Tag: Toca Builders »

Recently the writers at 148Apps chose some of their most used apps of 2013. Although I focus on apps for educational interest and storybooks for children, I was given the opportunity to list applications that I personally use and could not live without as an adult. Here is my embarrassing confession: I really don’t use my iPhone and iPad much in that capacity. If I were to be asked to name a well-known utility, lifestyle or entertainment app, I would be at a loss as I find my devices are best served when I need my son safety tucked away in his room as I make important phone calls or do other errands without distractions. To me, these are productivity apps.

No parents are proud of the fact that they sometimes ask their child to give them enough space to prepare a meal, call a plumber, or put out other daily fires, but in my world this is an unpleasant necessity. Because of this I have a list of apps - here focused on releases from 2013 - that will engage my child for a nice stretch and where I can feel comfortable with him spending his precious time on. These apps don't necessarily have to be educational in the most concrete way of thinking, but must further some aspect of his development such as logic or creativity.

It's easy to list off the best games of 2013, and often such lists contain a lot of crosstalk between different publications. So this year, instead of just giving off another similar list of the best games of the year, our staff has decided to talk about their favorite games of the year that might not have been the best sellers or the most popular. In no particular order, this is our list of some of our favorite under-appreciated games of 2013.

Yushino

This was the one game that I kept coming back to on a nearly-daily basis. The mix of addition and Scrabble is something that appeals to my former life when I studied mathematics. It rewards pattern recognition, and smart play, rather than cheap obscure word usage. That I'm also really good at it doesn't hurt. - Carter Dotson

Space Agency

Space Agency is an amazingly fun game for those of us who have watched the space program since, well, forever. While it's a very lightweight simulation of a space program, it does require a fair bit of strategy, timing, and even a bit of luck. The challenges it presents have players going from the extremes of keeping a spacecraft in the air for a few seconds to multi-planet orbit missions where space station pieces are swapped out. All presented in bite-sized, mobile-optimized gameplay for space geeks like me. - Jeff Scott

All my XCOMs live in Texas.

On This Episode:

Carter and the gang discuss the biggest new release of the past week, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and what its impact on the market will be. Other titles from across the iOS spectrum are discussed as well.

Carter talks to Coatsink's Tom Beardsmore about his studio's new game Fatty, and how it evolved from a larger project they're still working on. As well, there's discussion of why informing the player of what they can and can't do in a game is so difficult.

Episode Cast:

Host: Carter Dotson

Co-Host: Brett Nolan, AppAddict.net

Co-Host: Rob Rich, 148Apps

Guest: Tom Beardsmore, Coatsink

Music:

• "Beatnes7 (Theme to The Portable Podcast)" by The Eternal - Download on iTunes here:

  

• "Nanocarp" by The Eternal

How to Listen:

• Click Here to Subscribe in iTunes:

  

• Click Here to Subscribe via RSS.
• Listen Here: [powerpress]

Toca Builders lets you join all six builders and begin using their unique abilities to create a brand new world of blocks. You can combine your imagination with the Toca Builders' abilities to place blocks anywhere you'd like and paint them in any color of choice. The game is said to be an easy-to-use and a kid friendly game that brings out the creative side in everyone. Begin construction!