Help me spend more time playing.
March 4, 2012 8:15 AM Subscribe
Just got an ipad and am wanting new games.
My favorite games so far (also including favorites for the regular computer) are:
Machinarium
Tiny Bang
Where's My Water
Rag Doll Blaster
Hector, eps 1
So what would you recommend for me to add to my collection?
My favorite games so far (also including favorites for the regular computer) are:
Machinarium
Tiny Bang
Where's My Water
Rag Doll Blaster
Hector, eps 1
So what would you recommend for me to add to my collection?
Waking Mars just came out - it's an exploration/gardening sci-fi adventure on Mars, and I know that sounds weird, but trust me, it's great.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:25 AM on March 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:25 AM on March 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
You don't mention any, but if you like tower defense games both Kingdom Rush and Gem Keeper are fantastic.
posted by des at 8:25 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by des at 8:25 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Bard's Tale and Pocket RPG HD are fabulous... if you're into that kind of thing.
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:25 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:25 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Whale trail is soo fun! Also if you like time management games, cooking dash is good too.
posted by Sweetmag at 8:30 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Sweetmag at 8:30 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
This thread at Boardgame Geek has some good choices - although they lean more toward boardgame adaptations.
Not a big gamer, but I recommend:
World of Goo
Ticket to Ride
Words With Friends (it has major annoyances, but I probably play it the most)
Slay
posted by backwards guitar at 8:50 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Not a big gamer, but I recommend:
World of Goo
Ticket to Ride
Words With Friends (it has major annoyances, but I probably play it the most)
Slay
posted by backwards guitar at 8:50 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
I like Incoboto and Contre Jour. They're whimsical and puzzle-y like Machinarium.
posted by winna at 8:58 AM on March 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by winna at 8:58 AM on March 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
kingdom rush has an ipad app now, unfortunately for my free time.
posted by elizardbits at 9:12 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by elizardbits at 9:12 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
The iPad is great for games that you can also play on an iPhone, but that benefit from a larger screen--stuff like Flight Control and Words With Friends. Mondo Solitaire is an almost-disturbingly complete and exhaustive (and iPad-only) solitaire game. Board game adaptations can be pretty great--Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne and Catan are all good.
I also really like A Modern Eden's Two By Two--it's just a matching game, but I love the aesthetics of it.
(Buddha Machine is old, and Isle of Tune just came out. Both are music-creation thingamajigs, one starkly limited and the other sandbox-y, both stretch the definition of game (the former more than the latter), and both are pretty great.)
posted by box at 9:20 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
I also really like A Modern Eden's Two By Two--it's just a matching game, but I love the aesthetics of it.
(Buddha Machine is old, and Isle of Tune just came out. Both are music-creation thingamajigs, one starkly limited and the other sandbox-y, both stretch the definition of game (the former more than the latter), and both are pretty great.)
posted by box at 9:20 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Tiny Wings is sweet, simple, and will take hours from your life.
posted by scruss at 9:50 AM on March 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by scruss at 9:50 AM on March 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
I've probably tried a couple of hundred games on my iPad, and my favourites so far are:
Eufloria
Gesundheit! (wonderful sound and graphics)
Cut the Rope
Contre Jour
Osmos
No, Human
Masyu
Whale Trail (just for the utter silliness of it)
Edge FX
Wooords
Little Things
Isle of Tune
Robo5
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 10:13 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Eufloria
Gesundheit! (wonderful sound and graphics)
Cut the Rope
Contre Jour
Osmos
No, Human
Masyu
Whale Trail (just for the utter silliness of it)
Edge FX
Wooords
Little Things
Isle of Tune
Robo5
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 10:13 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Plants v Zombies
posted by insectosaurus at 10:15 AM on March 4, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by insectosaurus at 10:15 AM on March 4, 2012 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: I just downloaded Contre Jour the other day and I'm loving it. Tiny Wings I was playing on my daughter's itouch and I've now got that one too.
The rest of these ought to keep me busy trying them for hours.
Thank you, more please!
posted by saffronwoman at 10:36 AM on March 4, 2012
The rest of these ought to keep me busy trying them for hours.
Thank you, more please!
posted by saffronwoman at 10:36 AM on March 4, 2012
Forget me Not Is a maddening, addictive hybrid of Pac Man and Rogue-likes.
The 2 player is great on the iPad.
posted by hot_monster at 10:44 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
The 2 player is great on the iPad.
posted by hot_monster at 10:44 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Temple Run is popular at the moment.
posted by idb at 10:45 AM on March 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by idb at 10:45 AM on March 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
Slice.
posted by pmb at 11:06 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by pmb at 11:06 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Plants vs. Zombies
Happy Hills
Angry Birds
Words With Friends
Solebon (has like 50 solitaire games)
Pocket Tanks (like the old DOS game Scorched Earth)
posted by dotgirl at 11:08 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Happy Hills
Angry Birds
Words With Friends
Solebon (has like 50 solitaire games)
Pocket Tanks (like the old DOS game Scorched Earth)
posted by dotgirl at 11:08 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Quarrel DX has been surprisingly fun, combining the best aspects of Dice Wars, Text Twist, and Scrabble to make a great language-based strategy game.
Other addictive games worth the money: Tiny Wings, Jetpack Joyride
posted by Rhaomi at 11:12 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Other addictive games worth the money: Tiny Wings, Jetpack Joyride
posted by Rhaomi at 11:12 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Dungeon Raid is awesome and everyone should play it.
I also like the Kairosoft games, particularly Game Dev Story and Gran Prix Story.
Triple Town is pretty good as well.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 11:14 AM on March 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
I also like the Kairosoft games, particularly Game Dev Story and Gran Prix Story.
Triple Town is pretty good as well.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 11:14 AM on March 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
Plants vs Zombies
posted by JaneL at 1:11 PM on March 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by JaneL at 1:11 PM on March 4, 2012 [3 favorites]
Jetpack Joyride. See how I provided a link there? Also, it's free now. I paid for it, it's that good. So get it.
posted by themanwho at 2:11 PM on March 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by themanwho at 2:11 PM on March 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
Tiny Tower
posted by matildaben at 2:13 PM on March 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by matildaben at 2:13 PM on March 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
SPACE MINER HD
OH GOD SO GOOD
Also actually properly hilarious.
I always recommend King of Dragon Pass, though it's nothing like any of the other ones being recommended here, because it's an extraordinary game.
posted by Sebmojo at 2:22 PM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
OH GOD SO GOOD
Also actually properly hilarious.
I always recommend King of Dragon Pass, though it's nothing like any of the other ones being recommended here, because it's an extraordinary game.
posted by Sebmojo at 2:22 PM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
If you like classic adventure games, you can't go wrong with the Monkey Island remakes.
posted by Kevtaro at 2:28 PM on March 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Kevtaro at 2:28 PM on March 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
(Background/calibration: I haven't tried all the games you mention, but I love Machinarium,Tiny Wings and Contre Jour, and Tiny Bang is on my wishlist.)
There are two more episodes of Hector, by the looks of things; and Telltale Games have a number of other adventure games out, including the Tales of Monkey Island sequence (sequels to the original LucasArts games).
Speaking of which: as Kevtaro says, the original Monkey Island games themselves are available for the iPad too. There are various other 1990s adventure game remakes around as well - Simon the Sorcerer 1 and 2, for instance, and Beneath a Steel Sky. Or, if you want to go even older-school, there's Frotz for text adventures.
Moving away from adventure games:
- Scribblenauts Remix is silly and fun; it's nothing like the games you mention, but then it's nothing like any other game out there. I bought it while I was in bed with a cold and it was just perfect - eminently playable with a cold-induced fuzzy head and slowed reflexes, but still absorbing enough to distract me from how ill I was feeling and whimsical enough to make me laugh.
- Seconding World of Goo and Osmos, rather beautiful, slightly dreamy games requiring some thought to complete.
- I haven't played Where's My Water, but the description of gameplay makes me think of Cut the Rope, which I'm also seconding.
- Machinarium is linked in my head with Robo Sockets, which is a rather sweet Tetrisy sort of game featuring cute but broken robots. It's a bit of a tenuous link, admittedly - the games are completely different, it's just the setting and the characters that are similar.
- And finally, that leads me on to Match-3-type games; if you get on with those at all, Azkend, Sparkle and Heroes of Kalevala - all from the same company, I think - are particularly good examples of three common variants, with high production values and excellent gameplay.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:35 PM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
There are two more episodes of Hector, by the looks of things; and Telltale Games have a number of other adventure games out, including the Tales of Monkey Island sequence (sequels to the original LucasArts games).
Speaking of which: as Kevtaro says, the original Monkey Island games themselves are available for the iPad too. There are various other 1990s adventure game remakes around as well - Simon the Sorcerer 1 and 2, for instance, and Beneath a Steel Sky. Or, if you want to go even older-school, there's Frotz for text adventures.
Moving away from adventure games:
- Scribblenauts Remix is silly and fun; it's nothing like the games you mention, but then it's nothing like any other game out there. I bought it while I was in bed with a cold and it was just perfect - eminently playable with a cold-induced fuzzy head and slowed reflexes, but still absorbing enough to distract me from how ill I was feeling and whimsical enough to make me laugh.
- Seconding World of Goo and Osmos, rather beautiful, slightly dreamy games requiring some thought to complete.
- I haven't played Where's My Water, but the description of gameplay makes me think of Cut the Rope, which I'm also seconding.
- Machinarium is linked in my head with Robo Sockets, which is a rather sweet Tetrisy sort of game featuring cute but broken robots. It's a bit of a tenuous link, admittedly - the games are completely different, it's just the setting and the characters that are similar.
- And finally, that leads me on to Match-3-type games; if you get on with those at all, Azkend, Sparkle and Heroes of Kalevala - all from the same company, I think - are particularly good examples of three common variants, with high production values and excellent gameplay.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:35 PM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Puzzlejuice is fairly new, and absolutely a must get - it's the best new game I've come across in ages. It's like a combination between Tetris and Boggle!
posted by 168 at 9:21 PM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by 168 at 9:21 PM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]
Plants vs. Zombies
Where's my Water
Osmos
World of Goo
Kingdom Rush
The Creeps! (my favorite tower defense game)
Cut the Rope
posted by santaliqueur at 10:18 PM on March 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
Where's my Water
Osmos
World of Goo
Kingdom Rush
The Creeps! (my favorite tower defense game)
Cut the Rope
posted by santaliqueur at 10:18 PM on March 4, 2012 [2 favorites]
I'm a fan of Cut the rope, bejewelled, flight control, a-breaker and trainyard. The latter two have free lite versions which is nice.
posted by mr_silver at 6:34 AM on March 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by mr_silver at 6:34 AM on March 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I've added a bunch of new games to my ipad. I'm also enjoying this thread so I'd like to leave it open till I'm asked to close it.
I'm not going to mark a best answer, they're all good. But I'll mark them all as favorites.
posted by saffronwoman at 7:42 AM on March 5, 2012
I'm not going to mark a best answer, they're all good. But I'll mark them all as favorites.
posted by saffronwoman at 7:42 AM on March 5, 2012
Check out Waking Mars - a beautiful, weird combination of exploration, jet packs and gardening.
posted by Sebmojo at 2:12 PM on March 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Sebmojo at 2:12 PM on March 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
Oh, and Dark Nebula 2 - wonderfully handsome marble madness meets gothpunk apocalypse game.
posted by Sebmojo at 3:37 PM on March 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Sebmojo at 3:37 PM on March 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
There are a lot of good recommendations here.
I'll just recommend some websites and practices instead:
TouchArcade - great iOS gaming review site, notes great games just being released
AppShopper - good iOS app store tracking site, useful for determining if some apps tend to go on sale (or are on sale), and getting alerts. Apps often yoyo up and down in price to drive sales and get on Apple's top lists. Until Apple incorporates Chomp (another good iOS app search engine) into the iTunes App Store, one can take advantage of sales to grab games at bargain prices.
Holidays and release events tend to be good times to buy apps at low prices. Also, if you want to save money a different way, watch out for sales on iTunes gift cards at places like Best Buy and Target. They don't happen often, but one can get up to 20% off. Those are effectively discounts on anything you can get through iTunes, including apps.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:28 PM on March 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
I'll just recommend some websites and practices instead:
TouchArcade - great iOS gaming review site, notes great games just being released
AppShopper - good iOS app store tracking site, useful for determining if some apps tend to go on sale (or are on sale), and getting alerts. Apps often yoyo up and down in price to drive sales and get on Apple's top lists. Until Apple incorporates Chomp (another good iOS app search engine) into the iTunes App Store, one can take advantage of sales to grab games at bargain prices.
Holidays and release events tend to be good times to buy apps at low prices. Also, if you want to save money a different way, watch out for sales on iTunes gift cards at places like Best Buy and Target. They don't happen often, but one can get up to 20% off. Those are effectively discounts on anything you can get through iTunes, including apps.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:28 PM on March 7, 2012 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by empath at 8:16 AM on March 4, 2012 [1 favorite]