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The best mobile games
Mobile gaming has come a long way. Over the past few years we've gone from simple distractions like Snake, Words With Friends and Doodle Jump to full-on narrative experiences crafted specifically for Android and iOS devices. What's more, at least a few traditional console game developers have shifted entirely to mobile at this point, and, in a bit of a reversal, they've ported their games to consoles. By 2012, game-design toolsets like Unity and Unreal made a charming indie designed for mobile devices indistinguishable from one you'd play on a PlayStation or Xbox. As such, for the purposes of this list, we're focusing on games that have been released within the past five years.
Yes, you can actually beat 'Threes!'
Just when you thought the deceptively complex puzzler Threes! wasn't beatable, the internet comes along and proves you wrong. Three and a third years later (confirmed by the development team) the folks behind the ThreesPorn Twitter account have captured something special in the GIFs embedded below. It's quite a bit more elaborate as the victory screen for Solitaire on Windows, too. If you're going to strive to beat it yourself now that you know it's possible, don't scroll down. But if you want to know what score you should strive to top here's your target: 1,594,458.
Indie charmer 'TumbleSeed' will arrive on Nintendo Switch May 2nd
Okay, so you've had your Nintendo Switch for awhile. Ganon's corpse is but a speck in the proverbial rearview mirror and hunting for the last remaining shrines in Breath of the Wild isn't all that interesting. What's a person to do? Well, that's where indie games come in. And for the purposes of this article, we're talking about TumbleSeed specifically. The charming rogue-like about climbing a mountain as a tiny future-flora will be released to Nintendo's latest console May 2nd. That's only a few weeks away!
'Threes' artist and friends reveal 'TumbleSeed'
From the folks who brought you the deceptively simple indie hits Threes and Ridiculous Fishing comes TumbleSeed -- another colorful game with a quirky premise, rolling onto PS4, Steam, macOS and Windows early next year. As developer Benedict Fritz describes the game, TumbleSeed is "a rolly roguelike" with a simple idea: to roll a seed to the top of a procedurally generated mountain.
Play 'Threes' for free in your browser right now
Threes, the adorable number-squishing, tile-sliding puzzle game, is available to play for free (and without ads) in browsers via desktop and mobile devices. The game is otherwise free (with ads) on Android and iOS, or you can spend $2 for a version without commercial breaks. Designer Asher Vollmer and illustrator Greg Wohlwend announced the browser edition during a Reddit AMA on Thursday.
The original number-pushing puzzle game, 'Threes,' goes free
Threes is a deceptively simple puzzle game. You slide numbered tiles across a 16-slot board, combining twin numbers to rack up the highest score possible. It seems like something timeless, like it should have been next to the crossword puzzle in The New York Times back when your grandpa was a kid (if newspapers supported touchscreens, that is). In reality, it took Threes creator Asher Vollmer and artist Greg Wohlwend over a year of careful planning to create the perfect number-squishing puzzle game. When they released Threes, Vollmer and Wohlwend charged $1.99 on the iOS App Store. Just 21 days later, clones of Threes began popping up in mobile stores, most of them for the low, low price of free. You've probably heard of 2048, the Threes clone that refuses to disappear. Now, Threes is closing the gap between itself and those clones, and opening itself up to even more players by launching -- you guessed it -- for free.
The clone that won't disappear: 'Threes' vs. '2048' on Google Play
Google removed the quirky puzzle game Threes from the Play store on Tuesday. Its removal was unceremonious and sudden, but that's not exactly why Threes creator Asher Vollmer found the situation frustrating. That came down to two reasons: A robot informed Vollmer that his game was removed from Google Play in a cold, automated message. Threes was removed from Google Play because it used "2048" as a keyword -- and 2048 is a blatant, known clone of Threes. Google -- probably a human there, not a robot -- reinstated Threes after just a few hours offline and following a stream of articles and Twitter activity around its removal. Of course, 2048 remained live on Google Play the entire time, alongside a bunch of other Threes clones. This string of events highlights one of the biggest differences between Google and Apple, and how they approach their app stores. "Apple's policies are preventative and Google's policies are retroactive," Vollmer says. "You can probably figure out which one I prefer."
First 'Threes', now 'Monument Valley': knockoff developer strikes again
Did you play Monument Valley (above left), the gorgeous perspective-based puzzler from last year? It costs $4 on Google Play / iTunes, and is one of 2014's best games. And now you can get it for free. Sort of. You see, Ketchapp, the studio behind Threes! knockoff 2048 is at it again. With Skyward (above right), the developer's created a game that bears more than a passing resemblance to ustwo Studio's Apple Design Award winner. Whereas Monument Valley is a relaxing, almost Zen-like experience that's more about logic puzzles than twitch reactions, Skyward is a shallow attempt at disguising a tired Flappy Bird clone by wrapping it in pastel colors and M.C. Escher-like aesthetics. Oh, and it's full of obtrusive ads for retirement planning and compact cars -- junk that's thankfully missing from Monument Valley.
Best of the Rest: Jessica's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Threes Threes is ingenious. Its simplistic presentation belies beautiful, thoughtful design and butter-smooth mechanics. Threes isn't a matter of "less is more," it's fully encapsulated and pushed to the limits of what it intends to do, providing hours upon hours of repeated gameplay on that four-by-four tiled screen. On top of the brain-teasing numbers game, writer Asher Vollmer, illustrator Greg Wohlwend and composer Jimmy Hinson infuse Threes with personality, giving the numbers voices and faces, and tipping Threes from "Fun" to "Absolutely adorable. And, of course, fun."
Best of the Rest: Sinan's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Dark Souls 2 I've been known to perch on treetops with many a RPG, but even by my standards this was a makeout-heavy year. Four of my five picks are of the role-playing variety, and I've put more than 250 hours into that quartet alone. 2014 was a super-solid time for the genre, and that's evidenced by the sheer range of RPGs in my Best of the Rest. The only place to start this round-up is Drangleic. It was always going to take something truly special for Dark Souls 2 to stay out of its predecessor's shadow, at least for me. We are, after all, talking about following on from my game of the last decade. That proves a challenge too far for From's sequel, despite the many tweaks and additions it brings to the table. Crucially, Dark Souls 2 diminishes that sinking-into-quicksand helplessness, that sense of being lost, in every sense of the word. It is still there, but just that significant bit less so. Yet Dark Souls 2 remains an all-encompassing adventure like few others this year. It draws from both Dark and Demon's Souls to juxtapose a deep, foreboding world against an elegant simplicity of swords, shields, dungeons and big bad monsters. There are more pretenders to the throne now, but Dark Souls 2 still stands out as an idiosyncratic, unpredictable experience. For all my criticisms I plowed at least 100 hours into the world of Drangleic, and I'll be back on the plow when Dark Souls 2 hits PS4 and Xbox One in April.
Elevate - Brain Training and Threes! distinguished as Apple's Best apps of 2014 in the iTunes Store
Apple this weekend announced the winners in its Best of 2014 in the iTunes Store. The annual awards highlights the best apps, music, movies and books from the just ending year. Winners in the App Store include Elevate - Brain Training, which won App of the Year and Threes!, which took home the Game of the Year award. Hyperlapse by Instagram and Leo's Fortune were the runners-up in their respective categories. Apple also recognized notable music, movies and books including Beyonce as the best Artist, "Guardians of the Galaxy" as best Blockbuster and FX's "Fargo" as TV show of the year. Apps highlighted by Apple include the following: Best iOS Apps Yahoo News Digest Storehouse - Visual Storytelling Swiftkey Keyboard 1Password Camera+ Toca Lab NYT Now 120 Sports Camu Spring - Go Shopping BuzzFeed Peak - Brain Training Nighty Night Circus - Bedtime story for kids Yummly Recipes & Grocery List Waterlogue Human - Activity & Calorie Tracker Steller TeleStory Network TV Litely Uber Star Walk 2 Cinamatic Health Mate by Withings Paper - stories from Facebook Best iOS Games Monument Valley Hitman Go Ruzzle Adventure Battleheart Legacy World of Warriors XCOM: Enemy Within Smash Hit SpellFall - Puzzle Adventure Spider-Man Unlimited Wayward Souls Trials Frontier Adventure Beaks Rules! FarmVille 2: Country Escape RETRY Micromon Rival Knights Godus Crazy Taxi City Rush Castle Doombad: Free to Slay Bicolor Royal Revolt 2 - Defend Your Castle FOTONICA Timberman Bonza Word Puzzle
Monument Valley, Threes! receive Apple year-end awards
It's the year of the puzzler on mobile, as Apple awards the numerical master class of Threes! and visually luxe Monument Valley with game of the year nods. The gorgeous platformer Leo's Fortune was the runner-up iPhone game of the year. If these awards seem like deja vu, that's because these games also won Apple Design Awards back in July. Monument Valley received an expansion pack recently, Eschering more players to check out the perception puzzler.
Xbox One gets cozy with Threes and Limbo this week
Xbox One welcomes all moods on December 5 with Limbo and Threes, the next two ID@Xbox entries. Microsoft gifted early Xbox One adopters with Playdead's monochrome misadventure last month, but everyone can purchase the platformer starting Friday. As for numeric puzzler Threes, you can flirt with its figures on the big screen for $7, also on Friday. Limbo is dark, disturbing and more than a bit hostile, but it still earned the full five stars in our 2010 review. If you're after something perkier, Threes combines an esoteric brand of tile-matching with the jazzy, bubbly atmosphere of a lounge party. That may sound like a bizarre mixture, so it's worth reading our Portabliss column to see just why it intoxicated us.
Threes creator launching Close Castles for consoles next year
Threes developer Asher Vollmer targets consoles with his next game Close Castles, confirming a PlayStation 4 release in a post today at the PlayStation Blog. Fresh off an IndieCade showing at E3 2014, Close Castles is a minimalist real-time strategy game that places warring kingdoms in dangerous proximity to one another. Players must expand their kingdoms in the limited space provided while launching attacks to keep their opponents scurrying to rebuild. Close Castles is coming to the PlayStation 4 and other unspecified consoles "some time in 2015." [Image: Asher Vollmer]
Combine Colors: Add the colors and mix the numbers
Combining number bubbles of the same color to add up to higher numbers to keep the screen from being filled with bubbles is the objective in Combine Colors (free with in app purchases). The gameplay is very similar to Threes! or 2048 with the concept of sliding numbers together to create larger numbers while avoiding filling up the screen with numbers. However, the difference with Combine Colors is that players can only add numbers that share the same color bubble. Combine Colors is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 6.0 or later. When players combine bubbles that total 10, the bubble turns green which adds another color into the mix to try and combine. Once the number hits 100, the bubble turns blue which adds yet another challenge for players. This is a great way to add more depth to the gameplay and keeps it from getting stale as quickly. Combine Colors features Game Center support. This means challenges with friends and 14 achievements, including unlocking the seventh color bubble. This adds a lot of replay value to the game as players can utilize the challenging nature of getting the highest score. Other times, players are able to kick back and relax with the game's non-timed environment. A banner ad remains at the bottom of the screen and plagues some of Combine Colors' fun puzzle aesthetics, distracting players from the gameplay. Combine Colors has an option to save a checkpoint but it is only available through an in app purchase. The save checkpoint doesn't make a lot of sense for casual players. Likewise, competitive players enjoy the challenge of beating the game without a checkpoint. Combine Colors is free on the App Store and offers a good challenge that is surprisingly relaxing. Players can take their time swiping the bubbles to align them. The game is recommended for players who want a variation of games like Three! or 2048.
An influx of Xbox One indies: Superhot, Goat Simulator [UPDATE: Many trailers added!]
Microsoft's indie development initiative, ID@Xbox, is bringing in a bunch of games to launch first on console on Xbox One, including Superhot, Goat Simulator, Dungeon of the Endless, No Time to Explain and Smite. Peek the full list of games ID@Xbox head Chris Charla announced during the Xbox Gamescom press conference below:
Humble Mobile Bundle 6 offers up Threes, Eliss Infinity, and more
Humble Mobile Bundle 6 is now live with a collection of six Android-compatible games, including Asher Vollmer's number-sliding puzzler Threes and Little Eyes' planet-fusing action game Eliss Infinity. Pay any amount you wish for the pack and you'll get copies of Eliss Infinity, The Game Bakers' brawler Combo Crew Special Edition, and Kumobius' newly launched Duet. Beat the average (currently $3.56) and you'll also unlock Threes, Crescent Moon Games' mining-themed RPG Mines of Mars, and BulkyPix's episodic action-adventure game Lone Wolf. Bundle proceeds benefit the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child's Play. Humble Mobile Bundle 6 is available through August 19. [Video: Humble Bundle]
Apple Design Award sale discounts Threes, Monument Valley, and more
The iTunes App Store is hosting an unannounced sale on several Apple Design Award-winning apps, giving frugal players the opportunity to check out some of the best games to hit iOS devices this year. Featured games are Asher Vollmer's sliding number-cruncher Threes (99 cents), ustwo's perspective-shifting adventure game Monument Valley ($1.99), and Denis Mikan's touchscreen puzzler Blek (99 cents). Other award-nominated sale highlights include Tengami ($1.99), Eliss Infinity (99 cents), and Lost Toys ($1.99). There's no word as to when these app discounts will expire, so grab 'em while you can. [Image: ustwo]
Last chance to get Threes for frees at Starbucks
Threes! is available for free at Starbucks for a little while longer, maybe today and tomorrow, and it's worth grabbing. Since there are plenty of free clones like it - for example 2048 - here's the opportunity to get the premium press original at no additional cost. It's always cool to pick up an award-winning game instead of spending two bucks on it ... while grabbing a caramel macchiato for $5.95. [Image: @AsherVo]
Threes, Device 6 take home Apple Design Awards
Apple doled out its Design Awards earlier today, giving its stylish, pearl white nod to several games. Alongside lifestyle apps like Cinemagraph Pro and Sky Guide, Apple recognized Threes, Device 6, Blek, Monument Valley and Leo's Fortune for combining design and technology in "creative, compelling, and powerful ways." Apple praised each of the games, calling Threes "intuitive, charming, broadly appealing, and bewitchingly addictive." Device 6 was labeled "mesmerizing and immersive," Blek was said to engage both left and right hemispheres of the brain, and Monument Valley was compared to experiencing a museum. Finally, Leo's Fortune was hailed as "intricate and nuanced." Works for us. We just love having good games to play. [Image:Simogo]
