7 Beautiful iPhone Games for Summer Travel
We love adventuring by way of planes, trains, and automobiles, but sometimes there can be a whole lot of waiting, sitting, and twiddling of thumbs in the times in between places, activities, and all those yummy meals.
Instead of spending your next 4 hour plane ride watching episodes of a reality show you’ve never heard of or learning all about your 2nd grade best friend’s sister’s new baby (don’t worry – we all get lost on Facebook), why not entertain yourself with one of these beautiful iPhone games? Not only are they entertaining, they happen to be visually stimulating and might even spark some creative ideas as you play.
1. Dots (Free): First we’ve got Dots, the game that tons of commuters seem to be going nuts for. It’s a Tetris-style game in that you are looking for groups of the same color and connecting them to get rid of them, but somehow it has a futuristic aesthetic. We love the use of gestural motions on the iPhone, and the colors they chose look awfully familiar ;)
2. Letterpress (Free): Love Boggle? Scrabble? Love nerding out on words in general? In this two-player game, you are constantly finding words, stealing tiles, and coloring the board in order to win. It’s super addictive, and surprisingly competitive. Just make sure you’ve got an opponent with as much time to kill as you.
3. Tall Chess (Free): Just released in May of this year, Tall Chess is the first chess app that is as beautiful as a real-life chess set, in a totally different way. You can play multiple games (with a $3upgrade), play with different boards, and effortlessly review moves and games with the swipe of a finger.
4. Duck Duck Duck ($2): Duck, duck, duck… goose! Based on the classic kids’ game, this game is a much more zen-like take on the iPhone game. The graphics are gorgeous, the rubber duckies are silly, and we love all the different weather elements. It’s like tending a zen garden… but with rubber duckies in the water on your iPhone.
5. Monolith Loop (Free): Another game on the zen side of things, this is an audio looping game that combines visual shapes with ambient music. Each tap on the screen creates an expanding circle which chimes and rebounds when it collides with another loop. It’s not a game in the sense that you can win, but it is a lovely and meditative way to pass the time.
6. Ridiculous Fishing ($3): This is a more traditional game, packed with levels, an endless journey, and a heroic quest. What we love about it is the pixelated graphic aesthetic, combined with sort of an old school Nintendo look.
7. Bad Hotel ($1): This game positions you as a budding entrepreneur, working in the territory of a Texas tyrant. As you play the game and build hotels, you also create music based on the player’s actions and decisions. The player becomes a composer, creating complex musical structures to defend their hotel – how cool is that?
