iOS Games Thread Catch All

BadKen wrote:

This kind of makes me suspicious. Free apps with no ads or IAPs are unicorns. The app publisher is trying to make money somehow, and if that somehow is not visible, it might be nefarious. If they make enough money from optional ad watching, that's fine. But if that is the only way they make money, then the game will be designed somehow, perhaps subtly, to make players want to watch those ads.

I'm not trying to poop on anyone who loves the game. If it's fun and it hasn't messed with your device, then that's great. I'm just super paranoid after all the stories about apps doing underhanded crap behind the scenes.

There is most likely data harvesting going on in the background to make money selling that data (conversion rate on Ads, how many watched ads, at what point did someone choose to watch ads).

Or it really could be what it says. It would need some deep dives into how it’s running, if there’s a EULA/TOS etc.

BadKen wrote:
DonD wrote:
charlemagne wrote:

Can anyone recommend me a game good for 10-ish minute bursts? I have a lot of short waits at work and instead of staring into nothingness or refreshing instagram again it might be nice to play something quickly. I’d be using a first-gen 10.5” iPad pro, if that changes anything.

I've been playing Carrot Defense. It's a really enjoyable tower defense, great on the iPad. Each level is about 10 minutes. There are at least 150 levels (not sure exactly - I haven't gotten to the end of the map), plus a daily level. Free, with absolutely no need to spend money on IAPs, and no intrusive advertising.

Free, no IAP... are there ads?

No ads. There is IAPS, but there is absolutely no need to spend money on it. The game works on a timer system. You get a star every so many minutes, and it costs stars to play a map. You can unlock the game completely (no star timer any more) for $5. But the star timer is pretty generous, and I have only rarely run into a circumstance where I really wanted to play another level and couldn't because I was waiting on the timer and I've done something like 110 levels plus the daily level (in about 3 weeks).

Occasionally a new dev makes a completely ad free IAP free free game so they get exposure.

LeapingGnome wrote:

I recommend Paint it Back

I don’t know whether I should curse you or bless you.

I’m paying this game too damn much.

I've played it through twice, and started it again. It's great.

I've been playing way too much of Night Of Full Moon over the last couple of weeks. It's the first CCG that has grabbed my attention. It's complex enough that there is strategy involved but not so deep I need a spreadsheet to track it.

I have run into a wall trying to beat the final boss with two of the characters and thats when the random nature of the cards and powers you get become a little frustrating. I'm still going to persist until I beat them though.

Anyone played similar games that I should look at?

Lost Portal and Dream Quest are very similar to that one.

wook1000 wrote:

I've been playing way too much of Night Of Full Moon over the last couple of weeks. It's the first CCG that has grabbed my attention. It's complex enough that there is strategy involved but not so deep I need a spreadsheet to track it.

I have run into a wall trying to beat the final boss with two of the characters and thats when the random nature of the cards and powers you get become a little frustrating. I'm still going to persist until I beat them though.

Anyone played similar games that I should look at?

I bought Night of the Full Moon.
Any tips? No tutorial. I see some similarities with Slay the Spire?

Thanks to everyone who mentioned Konami Pixel Puzzle Collection. I just completed 100% of the puzzles. This apparently opens up expert mode which lets you redo all the puzzles, but you can't X out blank squares. So... that's a big NOPE for me, since I've no clue how I could live without that ability.

Also, I just downloaded Dissembler which is a very satisfying to play puzzle game. My intitial thoughts are this is 3 bucks well spent, if you like puzzle games.

I haven't encountered any multicolored tiles that I see the trailer yet, but some of the single color puzzles have already been head scratchers and give a highly satisfying feeling when they're finally solved.

Tscott wrote:

Thanks to everyone who mentioned Konami Pixel Puzzle Collection. I just completed 100% of the puzzles. This apparently opens up expert mode which lets you redo all the puzzles, but you can't X out blank squares. So... that's a big NOPE for me, since I've no clue how I could live without that ability.

Ahh, you beat me. I’m at 90% and still chipping away. Great game for the low price of free.

chooka1 wrote:
wook1000 wrote:

I've been playing way too much of Night Of Full Moon over the last couple of weeks. It's the first CCG that has grabbed my attention. It's complex enough that there is strategy involved but not so deep I need a spreadsheet to track it.

I have run into a wall trying to beat the final boss with two of the characters and thats when the random nature of the cards and powers you get become a little frustrating. I'm still going to persist until I beat them though.

Anyone played similar games that I should look at?

I bought Night of the Full Moon.
Any tips? No tutorial. I see some similarities with Slay the Spire?

I conquered the last adventure this weekend. The nun was definitely the hardest of the different heroes. Will pick up the extras soons

My tips would be:
- Find a focused set of cards that keep build on each other. The more cards you have in the deck the less likely you are to get the ones you need. Less is more!
- Each hero has a build or two that will allow you do lots of damage or prevent the enemy from attacking. Once you find what that is you just to run through a few times to get the right card draws and refine the strategy.
- There is a certain amount of luck in drawing the right cards. Sometimes you'll just have to abandon a playthrough and start again.

Thank you. Surprisingly a great game!

.99 on IOS. Looks like the extra purposes are just extra characters?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

chooka1 wrote:

.99 on IOS. Looks like the extra purposes are just extra characters?

Yep. Plenty of game available without them. I'd say finish the 4 you start with and then decide if it's worth buying the others.

merphle wrote:
Tscott wrote:

Thanks to everyone who mentioned Konami Pixel Puzzle Collection. I just completed 100% of the puzzles. This apparently opens up expert mode which lets you redo all the puzzles, but you can't X out blank squares. So... that's a big NOPE for me, since I've no clue how I could live without that ability.

Ahh, you beat me. I’m at 90% and still chipping away. Great game for the low price of free.

I recently also got to 90%, but I found out I have completed all the non-boss levels. Since the game only allows you to play one boss level every 3 hours, the next 50 puzzles will take a very long time. Not a good way to end, but it has been one of the best Picross games on the iPad.

Aristophan wrote:
merphle wrote:
Tscott wrote:

Thanks to everyone who mentioned Konami Pixel Puzzle Collection. I just completed 100% of the puzzles. This apparently opens up expert mode which lets you redo all the puzzles, but you can't X out blank squares. So... that's a big NOPE for me, since I've no clue how I could live without that ability.

Ahh, you beat me. I’m at 90% and still chipping away. Great game for the low price of free.

I recently also got to 90%, but I found out I have completed all the non-boss levels. Since the game only allows you to play one boss level every 3 hours, the next 50 puzzles will take a very long time. Not a good way to end, but it has been one of the best Picross games on the iPad.

I spent a few weeks just doing boss battles, so I have a bunch of regular levels left for me to go straight through. The remaining ones all seem to be rather difficult though.

Hi peeps, long time listener first time poster. Just came here to recommend Twinfold by Kenny Sunn. It's a high score, roguelike based on Threes gameplay:
Gameplay

Choosing between powerful abilities gives me the slay the spire fix. Adorable sound effects means I haven't muted the game yet. Getting high up on the leader boards is actually achievable (I'm 57th).

Some runs fizzle out after a couple of minutes, others run over an hour.

Picked up the recommendation from Matt Lees of Shutup Sitdown/Cool Ghosts fame.

Welcome, DaFuzz.

Or should I say, "Cheez it! Da fuzz!"

Just finished "Dead Man's Trousers". A fitting end to the Trainspotting series; quite a romp, Welsh-style.

Can anyone recommend games that are super-quick to play and have good progression but don't feel overly addictive? I'm just looking for something to encourage me to step away from the computer for a few minutes at work, but won't become obsessive. I've tried games like Tiny Tower, and I love them, but I find it hard to put them down. So maybe this is just a bad idea after all...

Ballz?

I think step 1 would be to find games that are not FTP or only are free but only a single IAP to unlock the full game. FTP games with IAP currency mechanics are explicitly designed to be addictive in the way you mention.

Have you tried You Must Build A Boat? It’s a few years old now, but holds up remarkably well.

Duolingo.

Seriously though, if you want "good progression", leaning a new language is the definition of that.

Hangdog, do you require the progression? What about boardgames? They aren’t rejoined with F2P nonsense and most games are completed in 5-30 minutes.

Night Of Full Moon reminds me a lot of Meteorfall (and that's a good thing). I haven't figured it out yet, but it looks really promising!

Keithustus wrote:

Hangdog, do you require the progression? What about boardgames? They aren’t rejoined with F2P nonsense and most games are completed in 5-30 minutes.

Good idea. I do like the progression, but something I can do a move every now and then might be just the ticket.

I downloaded a few things that were free just to try. Woof. There's a reason I stopped downloading F2P iOS games a while ago.

Assassin's Creed Rebellion. I play a few minutes every day and just level up my assassins and send them on missions etc. Good fun but nothing hugely addictive.

Holedown has good progression and it is better Ballz.

Handdog, in the iOS board game front, I can’t recommend enough:

Through the Ages....it has/was in the BGG top 3 or top 5 for good reason and the digitization is wonderful. There’s even single-player challenges. Games might run a bit longer than you prefer, though, especially for your first several games.

Evolution: The Video Game. My favorite card game, and the multiplayer is great most of the time (games freeze up sometimes). Single player acceptable but not spectacular.

Ascension OR Penny Arcade Gamers vs Evil: deck-building, good implantation implementation [silly me].

Ticket to Ride: this was the iOS gold standard a while back, but I’m not sure if the currently available versions have been maintained.

Certainly there are some other games that others will commend, but my picks should at least get you started.