My Current Top Ten Favorite iPad Games

After a hard day’s work, there’s nothing better than spending a couple of hours kicking back on the sofa with a glass of wine and my iPad, playing some of my favorite games. Here’s my current list of top ten iPad games.

1. Bingo Blitz

Without a doubt this is my favorite game which I play everyday. It is as addictive as it is satisfying. This incredibly popular bingo game by Playtika, offers a wide range of themed bingo rooms featuring cities from around the world, as well as some fantastic permanent and temporary seasonal rooms. Bingo Blitz also boasts a number of fun slots rooms, which are handy for generating the cash you need to purchase power-ups which help you win at bingo and to level up. The greatest attraction this game offers is the collections model in which you have to get a set number of collectible items in order to complete a room and win credits. There’s something immensely satisfying about winning those hard-to-get collection items and finishing a room. I also belong to a fabulous trading group, BB Hummingbees, run by a bunch of amazing women who do their very best to help you get further in the game. We trade items and exchange tips and the ladies now feel like family. Bingo Blitz is fun, colorful, inventive, and totally engaging.

Download in iTunes now!

2. Elvenar

This beautiful, laid back game from Inno Games is soothing and relaxing and takes more than a little strategic thinking to complete tasks and advance in the game. From it’s lovely music, gorgeous graphics and authentic look and feel, Elvenar is an engaging Sim-type game where you are tasked with building your own city. You have a choice of creating your city in either mankind or elf-kind style. For me there was no choice, it had to be elfkind. You need to build homes, create manufacturing and cultural concerns, establish and train armies, as well as beautify your city with a wide range of building elements. My choice of elf-kind means that the architecture, structures and clothing of my city have an authentic elven theme. The game challenges you with tasks to fulfill, some of which provide the opportunity to explore your surroundings and expand your reach into other regions by trading or fighting with your neighbors. You can also choose to belong to a guild and participate in team events to win loot and gain points. After playing this game for a few months, my city has the look and feel of Rivendell from The Lord of the Rings and is quite stunning. The great thing about this game is that it’s not too complicated to start playing and has a wonderfully organic and intuitive feel to it that keeps me coming back for more.

Download in iTunes now!

3. Hungry Dragon

Cute and quirky, Hungry Dragon is an eat-all-you-can type of game from gaming giant, Ubisoft, that involves flying around as a dragon and gobbling up townsfolk, live animals, birds and even insects while searching for chests, pieces of cake and alphabet letters. Moving your dragon is easy by holding your finger on the screen and swishing it about wherever you want to go. To boost your speed or to destroy a giant, you tap and hold another finger down. This is particularly handy when you’re faced with critical hunger and no food is in sight and you need to hunt for more. To stay alive you need to eat constantly and if you run out of victims to eat and you die, you have two more lives before it’s game over and your score is tallied. You have a choice of either spending gems or watching a video to gain your extra lives, so I choose to watch a video in order to save gems to buy upgrades, eggs and different types of dragons. Every time I play this game I discover new areas that I hadn’t travelled to before. Today I stumbled upon a Tardis tucked away underneath a ledge, which particularly pleased me as I am a HUGE Doctor Who Fan!

Download in iTunes now!

4. Murder in the Alps

For an immersive, clever and often challenging gaming experience, you can’t go wrong with this cloak-and-dagger murder mystery genre game. From the studio of Nordcurrent, Murder in the Alps provides interesting story lines, wonderful graphics and smooth game play. Set in the 1930s, you play as the character Anna Myers, a journalist and amateur sleuth who somehow manages to uncover clues and secrets missed by bumbling and bombastic policemen put in charge of the different crime scenes. Part graphic novel, part interactive puzzle solving, the game offers a wide range of hidden object scenes and interesting mini-games which you need to complete in order to gather evidence and move on. It took me many months to complete the chapters that are currently on offer, and I’m looking forward to the release of the remaining chapters which are still in production. One downside of this game is that you need energy to keep playing and it runs out fast! You can either wait 24 hours for your energy to recharge, watch some videos or make in-app purchases to keep going.

Download in iTunes now!

5. Cooking Fever

I have to admit having a major weakness for time management games. When done well, they’re challenging and fun and can keep you engaged for hours on end. Cooking Fever, by Nordcurrent, is one of those that I never tire of. Your task is to cook and serve a mouthwateringly delectable array of foods in many different restaurants to hungry and impatient customers. Each restaurant has 40 levels of increasing difficulty. You collect coins with each serving and win gems when you level up and complete venues which can be used for kitchen and restaurant upgrades. I’ve played this game on and off over the years and I’ve reviewed it before, but now they have added loads of extra locations with even more restaurants to conquer, so it’s once again back on my iPad. Immensely enjoyable, I’m having fun working my way through the game’s latest offerings.

Download in iTunes now!

6. My Hospital

Another one of my current fave time management games is My Hospital by Cherrypick Games. There are many hospital games out there, but so many of them fail because they are over complicated and take loads of time and resources to complete. This game is a winner because it’s easy to set up and get going and is socially interactive if you connect through Facebook. This enables you to trade items that you grow or make, which helps you to develop your hospital and level up much quicker. It’s rather fun treating patients, growing plants, making medicines and enlarging and decorating your hospital.

Download in iTunes now!

7. Kitchen Craze: Cooking Chef

It should come as no surprise that yet another time management game has found its way into my top ten favorite iPad games list. Kitchen Craze by FlowMotion Entertainment is cute and colorful and easy to play. Much like other games in this genre, you earn coins and gems by cooking and serving food to hungry customers while racing against a clock. You can purchase upgrades with either earned coins and gems or in-app purchases. I like this type of game, so having a couple of different ones to play with keeps boredom at the door.

Download in iTunes now!

8. Wordscapes

I love word games and Wordscapes doesn’t disappoint. What I like most about this particular game is that each level has its own theme and words that match. You are given a group of letters from which to create words by linking letters together to form words that fit in a grid. Points are earned for words that aren’t on the grid which minimizes the frustration that comes with not being able to find the exact words that fit the board. It’s challenging and fun and a great game to play on the bus where you can switch off as soon as you get to your stop and pick up next time exactly where you left off without losing ground.

Download in iTunes now!

9. BingoScapes

There’s no doubt that I’m addicted to bingo games and Bingoscapes by Dataverse Entertainment, is my go-to-game to play when I’m all out of credits in Bingo Blitz. While not nearly as good or as engaging as Bingo Blitz, this game has enough going for it to make it to this list. The theme and concept is similar to the aforementioned game, with international city-themed bingo rooms and quirky, fun high-roller rooms. It’s colorful and cute with smooth game play and interesting and innovative high-roller rooms and is without a doubt, a great game for women.

Download in iTunes now!

10. The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot

Although I’m not a fan of shoot ‘em up or “combat” games, there’s something about this Ubisoft game that keeps me coming back for more. The game is centered around a quirky character who has to fight a range of fighters, giants and troll-like creatures in order to steal their loot. The higher the level and the richer your coffers, the better the gear and weapons you can arm yourself with. Moving about is smooth and easy using a finger (the thumb works best if you’re playing on your phone) and you can attack your enemy by tapping your finger in their direction. There is no graphic blood and gore in this game and it’s decidedly tongue-in-cheek, which makes it a lot of fun. Some of the chests you need to liberate from your enemies are hidden around corners or behind facades so you need to keep your wits about you on each new level. The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot is fun, quirky and rather entertaining and is worth giving a try if you’re in search of something different.

Download in iTunes now!

Top 10 Holiday games

Ding dong merrily on high, Christmas time is nigh! And you guessed it, it’s my favorite time of year! Apart from family time, eggnog, Christmas trees, presents, turkey and yummy yule logs, the holiday season brings with it plenty of down time, which for me, means plenty of game time. If you’re looking for some cute and quirky games to spice up your holiday, then check out my top 10 list of holiday themed games for extra holiday fun!

1. Paradise Cove – Holiday Adventure

Top of my list is Paradise Cove – Holiday Adventure, a very cute sim-style game in which you are challenged to rescue Christmas from being obliterated by a snow storm, and rebuilding the North Pole. Upgrade your snow ship and send it on voyages to collect candy canes, gum drops and holly berries, all of which provide the fuel with which to build, barter and exchange. Chop down trees, erect buildings, go on quests, rescue stranded citizens and protect the beacons which light the way to the North Pole. Be warned though, the game starts off speedy but land expansions get pricier and pricier the longer you play. If you don’t want to wait until you generate enough gold to continue playing, then make use of the in-app purchases to buy enough gold and holly to keep going. I prefer to check in on the game four or five times a day so that I don’t have to make any purchases. Despite this, Paradise Cove provides hours and hours of gaming fun and has holiday spirit by the bucketful!

Download in iTunes now!

2. Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift

The Cut the Rope franchise never disappoints and Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift is no exception. This hugely fun game requires great thought, quick reactions and tons of patience because the higher the level, the greater the challenge. Om Nom wants candy and he wants it now! Your task is to cut, swing, fling, blow, bounce and teleport candy into Om Nom’s mouth to ensure he gets his fix. The biggest challenge is to complete each level with three stars which isn’t always easy. Oozing bundles of holiday joy, Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift is colorful and quirky with great visuals, cute sound effects and smooth gameplay.

Download in iTunes now!

3. Christmas Mansion

Match 3 games can get a bit tedious, but Christmas Mansion manages to avoid this fate by offering a lovely Christmas themed rendition which is both challenging and varied. Getting three stars at each level earns you Santa coins with which to decorate your Christmas Mansion, inside and out, with festive treats from snowmen and holiday lights to wreaths and ornaments. A wide selection of powerups, from hammers to bombs help you crack each level which gets more challenging the higher you go! Featuring beautiful graphics, sweet holiday music and holiday-inspired designs, Christmas Mansion is both festive and fun!

Download in iTunes now!

4. Epic Christmas Word Search

They sure gave this game the right name, for it is indeed an epic word search! Instead of a series of separate games, Epic Christmas Word Search is one gigantic puzzle featuring 1 500 words on one enormous grid. The grid is divided into 16 themed sections which you navigate around using two fingers. Once you find a word, simply drag your finger across it until it is highlighted and disappears from the list. If you love whiling away the time on word search puzzles, then you’ll love Epic Christmas Word Search!

Download in iTunes now!

5. Run Run Santa

Run Run Santa is an old fashioned arcade game in which you need to steer Santa clear of dangerous obstacles and into the path of items, such as candy canes, presents or hot dogs, that he needs to collect. Santa starts off running so the pace of the game is pretty fast. To make Santa jump – whether its to collect an item, jump over bombs or open patches of water – simply tap the screen. Keep tapping if you need him to jump extra high or far. I must say that this game takes me back to when I was a kid and the only access we had to computer games was a trip to the corner cafe or games arcade! While a very simple game, with just 15 levels, Run Run Santa is cute and challenging, especially if you want to achieve three stars on every level!

Download in iTunes now!

6. Abe Santa Snow Flow

This game is extremely easy in the lower, free levels, but once you expand the playing field to 8×8 or 9×9 boards (which you have to pay $0.99c for), it starts to get really interesting. The idea is to match the same-colored Santas within the required number of moves, by swiping to connect them. You need to fill in every square, so while there may be more efficient ways of connecting the Santas, you sometimes have to include extra squares to ensure that every one is full or highlighted. While this is a free game, I would pay the $0.99 cents to get rid of the ads which appear after every level and are sooooo annoying! When the going gets tough (they don’t call it 8×8 and 9×9 mania for nothing!) remember to start with the Santas that are the most troublesome and then work your way around them once they are connected. Once it gets more challenging, Abe Santa Snow Flow is addictive and fun and offers enough Christmas cheer to fill a stocking!

Download in iTunes now!

7. Santa’s Reindeer Hunt

Santa’s Reindeer Hunt is a cute little maze game which requires you to hunt for hay to feed Santa’s reindeer so that he can go out and deliver his presents in time for Christmas. You get to search for hay in 16 levels at two different locations, the North Pole and Eskimo Town. At the beginning of each level, you are given 10 seconds to scroll through the playing field so that you can locate the buckets of hay, as well as little golden bells which extend your play time. Move Santa by clicking north, south, west or east on a compass to direct him to the hay and then on to the corral where his reindeer are lodged. You can only carry one pail of hay each time, so you have to move fast to ensure that you collect each one before the clock counts down. Fun and quirky, Santa’s Reindeer Hunt is a great game to play as you sit in front of the fire and sip on eggnog!

Download in iTunes now!

8. Hidden Objects Christmas Celebration

My holiday list would not be complete without a hidden object game. Christmas Celebration is a colorful and festive addition to my hidden objects collection and offers three game modes: Traditional, Chill and Adventure. Furthermore, you can complete each of the eight scenes three times over, using words, pictures and collector items (where you need to find 12 of the same objects). Adventure mode offers 15 levels with a new twist – the word list has missing and scrambled words, as well as bonus bonanza words. This great game for women is sure to put you in the holiday mood this festive season.

Download in iTunes now!

9. Holly: A Christmas Tale

If you prefer hidden object games that pack a bit more of a punch, then you’ll enjoy Holly: A Christmas Tale an adventure game which tells the story of Holly who works in a toy shop and ends up helping Santa to spread Christmas cheer. Packed with a wide variety of colorful hidden object scenes and cute mini-games which appear after every completed level, Holly a Christmas Tale offers hours of holiday fun.

Download in iTunes now!

10. Christmas Stories: Nutcracker

No Christmas is complete without The Nutcracker story, so it makes sense to conclude my holiday list with Christmas Stories: Nutcracker. This challenging and magical adventure game boasts an interesting storyline, interactive hidden object scenes that demand more than merely finding items, mini games and many mysteries to solve. Depending on your mood, you can play this game in three modes: Casual, Advanced and Hardcore. Help the nutcracker to rescue Princess Mary from the clutches of the evil Rat King who has turned her into a porcelain doll. With beautifully rich graphics, smooth gameplay and challenging puzzles, this is a great game to fill your holidays with festive cheer!

Download in iTunes now!

Happy Holidays everyone! Have fun!

Bingo Bash

Genre: On-line multi-player casino

Developer: BitRhymes Inc

Game Description: A fun, thrilling bingo and slots game that will turn you into a bingo addict in no time!

Platforms: iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle, Facebook

Price: Freemium

Download in iTunes Now!

Bingo Bash is one of those games that just seems to do everything right. It is a highly addictive bingo game that is so well crafted its hard not to get hooked. Unlike other Bingo games, Bingo Bash has so many clever variations of bingo, that it isn’t hard to figure out why it is the most popular and successful in its genre. It’s cool, hip, fun, clever and… did I say it’s clever?

The sheer inventiveness of the designers make Bingo Bash a real winner!

To start off with, you are given a pile of bingo chips, power ups, coins and gems, which you use to purchase bingo cards and play some games. Every 20 hours, you are rewarded with free bingo chips, provided you log in to the game every day. You also get a free scratch card every day and a chance to spin the wheel in a daily raffle, which awards you with either free chips, coins or power ups, depending on where you land. Each time you play, you score experience points (XP) which enables you to level up. Whenever you reach certain level milestones, you receive more chips each time you sign in, but unfortunately only up to a maximum of 72.

Every day you are treated to a “Spin to Win” raffle.

The game can be played either as a guest or by logging in with a Facebook account. For newbies, you can start off with just one or two cards and work your way up to four cards once you’ve got the hang of it. You can play it on iPad, iPhone, smartphone (android), PC and Kindle. If you’re playing on a smart phone, you have the option to play four cards, but only two will be visible on your screen – the other two cards are automatically daubed, which is a very handy feature. You may also toggle between the two sets of cards but it really isn’t necessary.

Two cards played on the iPhone in the Pot of Gold Featured Room.

Millions of people play this game regularly, so the fact that it’s played live in real time means that at any given time of day, you’ll have enough people to play against. Obviously, it’s best to play at peak times which means that the more players there are, the more bingos are up for grabs. The newest (and cheapest) rooms are usually always full, whereas the more expensive and older rooms tend to be empty and it’s difficult to muster enough players to actually get a game. If there aren’t sufficient players, you always get your chips refunded.

Completing collection is immensely satisfying and a great incentive to keep playing Bingo Bash!

Bingo Bash is basically divided into three sections consisting of a wide variety of rooms, each with its own unique theme – Wonder Rooms (from Amazon and Venice, to Las Vegas and Machu Picchu), Featured/Seasonal Rooms (from Purrfect Crime and Pokeringo to Zombie Bash and Happy Harvest), and Slots, which currently features Grande Tour and Carnival of Cash, with more slots games to follow in the future. So you are spoiled for choice when deciding which room you want to play in. You can also collect coins and gems each time you play bingo, which either enable you to cash them in for power ups (which can increase your chances of calling bingo) or enable you to play slots. Slots are a great way of increasing your stash of cash, which in turn, helps you to buy power ups to use in the bingo rooms.

The Carnival of Cash slots room offers great rewards but is quite difficult to complete collection.

Basically, each room has a different spin on how bingo is played. Each round begins with numbers being randomly called, which, if you have that particular number and row, you daub on each of the cards that you play. Usually, you call a bingo if you have lines filled out in a row in a number of ways (diagonally, horizontally, vertically or four corners), but some of the games which follow a different formula, automatically call bingo once you have daubed the required numbers. Those games which have a “different” spin on the bingo formula are the most endearing and often have me gobsmacked by the sheer inventiveness of the designers.

There are so many cute, quirky and downright inventive bingo rooms to choose from.

In my opinion, the success of this game hinges greatly on the fact that each room involves completing a collection of collectible icons. On completion, you receive huge rewards. And to me, this is the most addictive part of the game! And this is the reason why I have played Bingo Bash every single day for more than two years! The only time I have missed a day or two has been when I have been on long haul flights and have found myself without an internet connection! At the same time, however, my biggest gripe is how expensive it is to play. The free daily bingo chips (and the rewards that you get for getting bingo) simply aren’t enough to play to your satisfaction (especially if you are trying to complete collection in the more expensive rooms)! When you are lucky enough to complete collection, the rewards you get are often spent entirely on trying to complete collection in some other room. And, like me, you may find yourself giving in to the urge to keep playing and buy bingo chips. At one stage, I was paying more than a hundred dollars a month on bingo chips. You have been warned!!!

Rewards for completing collection can be quite sizable and a great incentive to keep playing!

I must say, that since Bash Gaming (formerly BitRhymes Inc), the original developers of this marvelous game, was bought out by GSN Games, a lot of the joy of the game has been sucked out of it. Clearly the bottom line is more important to them than customer satisfaction. We are constantly pelted with push notifications to Buy! Buy! Buy! And it’s getting harder and harder to get Bingo. On principal, I have stopped buying bingo chips, and so has my winning. It takes me much longer to complete collection and my winning is few and far between. One thing in their favor though, is that they are giving away free chips more often now, which works out to 16 free chips a time, once or sometimes twice a week. And they have kept their promise to introduce new rooms on a regular basis. While many players complain that these free chips are not enough, it’s still better than nothing.

Back in the good old days when I used to win regurlarly.

With the game’s chat feature, which enables you to chat with other players in real time, Bingo Bash can be a very social, fun game and the great thing is that you hardly ever come across nasty players. Bingo Bash enables you to gift collectibles to other players and swaps are made on a regular basis. However, this system is flawed and many a time I have either tried to gift someone or tried to receive a gift which has failed miserably.

The chat feature enables you to connect with people from across the globe!

Aside from a few technical glitches from time to time, and the fact that it can be a very costly game, Bingo Bash is entertaining, colorful, inventive, fun and oh, so addictive, and gets a major thumbs up from me!

Top 10 Time Management Games

I just love time management games. Not only do they challenge you to think strategically, they get the old grey cells working and are so addictive that you simply have to keep going until you master each and every level. Some of the games on this list have kept me occupied for months, which isn’t so great for getting chores done or writing regular posts for this website, but I love them nonetheless. So here is my current list of top 10 time management games:

1. Time Builders: Caveman’s Prophecy

Top of my list has got to be Caveman’s Prophecy, a new title from the Time Builders Franchise. I love both this and it’s predecessor Time Builders: Pyramid Rising, equally. Caveman’s Prophecy features the usual challenging levels, great graphics and quirky characters. Set in the age of dinosaurs, your goal is to help Senmout get cave dwellers to venture out and establish a civilization by collecting resources, building houses, markets, banks, temples and statues, etc. It’s a great game to sink your teeth into!

Download in iTunes now!

2. Campground Challenge HD

Campground Challenge is a great time management game that requires you to be both extremely methodical and patient to complete all 60 levels with gold stars. You are challenged to build a series of campgrounds that are financially successful but Eco-friendly, and in the process win Campground Developer of the Year. Build accommodation, chase away wildlife, cultivate seeds, plant flower beds, arrange entertainment and a host of other activities for an unforgettable gaming experience. As an added bonus, if you discover artifacts revealed by deciphering ancient treasure maps, you get to unlock hidden levels. I absolutely love this game and am not ashamed to say that I needed to watch walk through videos for more than a few levels to get gold star status!

Download in iTunes now!

3. Be Rich!

I was so happy when this great game for women was finally released for the iPad! If you like games that involve planning, designing and building cities then Be Rich! is the game for you. This sim-style game involves building and upgrading all kinds of housing, from condos and apartment buildings to cottages and luxury villas, as well as theaters, sports arenas, theme parks, businesses and much more. Each level has a set of challenges to meet, helping you to raise capital to keep your properties in tip-top condition as you travel to different cities throughout the USA. This is a fun and exciting game that is perfectly suited to playing on your iPad.

Download in iTunes now!

4. Burger Bustle

Burger Bustle is a very cute, busy and challenging game. Like all cooking games, it requires a frenzy of activity to flip burgers, add condiments and sauces, serve drinks and desserts and keep your customers happy. As you make money you can hire extra hands to help you achieve your tasks and work your way through each level, all in pursuit of making a profit and winning awards. Burger Bustle has great graphics, smooth game play and enough action to keep you busy on a rainy day.

Download in iTunes now!

5. Hobby Farm

Hobby Farm is such a cute and absorbing game that I played it day in and day out until I had completed each and every one of its 50 levels. You are tasked with helping Jill, who stumbled upon her dream farm while vacationing with her husband on a tropical island, to grow and develop it into a world-class, profitable and productive farm. Plant seeds, water crops, collect fruit and veggies, buy, feed, milk and shear animals, purchase machines, make a wide range of organic products and rake in the cash. You even have to fend off thieves who come creeping during the night to steal your crops and animals. This well-put-together game is sure to please!

Download in iTunes now!

6. Roads of Rome

My list would not be complete without the inclusion of my favorite gaming franchise, Roads of Rome. Whether its Roads of Rome 1, 2 or 3, these games never disappoint and are so full of character that even the most cynical of gamer would not be able to resist. Help Victorious win the hand of Ceasar’s beautiful daughter by protecting Rome from barbarian invaders and expanding the might and reach of the Roman Empire. Build roads, forts, and temples and collect resources to feed your army and fill your stores to aid you in fulfilling each challenging quest. If you are a perfectionist, you will enjoy countless hours of pleasure in pursuit of achieving expert status in every level. Only once you have completed each level at expert status will you be able to access the bonus levels. Challenging, entertaining and loads of fun, Roads of Rome is an absolute winner!

Download Roads of Rome now!

Download Roads of Rome 2 now!

Download Roads of Rome 3 now!

7. Megaplex Madness 2

Megaplex Madness 2 and it’s predecessor, Megaplex Madness – Now Playing! are sweet games that are both entertaining and challenging and good value for money. It’s your job to restore 5 run-down cinemas and turn them into a money making megaplex. You will need to upgrade and decorate each cinema in the themes of western, horror, romance, sci-fi and action, all while serving customers with tickets, popcorn, drinks and candy. Save up enough coins to play a series of mini-games in the games arcade and notch up your trophies. At times frustrating, this quick-action game provides hours of fun and addictive game play!

Download Megaplex Madness 2 now!

Download Megaplex Madness – Now Playing now!

8. Cooking Fever

I recently discovered Cooking Fever by Nordcurrent, a charming cooking game featuring seven different types of restaurants and counting. Each restaurant has 40 levels to complete, each with it’s own tasks and challenges. Your job is to serve hoards of hungry and often disgruntled customers with food and beverages and to make enough money to purchase upgrades in both the kitchens and the dining areas, which make it easier to reach your goals. It’s difficult to upgrade decor and machinery without diamonds, which you can acquire through in-app purchases or by striking it lucky at the casino. I am managing to keep abreast of upgrades through collecting huge piles of coins and playing in the casino until I get diamonds. Don’t bother playing anything less than 500 coins though, as its often time consuming waiting until you strike it rich! Cooking Fever is cute and engaging and offers hours of gaming pleasure.

Download in iTunes now!

9. Wedding Dash

Wedding Dash is a delightful little game that is one of a range of similar games offered by PlayFirst, including Hotel Dash, Diner Dash and Cooking Dash. I have all four games on my iPhone and iPad, although I prefer playing them on my iPad as it’s much easier to play the more advanced levels which can get pretty hectic to keep pace with. Flo and Quinn need your help in planning and managing dream weddings for a host of romantic couples. You will need to seat guests, serve them food and drinks, manage incidents and keep the bride and groom happy. Its a fun and quirky game that will keep on boggling your mind and is perfect for those occasions when you have time to kill and are in need of a distraction.

Download Wedding Dash Deluxe now!

Download Hotel Dash Deluxe now!

Download Diner Dash now!

Download Cooking Dash Deluxe now!

10. New Yankee in King Arthur’s Court 2

New Yankee in King Arthur’s Court 2 is the charming second chapter in the story of hapless Sir John, who was zapped back in time to the Court of King Arthur. Picking up from the previous chapter, Sir John is joined by his wife Mary, who discovers a spell book which comes in very handy in your fight against monsters and magical creatures. Your quest is to find the Fountain of Youth while gathering resources, building settlements and warding off enemies over 40 challenging levels. This is a delightfully quirky game which boasts beautiful graphics, smooth game-play and offers hours of entertainment.

Download New Yankee in King Arthur’s Court 2 now!

Download New Yankee in King Arthur’s Court HD now!

Big Fish Bingo

Genre: On-line multi-player casino

Developer: Big Fish Games

Game Description: An addictive, funky bingo game with strong emphasis on team playing

Platforms: Mac

Price: Freemium

Download in iTunes now!

I have been playing Big Fish Bingo for months now and am completely hooked. I just love this game. It’s fun, colourful, easy-to-use and has many features. The game consists of a number of bingo rooms, which Big Fish games change fairly regularly to mix things up. You have a choice to play from one to four cards and the cost per card varies from room to room (from 2 gems up to 80 gems). So, often what room you choose depends on how many gems you have in your kitty. Those rooms that are marked “pro” require that you play four cards but for much higher rewards.

Gemstone Canyon Pro is my fave room but costs a whopping 80 gems per round!

As each round starts, different numbers are called out which you then have to “daub” if you have them on any (or all) of your cards. Once you have filled out a card in any one of the winning combinations (horizontal, vertical, diagonal and corners) you may call bingo and keep playing until the end of the round. There are a limited number of bingos on offer depending on how many people are playing at any given time, so the quicker you can score bingos, the better. The first three bingos win you extra coins, gems and XP (experience). Each player collects XP with every round that they play which enables them to progress to higher levels.

Winning is great!

You can choose to log on with Facebook which awards you with 18 free gems and 500 gold coins every day that you log on or you can play as a guest. Furthermore, every half hour you may claim 10 free gems by pushing a claim button on the home page, which is a handy feature when you are running out of gems – without gems, you can’t play. Unlike other Bingo apps which give you only paltry amounts of free gems, this allows you to play without having to spend a fortune in real cash on buying gems and coins. You may initially have to spend some cash on buying gems to get you started, but if you are patient and log on every half hour until you have saved up enough gems (and provided you win more rounds than you lose) you shouldn’t have to spend a cent.

Free gems for logging on with Facebook.

Big Fish Bingo is a social game, so with the exception of one solo room (Dotties Drive-In) you are automatically teamed up with three other players when you enter a room, with bots being used if no “real people” are around to play. If you don’t want to play with bots (nobody does), you may start a fresh round yourself and invite “friends” to come and play with you or you may accept an invitation to play if it is sent to you. You may become friends with as many players as you want by simply tapping on their avatar and tapping “add friend”. The game has a chat feature, one for team (which only the team gets to see) and one for global (everyone gets to see) that allows you to exchange pleasantries, strategies or choice words depending on how the game is going. A recent welcome addition has seen the emergence of a numbered icon on either tab allowing you to switch between modes if members of your team have posted a message on either forum.

The solo room is a great place to earn gems and coins if you have great individual power ups.

Power-ups are an important feature of the game and you can only buy power-ups with gold coins which you can either purchase from the store or earn from each round you play. Depending on how many coins you have, you have a choice of four different power packs offering a different selection of power-ups each time (and you don’t always get the ones you want). These power-ups are categorised into common, rare and epic and include a range of power-ups to improve your chances of hitting bingo. Team instant bingos (which automatically award you with a bingo if it is hit) and team daub bursts are highly sought after and go a long way in ensuring your team comes out on top if one or more of you play them.

I always save up my coins to purchase the Mythical power pack which gives you guaranteed Epic power-ups which are the most sought after.

A recent addition is the Powerup Lab, which enables you to create different power-ups by combining different daubs that you have in stock. This makes it more interesting, especially when you have run out of the more powerful daubs.

Let the Powerup Lab bring out the mad scientist in you!

Big Fish Bingo has been plagued with connectivity issues from time to time, but lately seems to have stabilised, although you still get complaints of people getting booted from a game and replaced by an annoying bot! All in all, I find Big Fish Bingo to be addictively huge fun.

World Series of Poker (WSOP)

Genre: On-line multi-player card

Developer: Electronic Arts (EA)

Game Description: An addictive on-line poker game using virtual chips featuring Texas Hold ‘Em and Omaha styles of Poker.

Platforms: Mac, Android

Price: Free

Download in iTunes now!

Gambling is addictive. Nuff said! But what makes this game doubly addictive is that you’re not only playing with virtual money, you’re also playing against real, live people. This renders the game unpredictable and realistic and also makes for an extremely entertaining way to spend your time. And spend your time you will! If you’re lucky to get a table full of friendly, chatty and witty players, you won’t want to leave. But sometimes you get cranky or vicious players (who mostly hide behind an avatar and have names like “K$$mya$$” or “Usuk”) who pester, harangue and rage against someone who gets under their nose, which can be extremely unpleasant and distracting. I’ve played this game for weeks now and I’m finally able to give you the low down on how to maximize your experience.

Friendly chatter

World Series of Poker is an online poker game that’s fun, easy-to-use and a great tool for learning how to play the game like a pro (more on that later). It has a clean and simple interface and a number of basic tutorials that will help get you set up quickly and effortlessly. Offering two poker styles, Texas Hold ‘Em and Omaha, WSOP also offers two tournament arenas where you can win a WSOP Bracelet and a WSOP ring – last person standing gets the trophy and the top three win modest prize money!

You’re a winner!

You have two options to sign up to the game – either as a Guest or with your Facebook account. Each player is assigned a small round token which features either an avatar or a profile pic, along with any name of your choice. If you choose to go the guest route, you have a number of free avatars to choose from, from simple card symbols to canned characters. If you log on with your Facebook account, your profile pic is automatically loaded, along with your first name, which you can replace with any name you want (but with a restricted number of characters).

This is what your basic profile looks like showing your game stats.

Once you have set up your profile, you are given $16 000 worth of free chips and 5 pieces of gold. If you want to purchase more, you can visit the store and purchase chips and gold (gold helps you to buy avatars and gifts) – just tap the “Buy Chips and Gold” button on the main page. You can choose to pay $2.99 for 750 000 chips, right up to $99.99 for 112 000 000. It’s pretty easy to buy a stack of chips and burn through them in one sitting, so be careful! But if you’re lucky (and cautious), you can play continually without spending a penny! I’ve been playing low to medium stake games for two weeks now with just the free chips I’ve earned, while trying to improve my ROI (Return on Investment). So how do you earn free chips, you ask? Well, every day each player is awarded bonus chips, which supposedly ranges from 1 000 to 1 million chips, but the most free chips I’ve ever won has been 5 000, the average being 1 500.

Free daily bonus chips

Another great way to earn free chips is to rack up a ton of friends. Whenever you play at a new table, look out for the friendly players, touch their avatar and tap the “Add Buddy” button. Similarly, when you get friend requests, you can either accept their friendship or refuse it. Make it a habit to spend a few minutes every day to send free chips to your friends – when they accept your gift, free chips are automatically sent back to you – literally a gift that keeps on giving. Again, you could get up to 1 million chips at a time, and the more friends you have, the more free chips you get. It’s a great joy to sign in to the game each day and see that you have 30+ gifts waiting for you, all offering varying amounts. It’s a sure fire way to boost your chip count. Once your friend count is in the hundreds, it can become tedious (and time consuming!) to send chips to all your friends – regular players will keep sending you chips anyway, so to save time, I send chips to those who’ve made it to the leader board, which shows the top 50 ranked players among your friends. These players tend to be regular players anyway and will ensure the river of free chips keep flowing!

A quick way to save time and earn guaranteed free chips is to send to your friends who are on your top 50 ranked leader board.

Finally, it’s time to talk about How to Become a PRO at WSOP! This is a hot topic among WSOP newbies who try and fail to gain PRO status (I originally being one of them). After I had been playing for a few weeks, I became frustrated that I couldn’t crack PRO status and started googling for tips and advice on how to become a PRO on WSOP. I found zip! nada! niks! All I could find was a few mentions here and there that you need to earn more than you lose and after 100 hands, you become a PRO. I also found a reference to this nugget: Play high stakes games and you’ll soon be a PRO. Well, I bought a few $4.99 bundles of chips, joined the high rollers and got lucky! At one point, my coffers were full at 32 million chips! Did I become PRO? No! I maintained my stack for 100 hands, 200 hands, then 1000. Still no PRO status. So I sent a friendly email to customer support (support@wsop.com) asking very nicely how gaining PRO status works. I informed them that in my opinion, you only get one shot at PRO status – your first 100 hands. And that you’ll never get PRO status after that, no matter how profitable your playing. Well, I got no reply from them at all. I understand that it must be frustrating for the game administrators to get emails of this nature (and they must get a lot! judging from the in-game comments and discussions I often come across). If it’s a hassle getting this kind of query, they shouldn’t ignore users – rather send out a standard mail response or provide in-depth details on their website for clarity. So, I decided to do some experimenting of my own. I immediately logged out of my Facebook profile, then logged on as a Guest. I set up a brand new profile with an avatar and using my free chips started to play. I played conservatively and made sure that my tally didn’t dip below the original 16 000. If I was losing at a table, I left it and tried another. I made sure to play low stake games and after 100 hands, my total number of chips sat at just over 18 000 and low and behold, I achieved PRO status. However, I really wanted to use my Facebook profile, and realised that I couldn’t have both my old FB profile and keep my new PRO status (I still maintain that if you haven’t achieved PRO status after your first 100 hands, you never will) and thus needed to create a new Facebook profile. So I logged out of my Facebook account, created a new account on Yahoo (and thus got a new email address), then used that new address to create a new Facebook profile. Using my new FB profile, I created a new profile on WSOP, then did the same thing by playing conservatively and after 100 hands, achieved my PRO status once again. This time for keeps.

I finally achieved PRO status!

The only thing I am upset about, is that I have not only lost my amazing stats (I had won loads of bracelets and rings) but also the hundreds of friends that I had made, many of whom were great fun to play with. I am slowly building my buddy list up again and have managed to come across some of my previous buddies, but it’s not the same. So, if you’re keen to play this game,(and you’re a first time player) here’s some advice. Log on to WSOP as a guest, read through the various tutorials and try your hand at some tables using the free chips that you get. Once you get a feel for the game and have more experience regarding when to fold and when to be aggressive, sign out and sign on again using Facebook (either your original profile or one set up especially for gaming) and create a new profile. Play your first 100 hands conservatively and make sure that you end up with more chips than you started with. DO NOT PLAY ANY TOURNAMENTS until you have achieved PRO status. Tournaments play havoc with your ROI because of the high buy-in fee. Only the top three win money, so if you get lousy hands and don’t get placed, your ROI drops dramatically! For general guidance on how agressively to bet, use the hand strength meter, but don’t swear by it, it can be misleading! If a hand is bad, the meter bar is red and short. For better hands the bar is longer and green. Best hands, such as straights, full houses and four-of-a-kind will show a full, green bar (see image below).

An example of how the hand meter works.

When I first started playing WSOP a few months ago, the game was quite unstable and at least two or three times a game, the app would drop. This is not only extremely frustrating, it can be expensive too. If you’re in the middle of a tournament and you get dropped out, you lose your stake (it costs 50 000+ chips to play for a bracelet and 10 000+ for a ring) which is maddening. And I’ve often seen other players mysteriously drop out half way through a hand. However, in the past few weeks, the game has stabilised radically and it doesn’t happen as often. Once, the app completely froze and I couldn’t get it to work. I solved the problem by rebooting my iPad.

All in all, World Series of Poker is loads of fun and a great way to spend your time (and money!).

**UPDATE**

I still play this game regularly and it’s a firm favourite. Here are some recent updates that have just added to it’s appeal. The free chips you get from friends yields greater returns now, I frequently get higher amounts – the most single offering so far has been 25 000. Previously, you got amounts of mostly 1 000 chips, but now it’s higher and I only occasionally get chips of 1 000.

Higher amounts of free chips are coming my way!

WSOP now has a “High roller room” for players with more than a million chips. When you log on, you see the following screen:

High rollers welcome!

You are then whisked onto the red carpet:

Onto the red carpet and into a waiting limo!

And into the high roller room where you get to play against some pretty insane people who like nothing better than to play chicken with you with some pretty audacious bluffs. Definitely not for the faint hearted!

Champagne anyone?

Top Ten Favourite iPad games for Women

Here is the list of my Top 10 great iPad games for women that I am currently playing. Check out my iPad Top 10 page from time to time as this list will be changing as I master each new game and move on to the next.

10. Tiny Places HD

This cute and quirky game is so different from traditional games that it will soon see Napoleon the Chameleon worm his way into your heart. Napoleon is trapped in a wide range of tiny places and you need to help him escape by flicking him around various obstacle courses where he attaches himself to minute screws by his tongue. As you escape increasingly challenging scenarios, your brain matter is pushed to figure out the best way to guide Napoleon to freedom. I found this quite a hard game to master at first, but once I had acquired the knack of maneuvering Napoleon around, there was no holding me back. Highly entertaining and great fun, Tiny Places offers great value and a unique gaming concept.

Download in iTunes now!

9. Hospital Haste HD

Time management and strategy games were made for iPad! That’s because it’s much easier and quicker to “tap” rather than “click”. Hospital Haste is heaps of fun and is one of those games that you just can’t put down. The aim of the game is to help Nurse Sally to diagnose and treat a range of different patients as they appear in her emergency room. With 5 hospitals to choose from in locations all over the world, you need to earn enough credits to buy upgrades which will help make your job easier and enable you to reach higher levels.

Download in iTunes now!

8. Osmos HD

Caution! This game will lead to serious neglect of all household chores, kids, pets, spouses and any other responsibilities you may have! Based on the physics of spheres, Osmos is extremely challenging, addictive and fun and is perfectly suited to the iPad’s interface. The aim of the game is to propel your sphere to becoming the largest on the screen by absorbing sphere’s that are smaller than you. You move your sphere around by tapping in the opposite direction to where you need to go which causes matter to be ejected from your sphere thus propelling you forward. It has two game modes – Odyssey and Arcade – with 72 levels in all for you to master. Featuring beautiful graphics and fantastic electronic music, this is definitely one for those who love a challenge!

Download in iTunes now!

7. Unsolved Mystery Club® Case File: Amelia Earhart HD

This lovely hidden-object game offers an interesting glimpse into the life of flying legend, Amelia Earhart. Packed with many interesting facts, the game explores a number of different theories regarding Amelia’s disappearance over the Pacific Ocean more than 75 years ago during her attempt to circumnavigate the world. Actual News Reels of Amelia’s exploits and real voice recordings lend this game an exciting authenticity. Find hidden objects, solve puzzles and complete mini-games to help solve one of the most fascinating mysteries of all time.

Download in iTunes now!

6. Mahjong Towers Touch

I love to play this solitaire-type game on a cold rainy day or when I have just a few minutes to relax between tasks. It is a strangely calming way to while away time. With soothing music and smooth gameplay, Mahjong Towers Touch is both challenging and addictive, with many of the layouts requiring numerous attempts to complete. Featuring 192 tile layouts and beautiful graphics, Mahjong Towers allows you to choose from 26 different tile themes, so you’ll never get bored with it. All you need to do is eliminate all tiles from the board by matching two tiles until you free the two golden tiles at the end. This great-value game will keep you coming back for more.

Download in iTunes now!

5. Azada – Ancient Magic

This adventure game has lots to offer, from hours of gameplay and challenging puzzles to great graphics and lots of mini-games. You are tasked with discovering why the characters in 21 classic books are acting strangely. You will meet and interact with some of the greatest characters every created, such as Sherlock Holmes, Henry Jekyll, Merlin and Robinson Crusoe. You need to page through every book, looking for clues and collecting items that will help solve each mystery. Once you have cracked all 21 books, the culprit who is permeating Great Uncle Argus’ library with evil will be revealed!

Download in iTunes now!

4. Monopoly HD, Here and Now: The World Edition

I loved the board game, Monopoly, as a kid and just love the iPad version too. It has great graphics and sound effects and has seven cute, animated tokens to choose from. Offering four modes of play from very easy to hard, Monopoly has a wonderful international flavour with each property representing beautiful and exotic cities from around the world. You can either play against a computer-generated opponent or play against up to three other people. I have to admit that playing with another person gets extremely tiresome as you have to pass the iPad between you after each move which detracts from the game. I far prefer to play it on my own. Nevertheless, Monopoly recaptures fond childhood memories and offers hours of addictive fun. That said, at $9,99, the price tag is a bit steep!

Download in iTunes now!

3. Time Builders: Pyramid Rising

Time Builders: Pyramid Rising is an absolute delight. It’s a time management game that is fun, colourful, challenging and varied. The aim of the game is to help Senmut, royal architect to Queen/Pharaoh Hatshepsut, to rebuild villages and erect monuments, temples and a huge golden pyramid, all while managing resources and hiring workers. The characters are cute and quirky and the wide array of predators and thieves that you have to fend off make this a charming and addictive addition to your game collection. There are plenty of levels to keep you amused for hours on end. Great graphics, cute movie scenes between sections and flawless game play make Time Builders: Pyramid Rising one of my favourites.

Download in iTunes now!

2. Star Wars Pit Droids

This old CD Rom game from the Star Wars franchise has been beautifully adapted for the iPad. Featuring funky music, quirky pit droids who potter around in Watto’s junk yard and 95 levels of challenging puzzles, Pit Droids is a huge hit. The aim of the game is to plot a path through and around obstacles and barriers to get the droids to their designated pits, all while challenging your problem-solving and strategizing skills. Great for older kids too, Pit Droids is fun, challenging, with beautiful graphics and smooth gameplay. If you’re a Star Wars fan and if you love puzzles, then you’ll love this game.

Download in iTunes now!

1. Where’s My Water?

Without a doubt, this is my all time favourite iPad game. It’s colorful, creative, cute, clever and extremely challenging. The game centres around Swampy the Alligator who desperately needs a bath. Problem is the water has clogged up and you need to help figure out how to get it flowing again. Navigate your way through a series of pipes, obstacles, chemicals, valves, switches, fans and more, to divert the water into Swampy’s bath, all while collecting ducks and a series of collectibles. Featuring 9 chapters and nearly 600 levels, with more in the pipeline, Where’s My Water? is an absolute winner!

Download in iTunes now!

My current Top 10 favourite computer games

Here is a quick guide to my Top 10 favourite computer games for women that I’m currently playing. Not all of them have reviews yet, but I’m working on them. These will change from time to time, so check for updates by going to my Top 10 games page.

10. World Mosaics
Help Dr Remington solve the mystery of the Pelasgians after he unearths a mysterious artefact. Travel to seven exotic locations around the world and solve a series of pictographic puzzles. Featuring 99 puzzles in story mode and more than 100 bonus puzzles, your mission is to unearth the history of the mysterious “Sea People” with each puzzle you solve. Blending aspects of Soduko with arcade game, Minesweeper, World of Mosaics offers hours of challenging fun.

Download for PC at Amazon now!

Download for iPad in iTunes now!

9. Maestro: Music of Death

Haunting and spooky, this hidden object game offers great graphics, beautiful music and some challenging puzzles. Your object is to travel to a quarantined town which has been the victim of a mysterious illness causing it’s inhabitants to age rapidly and die. You will be challenged to discover the source of the haunting music that can be heard throughout the town and save a young girl who is trapped within. Gorgeously visual and immensely satisfying when you unravel it’s secrets, Maestro: Music of Death is a grisly winner!

Download for iPad in iTunes now!

Download for iPhone in iTunes now!

8. Haunted Legends: The Queen of Spades

If you’re into the weird and the macabre, then this game is for you. Haunted Legends: Queen of Spades is a richly visual hidden objects game, centred around the disappearance of a young girl and a host of her searchers. Located in a haunted mansion belonging to a mysterious Countess who, legend has it, possessed a deck of magical cards with ties to the underworld, it is your mission to search for clues and unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearances. Weird and spooky, with some great scenes and haunting music, this game will have you hooked to the end.

Download for iPad in iTunes now!

Download for iPhone in iTunes now!

7. Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince

Save the Chancellor’s daughter who has gone missing in The Black Forest. Rumoured to be the latest victim of The Frog Prince, the very same to have been transformed into a handsome prince with a kiss from the beautiful Princess Ivy, you need to unravel this ancient mystery and brave the dark forces that haunt fairy tales of old. Gorgeous graphics, tons of hidden object searches and a series of puzzles will have you challenged and entertained for hours on end.

Download in iTunes now!

6. Luxor 3

A return to one of my all time favourite games, Luxor 3 packs some interesting twists and a super shiny new look. Offering three modes: Adventure, Puzzle and Freeplay, Luxor 3 now comes with four levels – easy, medium, hard and insane (the latter of which has to be unlocked before it can be played). I’m still working my way through the levels and simply love this Match-3 game’s new features. Collected Ankhs no longer give you extra lives, but rather give you currency to purchase extra power ups which can be bought in the game’s store. Scarabs still push colourful spheres towards the pyramid, but with new obstacles that pop up to speed them on their way. Challenging and addictive, Luxor 3 continues to enthral.

Download for PC at Amazon now!

5. Big Kahuna Reef 2 – Chain Reaction

The second instalment of this super-cool match 3 game is a sure fire hit. Explore the exotic waters of the Hawaiian deep sea paradise, working your way through more than 750 increasingly challenging levels. Fantastic graphics, smooth gameplay and a host of new features make Big Kahuna Reef 2 a winner. The game boasts new fish (including sharks and whales) which you unlock as you complete different levels, new underwater scenes and an exciting new feature – the ability to destroy boxes with a range of different bombs.

Download for PC at Amazon now!

4. Princess Isabella: Return of the Curse

Taking place a year after the events of Princess Isabella: A Witches Curse, this game centres around the disappearance of Princess Isabella’s baby daughter, who has been captured by the returning evil witch. Joining the fairy helper is a new face, a fledgling dragon who join forces to help you destroy the witch’s curse. Solve puzzles, collect gems and free a host of characters from the spells enveloping them to help find and free the baby princess. Great graphics, a greater variety of locations, hidden objects and smoother game play than it’s predecessor, make this a great game for women!

Download in iTunes now!

3. The Tiny Bang Story

Help save the people of Tiny Planet when it is hit by an asteroid and broken into tiny pieces. Explore different regions and solve many puzzles to fix the machines that will help put the planet back together again. Totally absorbing, extremely entertaining and quite a brain teaser too! Boasting gorgeously rich painted scenes, quirky characters and hauntingly beautiful music, this game is an utter delight. Not your run-of-the-mill adventure game, The Tiny Bang Story is sweet and subtle, having very limited hints and forcing you to figure it out by yourself without the aid of a skip or solve button. This is a game to be savoured, not rushed, so if you are in a hurry to get to the end by skipping the challenges and moving on, you’ll find this game seriously frustrating. Read full review here!

Download in iTunes now!

2. Roads of Rome III

Roads of Rome III is a challenging game that requires quick wits, even quicker reactions and good strategy and time management skills. It features colourful graphics, great sound effects and smooth game play. Your quest is to help Victorius protect Rome from invading Barbarians and restore the city’s broken infrastructure. Featuring a wide range of different settlements, you need to accomplish various tasks such as building bridges, fixing roads and mining gold to keep the invading forces at bay, in all weather conditions and seasons. Great fun, this game is complex, addictive and extremely difficult to achieve expert status at every level, as you race against the clock to accomplish every task. Read full review here!

Download for PC at Amazon now!

Download for iPad in iTunes now!

Download for iPhone in iTunes now!

1. Midnight Mysteries: Haunted Houdini Deluxe

Midnight Mysteries: Haunted Houdini Deluxe offers an interesting glimpse into the life and death of everyone’s favourite escape artist. Visited by the ghost of Houdini’s widow, Bess, you are tasked with helping to solve Houdini’s mysterious death and reunite them in spirit. Featuring a series of challenging puzzles, a procession of ghostly suspects and the usual dollop of hidden object searches, this is a fun and intriguing game with more than it’s fair share of intrigue and speculation.

Download for PC at Amazon now!

Download in iTunes now!

Roads of Rome III

Genre: Time Management/Strategy

Developer: Realore Studios

Game Description: Rome is under attack and your mission is to stop the barbarians from wreaking havoc and bringing it to its knees. Help Victorious push back the barbarians and restore Rome’s roads and settlements to their former glory.

Platforms: Mac, PC

Price: $6.99 at Amazon

Download for PC at Amazon now!

Download for iPad in iTunes now!

Download for iPhone in iTunes now!

This is a seriously addictive game. I played it a great deal over a long weekend and couldn’t stop until I had reached the end. Extremely challenging to achieve expert status in every level (which I only achieved on the first three levels), I nonetheless pressed on. I had to redo quite a few of the levels just to complete all necessary tasks in the required time. I must admit that I didn’t realise that you have to achieve expert status in EVERY level before you can unlock the three bonus levels at the end, which meant, of course, that I had to go back to the beginning and slowly work my through until I had achieved expert status in all levels. Wow, what a challenge! Some levels I had to re-do so many times it made my head spin. But did I give up? Did I get bored? Did I decide to call it day and move on to another game? No on all counts. (If you want to repeat a level, just navigate to the map and click on the level you want to repeat – all levels that you achieved expert status on will appear as a red banner, if not, it will be green).

The aim of this great game for women is to accomplish a series of tasks in a specific time frame. Starting in one region, you march your way across different districts, sporting different landscapes, buildings, features, materials, seasons and conditions. Each level you visit has just fallen prey to pillaging barbarians and you need to restore the infrastructure by putting out fires, collecting resources, such as wood, water, stone and gold and rebuilding destroyed roads and buildings – from farms and mills to settlements and temples.

Before you start each level, you are given a list of tasks that you need to complete before the clock runs out. At the top of your screen you are given a timer bar which slowly counts down, as well as an inventory of all the resources you need to collect. If you complete all tasks while your timer bar is still green, you gain expert status. Once your timer moves to red or “reserve” time, it becomes night time and the screen darkens considerably making it more difficult to see what’s going on. If you fail to complete your tasks before the time runs out, you have to redo that level in order to advance to the next.

As the game progresses it becomes more and more challenging to complete the tasks in the time given and you have to figure out the most efficient order in which to tackle the tasks. Before you can begin to rebuild, you need to collect resources, some of which are more in demand than others. You can also upgrade your resources, such as increase the number of workers in your camp, and increase the output of mills, pumps, farms, mines and quarries – all of which require extra resources. Each level is different, so there’s no easy formula to apply throughout the game and you can end up making too much of one thing which takes valuable time away from reaching your goals.

Some levels of Roads to Rome III are so frustratingly challenging that you’ll think that they’re impossible to master. Yet, if you just keep persevering, you eventually figure out what you need to do to get the job done. I played one level so many times over and each time ended up with not enough gold to complete the tasks in time (even after exhausting all the available resources) that I thought there was a bug in the game. When I finally figured out what the solution was, it turned out to be so simple that I nearly tossed a brick at my screen (see below for spoiler). It just goes to show that you have to keep your eyes open every second of the game. I eventually unlocked the three bonus levels much to my great satisfaction.

This game is finally available for iPhone and iPad, which makes it much easier to reach your goals which is much welcome. All in all, Roads of Rome III has great graphics and sound effects, as well as smooth gameplay and enough challenging levels to keep you glued to your screen for hours at a time. I’ve given this game 5 satisfying stars.

Spoiler alert!

If you want to know the trick of acquiring the right amount of resources you need to fulfil specific tasks, make sure that you pick up the blue resources bag (this gives you a limited time to increase the number of resources you acquire). You will notice that a red plus sign and a number appears above each resource in the resource bar. Every now and a again, this function switches on, so keep your eyes peeled. If you struggle to collect the right amount of resources, wait until this function kicks in, then collect the resources you need before it runs out – this effectively doubles your resources. It also helps to build storehouses which also give this additional resource doubling – if you upgrade the storehouses to the fullest (Level 3), it adds +3 to each resource item you collect.

My Current Top 10 Favourite iPhone games

This is the list of my favourite Top Ten iPhone and iPod Games for Women. They’ve made it to the list because they are the games that I’m currently playing and enjoying. These will change from time to time, so check for updates by going to my iPhone page.

10. Glow Hockey

Based on the physical arcade game, Blow Hockey, this is a funky and frenetic game which comes with four levels of difficulty from easy to insane. Insane mode is, well, insane and very difficult to master. I still haven’t won a game in this mode and the only time I score a goal is by mistake! A great game for waiting rooms, requiring no mental effort whatsoever, just really quick reflexes.

Download in iTunes now!

9. Falling Gems

This fast moving, colourful and fun game from Rocha Software is an old favourite offering three modes of play: Challenge, Endless and Classic. Match three or more gems to score and earn silver, bronze and gold stars for bigger groupings. Colour blind? Never mind, the options menu adds icons to each colour to make it easier to match. A wonderful game that will simply make time fly.

Download in iTunes now!

8. Space Loops

Another highly addictive game from Rocha Software, Space Loops is reminiscent of the old arcade game, Pipeworks – without the water. You need to make complete loops out of puzzle pieces as they appear and before they time out. Just tap and drag to turn and place the pieces. The bigger the loops the higher the points. As you progress through the levels the game becomes faster and more challenging. It’s a great game to keep you occupied while travelling or waiting.

Download in iTunes now!

7. IMDb Trivia

Coming to you from IMDb.com, this is a great trivia game to test your knowledge of movies, TV shows and celebrities. Currently offering 6 question packs, three of which are free once you have “unlocked” them by successfully answering most of the questions in the first pack. Three additional bonus packs can be bought for $0.99 each. Wonderful, clean, easy-to-use design with a variety of question formats, ranging in challenge to suit casual fans and movie buffs alike. IMDb Trivia is a great way to expand your knowledge of Hollywood.

Download in iTunes now!

6. Trivial Pursuit

The mobile version of this classic board game is fun and moderately challenging. Available in single and multi-player modes, the game has smooth gameplay and some great pics. I’ve only used it in single player mode and find it perfect for travelling, especially with long airport stop-overs.

Download in iTunes now!

5. Angry Birds

It’s no wonder this dynamic game is such a hit – it’s fun, frustrating and infinitely addictive – everything you could wish for in a mobile game. Angry Birds is one of those games that you simply cannot put down. Your aim is to seek revenge on pigs who have stolen the birds’ eggs. Cheeky and quirky, the concept of flinging birds at pigs and obstacles is hilariously irresistible!

Download in iTunes now!

4. Angry Birds Rio

A crazy, quirky, highly-rated take on the hit movie Rio this game will have you begging for more. Help free the original angry birds who have been kidnapped and shipped off to Rio de Janeiro. This time you are facing the cheeky marmosets, some of whom are very tricky to get rid of. Great fun, Angry Birds Rio doesn’t disappoint!

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3. Bookworm Deluxe

I just can’t get enough of this delightful word game. Link letters together to form words and feed Lex the hungry bookworm. The mobile version has a welcome addition – a library of “books” of different themes, each having a list of bonus words that you need to “tick off”, earning you extra points. Challenging and engaging this is a great addition to your phone collection.

Download in iTunes now!

2. Angry Birds Seasons

Weird and wacky, Seasons is a welcome addition to the Angry Birds family. Travel around the world to experience different festive seasons with the latest version featuring the Cherry Blossom Festival in Japan. Sporting some new bird characters and unique features, you can wreak havoc at Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Easter, a summer picnic and the Chinese Year of the Dragon and Moon Festival. This version will keep you occupied for months!

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1. Who wants to be a millionaire 2010

Main reason this game is at number one is because I’m still playing it everyday and trying to get as high a score as I possibly can. Based on the popular TV show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is quite challenging and loads of fun. Once you have worked your way through the starter pack, you can unlock three additional question packs for $0.99 each. A new version of the game is also available at iTunes which enables you to play with friends.

Download in iTunes now!