Tag: $5.99 »

Snowman, the developer behind well-received productivity app Checkmark, has released Checkmark 2. The app looks to do what the original did, plus the added benefit of an updated design specially made to work with iOS 7. It has also added in cloud support, one-tap rescheduling, customizable recurring reminders, location groups, and more.

We had a look at the original a while back, and rated it highly; the new app is available on the App Store for $5.99

Playdek has released quite a few great iOS ports of board and card games over the years, and now most of them are on sale. We're talking games like farm and family simulator Agricola, fantasy town and quest manager Lords of Waterdeep, and bizarre "King of Maids" competition Tanto Cuore - just to name a few.

You can check out the full list below, and feel free to shop your heart out.

Fluxx ($0.99)
Lords of Waterdeep ($5.99)
Summoner Wars (Free)
Agricola ($3.99)
Food Fight ($0.99)
Nightfall ($0.99)
Penny Arcade the Game: Gamers vs. Evil ($0.99)
Tanto Cuore ($0.99)

Fighting Fantasy: Island of the Lizard King is the latest interactive gamebook from Tin Man Games. It features dice rolling for battles, an auto-updated adventure sheet, and stat keeping as players make their way around Fire Island. It also lets users change the visuals to make the gamebook look similar to the style of an 80's printing press.

• Auto-mapping tracks your journey across Fire Island! See locations appear as you discover them!
• Iain McCaig’s famous cover brought to life. The Lizard King has never been this terrifying!
• Alan Langford’s classic illustrations colorised for the app, making full use of high-resolution displays.
• Achievements to find throughout the gamebook.

Artist Kyle Lambert created a portrait of actor Morgan Freeman by using Procreate on his iPad Air. Below you can find the video of the entire creation process of the image as the artist uses only his finger to create the portrait.

The Procreate 2.0 update has arrived, presenting users with a completely redesigned look for iOS 7 and optimization for the iPad Air and Mini with Retina Display. It features new filters and adjustments - including Gaussian Blur, Sharpen, Noise, Hue, Color Balance, and Curves. It also updated the gallery to allow users to quickly load documents and share a group of images.

It's that time of year again, and our family has taken some time to formalize Thanksgiving plans. My son has expressed interest in watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, specifically the floats seen at the tail-end of the event. Because we will be traveling early on Thursday my husband offered to record the event, which made me smile because when I was my son’s age, taping TV shows was not yet an option. Technology truly has come a long way, allowing children creature comforts such as being able to watch shows anytime - possibilities that I am sure most children my son’s age take for granted. I mention this as Loud Crow Interactive has adapted the classic Charlie Brown holiday specials into apps, making it possible to enjoy these TV shows - now interactive digital books - any time we desire instead of the once a year the way I remember.

Having had the chance to review both A Charlie Brown Christmas and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown previously, and experiencing them from an adult point of view, I am actually a little uncomfortable with how terribly the other neighborhood kids treat Charlie Brown, leaving me feeling melancholy. Likewise, my son asked to watch the Christmas special once only to be left feeling sad and has not had much interest in these shows since. I have mixed feelings about that, as I fondly remember these shows from my own childhood. In comparison, I find A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and the related Loud Crow to be the most child-friendly as here Peppermint Patty invites herself along with a few other friends over to Charlie Brown's house for Thanksgiving dinner, making Chuck not such a lonely and bullied character as he is in the other holiday specials.

Sure Peppermint Patty has some unkind words for Charlie Brown as the last-minute Thanksgiving spread is without a turkey or other traditional fixings, but Marcie talks sense into her and apologies are made, and it ends on a happy note with the gang being invited to Chuck's Grandmothers' for a proper Thanksgiving Dinner - making this story an easier one to share with my sensitive son. Also nice is the speech Linus makes to remind children of the true spirit of this holiday. There are still a few moments within A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving that are self-deprecating, as Charlie Brown announces that holidays make him feel depressed. Also included is the iconic image of Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown to kick - now as an animated interactive moment for children to participate in. The presence of outrageous “mean girl” behavior seen in It's a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is absent - for which I am thankful. The fact that A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is a kinder, gentler story matters to me as children have the opportunity to view these tales daily or even more often, giving them the ability to internalize the behavior they may see. Because bullying has become such a hotbed topic in recent years, I am ambivalent about recommending titles in which Lucy's and other characters' behavior towards Charlie Brown could be described as harassment - behavior that hopefully would not be tolerated by my son or his other friends.

I have enjoyed A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and I appreciate how one can listen to the actor who plays Linus, now an adult, narrate this app - also allowing one to read this book to oneself as well as featuring Auto Play that will aid the youngest children in enjoying this storybook. Pop-up book aspects are incorporated for a nice effect. Do look for ways to interact with the characters and objects seen on the pages - a nice touch, which in some ways modernizes the experience while simultaneously adding to the vintage charm of a period pop-up book, adding some interactive moments to the process of preparing the table and foods for the holiday meal with the help from Snoopy, which was always my favorite moment of this holiday Special. The original voices are included, which I really appreciate, bringing this app to life in a way that parents will really appreciate and making this app worth downloading.