All posts in category Weekend Distraction

Weekend Distraction: Can Knockdown 3 for iPhone and iPad

Screen shot 2013-05-17 at 6.26.31 PMI enjoy a game that requires little or no learning curve, and something I can dip in and out of without any thought or fuss.

Can Knockdown 3 is a game that meets these criteria.

You are given three baseballs and your job is to knock down some cans. Simple, right?

It is simple at first, as you are given the opportunity to learn how to toss the ball, and get comfortable with the ‘weight’ of the ball, and figure out the best tosses to get it to your target.

But as you move along, the cans (of course) grow in number, and are stacked creatively, making it more difficult to knock down the batch. Continuing on, you’ll come across more challenges, such as swinging obstacles, or special switches. There are cans that blow up and cans that score you an extra ball.

This is a physics puzzler, and it’s up to you to figure out the best spot to place your shot in order to tumble the most cans.

It’s a good go-to when you have a few moments of time to kill. But be warned… you may find yourself spending far more time tossing balls than you expect!

Can Knockdown 3 is 99¢ in the iTunes Store and works on both the iPhone and the iPad

6 Comments
by sharechair on May 17, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Games, iPad, iPhone, Puzzle, Weekend Distraction
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Posted by sharechair on May 17, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/weekend-distraction-can-knockdown-3-for-iphone-and-ipad/

Weekend Distraction: Van Gogh Tiles and Monet Tiles for iPad and iPhone

Photo Skitch Document-4Last weekend, I suggested a tour through an art museum as a “Weekend Distraction.” This weekend I’m continuing the “art” theme as I share two puzzle games: Van Gogh Tiles (and Monet Tiles).

One of my readers, Christine, suggested that I try Monet Tiles. (I love to get recommendations!) I downloaded it at once, along with it’s companion app, Van Gogh Tiles. Same game, just (obviously) two different artists.

You are given 3 different ways to solve the puzzle of a scrambled painting. Easiest to hardest. That’s 3 different puzzle approaches to EACH painting. And there are many paintings to solve in each app.

The easiest puzzle presents you with a tiled picture, and you must rearrange the tiles to solve the puzzle. Just tap two tiles to swap their positions. As you work, if you need a peek at the actual painting, just touch the “view” button on the bottom right side of the screen, and the painting will appear so that you can develop your plan to solve the puzzle.

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Here (below) is the screen view of the full painting after tapping “view”. Just tap the picture again, and it returns to your puzzle.

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The “medium” puzzle requires you to rotate the tiles. Again, you can always tap “view” to give yourself clues.

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And finally, the hardest puzzle form is a combination of both rotate AND swap the tiles.

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This is a lovely, relaxing puzzle game. (My only objection disappointment is that when you initially open the game, you are greeted with an advertisement that you have to close. Not a big deal, but, note-to-developer: it seems to me that if you are paying for a game you should not have to close an ad.)

Van Gogh Tiles is $1.99 in the iTunes store.

Monet Tiles is $1.99 in the iTunes store.

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5 Comments
by sharechair on May 3, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, iPad, iPhone, Puzzle, Weekend Distraction
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Posted by sharechair on May 3, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/05/03/weekend-distraction-van-gogh-tiles-and-monet-tiles-for-ipad-and-iphone/

Weekend Distraction: Stroll through the National Gallery (London) on your iPad and iPhone

Photo Skitch Document-12This is special. Really special. No bells or whistles. Nothing to solve. No villains to capture or chase. Just pure 100% enjoyment.

This is an awesome app that lets you enjoy the art at the National Gallery in London without having to leave your comfy chair.

Photo Skitch Document-16There is a free and a paid version, and I am going to use the London Gallery (free version) on my iPad for the samples I show here. The paid version of this app is basically the same as the free one except that it has a LOT more art (1600!) and a LOT more music.

The interface is simple and clean. The art speaks for itself.

When you open the app, you see a page like the one below. Choose your century and lose yourself in the art of the times. Also notice on the bottom left side of the screen, in addition to sorting by century, you can also sort by Genre or by Name.

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Scroll through the paintings. They look gorgeous on the iPad. And if you would like, you can listen to some included classical music as you browse (several selections are included on the free version, many more on the paid one).

Any action you wish to take is clearly visible on the edges of your screen. Tapping the star in the upper right corner marks the painting as a “favorite”. The HD in the lower center gives you the option of downloading an HD version of the painting you are viewing.

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Touching the action arrow in the lower left hand corner brings up a menu so that you can share the painting in several ways, or save it to your own camera roll. By saving it to the camera roll, you can use any painting as wallpaper for your lock screen or home screen on your iPad or iPhone. :)

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National Gallery, London HD free in the iTunes store

National Gallery, London HD full version is $1.99 in the iTunes store

22 Comments
by sharechair on April 26, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, iPad, iPhone, Weekend Distraction
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Posted by sharechair on April 26, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/weekend-distraction-stroll-through-the-national-gallery-london-on-your-ipad-and-iphone/

Weekend Distraction: Skill Game for your iPad and iPhone

Screen shot 2013-04-19 at 10.21.38 AMI enjoy games that have a short tiny itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny learning curve. This game is one of those. Just download it and start to play.

The only problem is that you may find yourself sucked down a rabbit hole. You may plan to only play for a few minutes and suddenly you find that a great amount of time has passed. :)

The challenge? Connect the dots.

That’s it.

Connect the dots in numerical order.

Here are the rules:

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Sounds simple, right?

It is surprisingly challenging. I’ve been stuck now several times, but I always want to go back and try another.

As you can see on this screen, I am not in a very good position to connect to dot number 7. Some forward planning is important as you tackle each challenge. Clearly I didn’t give this one enough thought.

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Here I took it a little further. I got to the number 7 …. but now, getting to number 11 looks daunting. I think I’m going to abandon this game and start again (with a little more planning).

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This is a great go-to when you have a few minutes to pass while you wait for something going on in your real life. :)

Rated with 4 1/2 stars in the iTunes store with over 2 million downloads.

Skill Game is currently FREE in the iTunes store.

6 Comments
by sharechair on April 19, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, iPad, iPhone, Weekend Distraction
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Posted by sharechair on April 19, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/weekend-distraction-skill-game/

Weekend Distraction: Word Mess

Screen shot 2013-03-22 at 12.19.54 PM If you enjoy words, this is a goodie.

The learning curve is close to zero. Just download it and start playing.

You can select “Quick Play” or “Challenge”. I like “Challenge” because, well, I like a challenge. :) :)

You will be presented with screens to find words, but always with a bit of a different spin. Perhaps you’ll be asked to find a particular word among many others. This screen (below) asks you to find the word “walk”, and tells you that there are 10 of them. That pencil you see across the top is a timer, and as you move up in levels, some bombs appear on the timer and when they explode, your screen scrambles the words as you search to beat the clock.

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Another screen will ask you to find words in a certain category. This sample (below) asks you to find kinds of noodles. Notice “angel hair” in the upper left corner? That’s one! There are 10 on this page. You must tap them all before the time runs out. And yes, those pesky bombs will be mixing things up.

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Another screen asks you to find words that rhyme with ?. In this screen (below) you need to find words that rhyme with “bin”. This is the one complaint that I have with this game (as do others, as you can see in the reviews) …… sometimes the “rhyme” that they are looking for simply doesn’t. Rhyme, that is. Extremely annoying. But if you are alert for it, you can work around it.

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Aside from the rhyming error-at-times, this is a fun game to pull up as a bit of a distraction when you want to kill a bit of time.

Word Mess is $1.99 in the iTunes store.

9 Comments
by sharechair on March 22, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Beginners, Games, iPad, iPhone, Weekend Distraction
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Posted by sharechair on March 22, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/weekend-distraction-word-mess/

Weekend Distraction: iPoe – the Interactive and Illustrated Edgar Allan Poe Collection FREE for a limited time

Screen shot 2013-03-08 at 4.55.03 PM This is a winner. How could it not be? Edgar Allan Poe + great illustrations + spooky soundtrack + interactive elements + FREE = a great deal.

This app contains The Oval Portrait, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Masque of the Red Death and Annabel Lee. You can choose to read the stories in English, Spanish, or French.

I remember enjoying the suspense of Edgar Allan Poe many many years ago. I’ll admit I haven’t read any of his tales for a very long while. But this interactive book puts a fun spin on these old classics, and since it is currently free, I downloaded the book just for the enjoyment of an interactive book.

The illustrations are engaging, and the book looks wonderful on the iPad. Snowflakes falling, flames flickering, music and more  (it is suggested to listen with earphones to enhance the sound effects).

This short video will give you a real flavor of what you will get with app. (Caution: this interactive book is not for children)

The iPoe Collection is free for a limited time and will work on both the iPad and the iPhone.

5 Comments
by sharechair on March 8, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, eBooks, iPad, iPhone, My Thoughts About Things, Weekend Distraction
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Posted by sharechair on March 8, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/weekend-distraction-ipoe-the-interactive-and-illustrated-edgar-allan-poe-collection-free-for-a-limited-time/

Weekend Distraction: Jar of Marbles for iPhone and iPad

Screen shot 2013-02-22 at 8.42.16 AMThis is a special kind of game.

You don’t have to think.

You just kind of zone-out. Seriously. I often play this on my iPad before I go to sleep. It’s downright relaxing. zzzzzzzzzzzz

Not boring. Relaxing.

The basic premise is that you are given a jar full of marbles, and presented with one marble at a time to drop into the jar. Every time you click three marbles together, they drop out of the jar. Your goal? Empty the jar. Yawn, right? Surprisingly addicting!

There are LOTS of options, of course. Difficulty level, free style or timed … and the shapes of the bowls can be altered, also, to make it a bit more challenging.

This is a Big Fish game, and those who are familiar with Big Fish know that they are known for excellent graphics and solid design.

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Jar of Marbles is a free download in the iTunes store. There is an in-app purchase (if you like it) to unlock the entire game for $1.99. This works on the iPhone or iPad.

13 Comments
by sharechair on February 22, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Games, iPad, iPhone, Weekend Distraction, Zen
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Posted by sharechair on February 22, 2013

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Weekend Distraction: Finger Piano for iPad

Screen shot 2013-02-08 at 10.42.40 AMThis app is just plain fun. It turns your iPad into a piano … and a darn good one, at that!

And you don’t have to know how to play the piano (actually, it’s probably really only fun for those who DON’T play the piano in real-life. :) )

It comes with many Classic songs to play, with the option of using your right hand, left hand, and sometimes the option for two hands (if you are very talented).

The screen opens to the piano, and you have a few controls across the top. Tap ‘Songs’ and a large number of choices drop down.

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Select your song and play away … or listen. If you tap the ‘play’ button, you can hear how the song should sound. Of course, your goal is to sound just as good. I’ll confess, I NEVER hit the play button. I just choose songs, and tap merrily on the keys. To my ears, I’m doing fine.

To play, scrolling guides come down from the top of the screen. Your job is to tap the key as the scroll-guide passes by it. A short note will be indicated by a tiny guide, while a longggggg note will have a longgggg guide.

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Quite easy to follow, yet challenging enough to feel great when you get it right.

Truly this app deserves to be tagged a “distraction.” Quite absorbing!

There are a few other tweaks. You can select different instrument sounds, and you can alter the piano key size.

For even more fun, connect your iPad to a speaker, and you will be amazed at the music coming from your efforts on your own little (loud) electric piano.

I’m linking to the preview for Finger Piano for iPad, because this is the one that I have on my iPad and have used for a very long time. There are, however several other similar options available in the iTunes store by the same developer. Some of the other options put the Finger Piano on the iPhone, or allow you to buy other music ‘packs’. But since I have not personally experienced those other versions, I’ll only link to the one I’ve used. If you are interested in the others, just visit iTunes and do a simple search for “Finger Piano” (by the developer Junpei Wada).

Finger Piano is $2.99 in the iTunes store.

15 Comments
by sharechair on February 8, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Beginners, iPad, iPhone, Weekend Distraction
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Posted by sharechair on February 8, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/weekend-distraction-finger-piano-for-ipad/

Weekend Distraction: The Great Gatsby for iPad

Screen shot 2013-02-01 at 6.22.34 PMAs much as I enjoy games on the iPad, I actually spend very little time with them… just scraps of time here and there. I don’t get absorbed. I just drop by and spend a few moments on this or that.

Hidden picture games are perfect for my drop-by style, because they are mindless and easy to go-to for just a few minutes. But most of them are pretty ordinary, nothing to get too excited about.

However … a while back I learned about “The Great Gatsby” for iPad. The full version gets a bit pricey for a game (I think), but after playing the free part, I was hooked and took the plunge.

I just finished the game and I do feel that it was worth the $. In my own way, I played a scene or two a day, and it was (almost) like reading a book.

The scenes are lovely, very visually appealing, and often there is a bit of movement within the picture, bringing it to life.

There is a plot (duh…it’s The Great Gatsby!) and it is presented as a loose storyline throughout the game. Periodically, as you are busy finding items in a scene, the characters will suddenly start having a conversation with each other. Or the scene will change a bit. Delightful. In this scene below, for example, the characters have a conversation while you are finding things, and eventually some of them leave.

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There are some moving scenes and a few other challenges that break up the typical “find this” as you go along.

And turn on the volume because the game is accompanied by a very pleasant soundtrack appropriate to the era.

Good fun. Take a look at the Preview, here. You’ll see more examples of scenes and some excellent reviews.

The Great Gatsby for the iPad is Free, but if you like it and want more, the full version is $4.99

10 Comments
by sharechair on February 1, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Beginners, Games, iPad, Weekend Distraction
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Posted by sharechair on February 1, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/weekend-distraction-the-great-gatsby-for-ipad/

Weekend Distraction: Read Short Stories on your iPad through the App called Paragraph Shorts

Screen shot 2013-01-25 at 4.38.28 PMI have no trouble finding books to read. My “waiting list” is very, very long, and gets added to almost daily.

But short stories? Hmmmm…. I have to think about that.

Honestly, I’m not that much of a short story fan. I like to get lost in the fiction I read, get swept up by the plot, and make friends with the characters. The longer the better. I like to fuss as I get closer to the end, because I don’t want the experience to be over. To me, it’s a great book when I regret turning the final page.

Can you feel all that with short stories? I don’t know. I did read an excellent collection a few years ago, but I found myself constantly feeling short-changed, left with one foot in the air, incomplete and wishing the stories were longer.

However I do know that there are many excellent short stories with awesome authors producing superb fodder for numerous outlets, including magazines such as The Atlantic and The New Yorker.

And now, with a new iPad app called Paragraph Shorts, you can read short stories gathered from these and many other sources (all for free!).

You can also save them to read offline (a lifesaver for traveling).

Now I am excited to give short stories a try.

Beautifully presented, once you download the app from the iTunes store, you will find it in your Newstand. With the app downloaded, you will regularly receive collections of short stories.

You can see here, I have so far received 4 copies full of short stories WITHIN the app. I have downloaded the two most recent copies and have not yet downloaded the first two. To download them, all I need to do is tap on the cover. This is how they appear within the Newstand App.

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Tapping on number 4 brings up the collection to full screen. Glancing through the author list, you can see there will be selections this time from Elizabeth Gilbert, Tobias Wolff, and Alice Munro among others.

Wow, huh?

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Tap on this cover image and the display opens as you see, below. Notice the symbols next to each story. Some are readable, some are to be listened to, and occasionally there is video, as well.

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Paragraph Shorts for the iPad is FREE in the iTunes store and is getting sensational ratings… 5 stars!

9 Comments
by sharechair on January 25, 2013  •  Permalink
Posted in Apps, Beginners, iOS6, iPad, My Thoughts About Things, Video, Weekend Distraction
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Posted by sharechair on January 25, 2013

http://sharechair.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/weekend-distraction-read-short-stories-on-your-ipad-through-the-app-called-paragraph-shorts/

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