quickly. I actually enjoy playing the ghost trains more than the regular mode. I think it’s the not crashing thing.

Train Conductor is easy to learn but tough enough to master that you’ll find yourself coming back and back. It’s one of those games that appeals to adults as well as kids. Younger players will probably find it frustrating because the pace is quick but older children will enjoy it. The game is Plus+ enabled which means there are special achievements to unlock and you can keep track of your progress through their service. Visit the Plus+ website to learn more, I know my description isn’t doing it justice.

I love Train Conductor and if you read the reviews in the app store you’ll find I’m not alone. Everything is extremely well done – from the game play, to the graphics to the music. Terrific, terrific app.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99 – This is the 50% off price.

Seller: The Voxel Agents

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

Frozen Bubble 2 is a game where you shoot colored bubbles onto a playing board. When you’ve arranged the bubbles in groups of three or more they’ll pop. Your goal is to clear the board so you can move on to the next level. As you are playing the ceiling will begin to lower and you’ll need to pick up your pace. Launching the bubbles is easy, all you need to do is tap on the screen where you’d like them to end up. If you’re lucky they’ll make it there. If you’re not they may bounce around and end up stuck somewhere you’d rather they not be.

This is one of those games that’s based on a simple concept so kids can play, but as it advances it becomes addicting to adults. There are 100 levels to play in Frozen Bubble 2 and you can always come back to the level you were on when you quit the game.

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Erich Bratton

These two I Spy apps (Spooky Mansion & Riddle Race) bring the concept of the Scholastic I Spy books to your iPhone. The idea is to search a picture and locate all the objects mentioned in a riddle.

In I Spy Spooky Mansion you are going to search for objects to solve twenty-one riddles. You’ll earn keys that will unlock a gate keeping you inside the spooky mansion. The riddles are read aloud and then you’ll want to use your finger on the screen to zoom in and pan around trying to locate what is asked for. When you’ve found a hidden object,  tap on it and it’s name will be highlighted in the riddle. I Spy Riddle Race is a bit different. It has two modes, “Practice” or “Race”. In “Practice” you can take your time solving a riddle and finding everything hidden in the pictures. This is a good mode for younger players. In the “Race” mode you’ll be trying to solve three riddles and a bonus round within ten minutes. As you’re doing this you’ll be earning points and at the end you can keep track of your high scores.  There are twenty different race game boards, each with three riddles. Here you can also zoom in and pan around the picture using your finger.

One problem that I had with these apps was the time it took to register a found item. I’d tap on something and it took a second for the app to record my finding. Then I had to wait while it was read aloud. This is great for kids that don’t know how to read but it slows things down on the Riddle Race when trying to beat the clock.  Having the option to turn off the voice over would be nice.

Between the two apps I enjoyed Riddle Race the best. I have to admit though that I was never able to finish a game board in under ten minutes. I always managed to get stuck trying to find one elusive object or another. I feel that these apps will be too difficult for younger players and too easy for older ones. In my opinion they are best suited for players between 5 and 10. Take that for what it’s worth because it’s based on nothing other than my opinion and how my own kids handled the apps.

Overall I thought the apps were well executed and if your kids are into the I Spy books you’ll probably want to check them out. They are the same price but you’ll get more puzzles for your money with I Spy Riddle Race.

Price when Reviewed: $3.99 (both apps)

I Spy Spooky Mansion

I Spy Riddle Race

Seller: Scholastic Interactive, LLC

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this app for review purposes.

A while ago I posted about how excited I was to see the Lego video game folks joining forces with the Rock Band empire. We’ve never brought Rock Band or Guitar Hero into the house because I’m not a big fan of the avatars and the lyrics in many of the songs weren’t great for our kids. It seemed like each version would have a handful of songs we were okay with,  but overall this wasn’t worth the purchase.  So when I took to my site and proclaimed my excitement over the thought of Lego Rock Band the PR company behind the game read about it and asked me if my family would like to review it. This was a pretty easy decision but the difficult part came when I let the news slip to my kiddos. We had several weeks where my trips to retrieve the mail ended with interrogations over when the game would arrive.

It finally came a little over a week ago and we’ve been doing a very thorough job of  testing it out. The game is sold alone, not bundled with any instruments but my husband was thrilled to have an excuse to go out and make that purchase. I’m sure they’re selling the game on it’s own because they figure most everyone already has the instruments but I’ve got to imagine that there are some folks like us who haven’t hopped on the bandwagon until now. Or are we really the only holdouts in the world? After playing and playing and playing some more the verdict is that my kids have been completely sucked into this game. They’ve been playing every chance they get  and I’ve hopped in on plenty of numbers myself. It’s been a lot of fun playing a video game all together.

The Lego Rock Band premise is similar to the other Rock Band games – or at least what I know of them second hand, as this is the first version I’ve played. Playing the songs is just like Guitar Hero and the other Rock Band games so if you’ve done that before there are no real surprises. With this version we like being able to choose “Super Easy” as a level of difficulty. My son discovered that when you do this you don’t need to hold down the guitar’s colored buttons and strum at the same time. You can only do the strum and it will still count. This is a great feature for the younger players. Or for others like me who are somewhat rhythmically challenged. As you play you create a band and play songs earning Lego Studs to spend on things for your Rock Den, outfits for your characters, new vehicles, etc. The characters in the game are Lego people. They can be customized by changing up hair, heads, bodies and legs.  The better you get at the game the more customizable options you’ll unlock.  For fun, certain songs have set Lego characters that you’ll use. For example, when you’re playing a song by Queen you’ve got a Lego version of Freddy Mercury as your lead singer. My girls have been getting a kick out of trying to earn plenty of Lego studs to buy new outfits for their Lego people. My son was very pleased with himself when he earned enough to upgrade from a rock van to a rock mini-bus.

So what did we think about the song choices? Overall, most were pretty kid friendly. “Kung Fu Fighting” and “We Will Rock You” have been the big hits here but my seven year old has fallen in love with “Crocodile Rock”. We have run into a few with questionable lyrics but we’ve told the kids they’re getting a “set list” of ones they can sing. The rest must only be played with instruments.  Yes, we know we are mean. There’s a feature we haven’t tried out yet, but according to the product description you can download additional family friendly songs for the game.

Hardcore Rock Band players might not completely love the Lego version but I think it’s absolutely perfect for families with younger kids. The essence of Rock Band is here along with the fun and humor of Lego video games. This would be a great gift for Santa to slip under some trees this year.

My one suggestion is that since this version of Rock Band is geared towards the kids, drum silencers should be included with every video game purchase. After a week of having these lovely drums in the house I’ve put down my foot and they can no longer be played between the hours of afterschool and dinnertime.  The Rock n’ Roll lifestyle will just have to wait until mom’s nerves have made it through that grueling part of the day.  If I make it through those dreaded hours then the kids can go ahead and get crazy and rock on.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this video game for review purposes.

Here’s another app that’s just plain old fashioned silly fun. Penguin Break has two modes. In “Escape”, Penguins are filling up your iPhone screen and it’s your job to get rid of them by throwing snowballs.  Tap on the penguins and a colored snowball is launched in their direction. If it hits a penguin of the same color then the penguin will disappear. Watch out though, penguins are constantly tumbling down from the sky. There are special power-up snowballs that you can earn for extra help. In “Frenzy” your screen is already full of penguins. You have a set amount of time to clear as many off the screen as you can. The same rules apply – snowball colors have to match penguin colors.

Penguin Break starts with three penguin and snowball colors. As you advance you’ll work your way up to four and five colors.  The app has the capability of connecting to Facebook and creating a friends-only leader board but I didn’t try this feature out. This is one of those games that takes only a minute to learn but will suck you in. It’s perfect, mindless fun when you’ve just got a few minutes to waste. Like moms ever get those right?

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: GameFlow Entertainment, LLC.

Rejoinder is wild! I would not recommend giving it to your child unless you completely trust their grip on your iPhone. This is another game that makes a case for an iPhone wrist strap. Duct tape and a rubber band might work too. The object of the game is to follow the commands on your screen. The faster you respond the more points you earn. Sounds easy enough but those commands have you interacting with one of four characters. You start with a rabbit. Rejoinder asks you to flip him so you flip your iPhone. It asks you to make him jump so you make your iPhone “jump”. It asks you to stretch him so you use your finger on the screen to stretch him out. Lastly it asks you to give him a tickle with your fingers. If you fail to respond, or respond too slowly the rabbit gets a bit cranky. With each level that you pass the commands increase and the amount of time you’re given to respond decreases. Yikes!

I enjoyed playing Rejoinder, it was a nice departure from the other games on my iPhone. But it’s definitely not an app I’d give my young kiddos. Unless I was looking for a quick way to justify an upgrade to a 3GS.  So moms, dads and trusted children have fun with this one!

Price when Reviewed: $.99

Seller: Digital Dandelion

Mercutio is a simple, enjoyable app that’s great for killing time. It’s the kind of app you can pick up and begin anytime you’ve got a few extra minutes in the carpool. The goal of the game is to score the most points by creating groups of different colored tokens. There are four different colors and a group must have one token of each color. You are given a line of tokens at the bottom of the screen and they must be placed one at a time into a space that’s next to the last token you played. I liked how Mercutio helped me out with this – the available spaces for a move are shown so I just had to pick the one I liked the best. Each game has six trays of four tokens, twenty-four tokens in all. Once these have been played then the game is over.

The scoring involved math so needless to say, it went over my head. It involves squaring the number of color groups a token is included in.  Lucky for me this number showed up on the token and I didn’t have to stretch my mental abilities too much. As you progress through the game you’ll be given powers that let you change the color of your tokens. The levels will become more complex and the number of powers you’re given will increase. Mercutio is also available for social gaming through OpenFeint. I’m not a big social gamer so to be honest I didn’t test this feature out.

I found Mercutio to be a fun game and I really appreciated the thorough help section. It was well done and did a great job of explaining how the game was played.

Price when Reviewed: $1.99

Seller: Aaron Cohen