If you’ve never played anything similar, the object of this type of game is to provide clues to get other people to guess a word or phrase, without actually saying the word(s).

While the game concept isn’t new, the concept of turning an iPhone or iPod touch into a party game of this variety is a pretty good idea that could easily have a lot of takers. After all, you’d always have it with you and could whip it out if things get boring at a family gathering or weekend hangout with friends. Plus, having a party game packaged up neatly on a handheld device beats the heck out of a huge stack of cards and a box.

The aspects of iShout Pro that really work are the abilities to customize different features. You can select any or all of the categories available, which include “Tomorrow,” “Entertainment,” “Our Stuff,” “People,” and “Sayings.” The “Our Stuff” category is customizable and allows users to input their own words or phrases via the settings menu, which provides a great deal of flexibility for personalizing the game. Additionally, you can change other options in iShout Pro such as background colors and sound effects for the countdown timer and buzzer in the settings menu as well.

You can select to play iShout with up to four teams, set the number of points required to win the game, and set the length of time to play each round. A built-in tutorial offers a basic explanation and set of rules for game play, but since many people have played similar games, there will probably be a brief moment or two of discussion on exact rules, game play, and scoring methods.

For the price and the options that come with it, iShout Pro serves as a handy app for people who like party games and frequently get together with large groups of people who also like party games. It’s simple to play, has the familiar feel of the other similar games, and can be made all the more fun with the addition of your own words and phrases.

iShout Pro is by Anu Media, the developers behind the Raindrop iPhone app.

• app_name: iShout Pro
• rating: 8/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | iShout Pro: Popular Phrases Game For Portable Fun | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

At first glance, Tap of War has a deceivingly simple appearance, looking as if it can’t possibly be any fun. You have a screen with a rope and two flags as well as two “tap” buttons. The lines at the top and bottom of the screen indicate your goal and as you tap your button, the rope and your corresponding color flag will move towards your goal line. If you get your flag across your line, you win. If your opponent gets their flag across their line, you lose. Simple? Yes. And oddly enough, really fun in a simple-minded spirit of competition sort of way.

With two modes of play — single player and versus mode — you can play Tap of War against a friend or the built-in finger opponent. So as not to imply any gender bias, we’ll call the opponent finger “it” rather than “he” or “she.” “It” starts out the first couple of rounds trying to lull you in to a false sense of security about how fast your finger really is. But “it” is a wicked little pointer and by the fifth level, I had finger cramps trying to keep up. I lost the sixth level and so proceeded to challenge my 9-year-old to a match to reclaim victory.

Tap of War keeps track of high scores, which also allows you to challenge your friends (or your favorite 9-year-old, depending on your level of dignity) to do better against the wicked “it” than you did. The developer suggests attaching wagers (“loser buys drinks”) to the tap and tug, which could be fun.

In fact, I think a quick match of Tap of War would be a perfectly acceptable and mature way to settle many matters such as who cleans up after the dog or drives to baseball and band practice next. After all, Apple says there’s an app for that — this must be what they meant.

• app_name: Tap of War
• rating: 9/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Tap of War Tugs at My Competitive Heart Strings | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

If you’ve ever played the popular I Spy games or read the books, you’ll understand the hidden object concept that powers Yard Sale Hidden Treasures. You seek out items from a list amidst various scenes containing colorful, cluttered objects. In Sunnyville, you will search among the yards of the various characters who live there searching for specific items, some of which will help you on your mission to re-decorate your own home for the upcoming Superstar Homes magazine contest. The characters living in Sunnyville are quite varied and their humble abodes are in theme with their character. For example, R. Masters has a circus-themed home while Miss Kitty has a western ranch. The items you seek are fairly in line with their locations, such as a buffalo and toy cowboy at the ranch or a flea and a balloon at the circus.

In addition to the seek-and-find object of the game, there is an underlying task-based mini game premise as well. After completing each level, you return to your home to turn your trash into treasure by spray painting, cutting, and screwing objects together to recreate new ones. The tasks are not difficult to complete and do not really add any additional challenge, but their inclusion does provide a bit more substance. In fact, the game has enough substance to actually have a fairly good replay value for a standard seek and find by also including a tour mode you can unlock and complete all the seek-and-find levels in the fastest time.

While the targeted audience should be kids with solid reading skills, the objects presented for finding may confuse some kids. For example, a lute or balusters may not be easy to find for a kid who has no idea what to look for. Yard Sale Hidden Treasures isn’t necessarily just for kids, as I’m pretty sure if junior handed off the game to mom or dad for help, they might not get it back for awhile. The seek-and-finds on most levels are a pretty good challenge with a limited number of hints. Granted, you end up revisiting each location more than once, but the list changes and most people would be hard pressed to remember every object’s location.

The graphics in Sunnyville are colorful, imaginative, and crisp though they do blur a tiny bit when using the touch-spread function to zoom in, but it in no way compromises game play. The between level tasks back at your own house are a bit Martha Stewarty and even far-fetched, as I can’t imagine creating a flower box from an ammo crate or turning used togas into an area rug, but a few tasks might be capable of sparking HGTV-like creativity in anyone.

In the end, Yard Sale Hidden Treasure: Sunnyville has made a very solid transition from PC to the App Store and presents a unique seek-and-find challenge that is layered with whimsy and creativity. You can even try the lite version for free and play the first level to test it out

• app_name: Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Sunnyville
• rating: 8/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | The Entertainment Value in Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Sunnyville is Easy to Find | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

The newest app from playtoniq, makers of the aqua apps which I have yet to try, Just Fillin’ is kind of a physics-based game that includes bubbles, water, and spiky things (there are no other words for them). Basically, Just Fillin’ turns your iPhone/iPod Touch into a little water tank. The objective is to blow bubbles, which solidify, by touching the screen and let them fall into the water. As the bubbles displace the water, the water level rises and when the screen is completely full, you advance to the next level.

The challenge is to use less than the available number of bubbles while avoiding the spiky things that bounce around trying to pop your bubble before you’ve finished blowing it. The longer you touch the screen, the bigger the bubble will get and the more points you will score. You can advance through an indefinite number of levels as long as you don’t use up all the bubbles and pops in any level. Beginning with one spiky thing on level one, the number of spiky things bouncing about simultaneously increases with each level.

While the obvious point to Just Fillin’ is to fill the water level to the top without running out of bubbles and pops, it’s equally entertaining to try and trap the little spiky things underwater between bubbles, which of course becomes necessary in higher levels. Though neither the graphics nor the sound effects, which are merely classic arcade sounds, are nothing particularly special, the game’s use of both the touch and tilt sensors make it interesting. Touch determines the location and size of the bubble, but tilting will cause the bubbles to move around under water.

Just Fillin’ features a menu with two modes of play — normal and hard — as well as a high score leader board, settings, and an “about” section. The settings menu allows you to change certain aspects, such as the touch control, the level you start each game at, and a few other basics. A few things I found lacking are the game’s inability to save high scores, only to submit them, and on occasion, the touch sensor failed and a bubble would drop from the other side of the screen. However, with such a generous supply of bubbles, pops, and retry chances provided for each level, there is absolutely no frustration involved.

All in all, Just Fillin’ is a solidly entertaining game that serves its purpose. To get a taste of how it works, you can download Just Fillin’ Free, which is the same concept, only without the added menu features and a limited number of levels.

• app_name: Just Fillin
• rating: 8/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Physics-bases Bubble Game is Good iPhone App for Just Fillin’ Time | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

The premise is to free a red balloon from its caged existence up and out into the world. Using the tilt sensor in your device, you navigate the balloon through five levels of scenery that correspond to the balloon’s altitude. Through walls, trees, clouds, and stars the balloon soars higher and higher – if you can keep up with its desire to go. Basically, if your balloon gets trapped off screen the game is over. Each level moves faster than the last, accentuating the little red balloon’s desire to go.

Up There features terrific graphics for its simple premise and the balloon reacts superbly to the tilt control. Nearly everything about the game is seamless, from the tempo of the accompanying background music to the speed of the downward scrolling screen. With two modes of play, arcade and practice, you are essentially given two difficulty levels. Practice mode seems to move slower than arcade mode giving you a chance to become familiar with the game, though both modes are essentially the same levels. High scores for both modes are recorded and arcade mode scores can be submitted online.

Released by Veiled Games, Up There is a truly unique app that is well worth its current sale price. It’s a well-put together, beautifully designed game that is simple to play. Though not a particularly addicting game, the replay value is solidly based on the sheer light-hearted fun of it. In fact, I probably haven’t had this much fun with a balloon since I was about three years old.

With Up There tucked away in your menu, you’ll have an app that will entertain while showing off the capabilities of the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Users that like Up There may also enjoy Raindrop — a similarly designed game that features a falling drop of rain.

• app_name: Up There
• rating: 9/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Up There Demonstrates How “Uplifting” an App Can Be | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

The first thing I noticed about Scoops was the tilt-based controls. Having a strong aversion to fingerprints on any surface, I immediately appreciated a game I could hand off to my kids that didn’t require constant touching to play. A little further into Scoops, I realized I might not share it anyway.

It is refreshing to see an app like Scoops that is both visually appealing and takes advantage of the more unique aspects of the iPhone/iPod Touch interface. And, it’s a pleasant surprise when that same game is simple and fun to play. The basic gist of Scoops is to stack scoop after scoop of ice cream on top of your ice cream cone and rack up points the higher you stack. There are several different “flavors” that fall from the sky and as you tilt your device from side to side to catch them, you have to avoid the vegetables that also fall. Vegetables will ruin your stacked treat and cost you a star. Once you loose all your stars, the game is over.

Though Scoops is a simple game, there are several features that keep it challenging. You can score bonus points for stacking the same flavors (colors) on top of one another; there is a “wild” scoop that will automatically change to the color it falls on if you catch it; and the scoop that looks like a misshaped Merlin hat will yield you an extra star. The speed at which the scoops and veggies fall increases as you stack your cone higher. Catch a veggie by mistake and the scoops slow down again.

The graphics are simple but colorful and the background changes as the cone reaches higher and higher into the sky. You can even stack the cone clear into outer space, surpassing the moon. You can also turn on your own music from your library and listen while you play. Additional features include an online daily leader scoreboard and the ability to email a high score challenge to friends.

Scoops is a game anyone can understand and play, which makes it ideal for people who like to share their device with their kids to keep them entertained in the car, at a restaurant, or wherever. In the end, Scoops has significant enough entertainment and replay value to make it worth the purchase.

• app_name: Scoops
• rating: 9/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Scoops: Stacking Game Takes Cool to New Heights | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

The game is very addicting and allows you to leave in the middle of a game and return to where you left off. I love this feature because it constantly keeps me coming back for more so I can continue building up a high score.

If you click the info button on the bottom right corner, you’ll find directions for the game and a few options. Players can set a time limit for each set of words. I like to keep mine under 3 minutes because I find that if there is no rush in the game then it loses its appeal. There is also the option to use an alternate word list and a button to check out more apps made by the same people, MobilityWare.

There is something about word games that I love, especially when they are mobile and be played anytime anywhere. Word Warp is my first go-to game when I find myself out of the house and not doing anything. Every time you see me sitting on the train or in a waiting room I am listening to music and playing some Word Warp. My hat goes off to the people of MobilityWare.

• app_name: Word Warp
• rating: 10/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Word Warp is Best Word Game for iPhone | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

The app’s quality is apparent as soon as you open the game. It’s obvious that a lot of thought went into making this a user-friendly game.

The sound options use a slider mechanism so you can not only turn it on or off but adjust for the perfect volume. There is a separate control for the background music. There are also on/off toggles — cheats,  time limit, and limited moves — that allow you to change the difficulty.

The help section is great and shows exactly what to do in the game. In addition to offering a background story, it shows every piece of magic that player will come across on the board.

Start to play the game from the main menu and if you need to leave mid-game you can come back later and continue the game or just click new game and start all over.

At the end of the game, Fleck shows the points acquired during your game and the amount of moves that it took to do so. On the bottom right you can click the retry button to give the game another shot or click the menu button on the bottom left to exit back to the beginning.

Fleck is a great game and you can certainly see that the developer put a lot of time and effort into creating a diversion that can be played over and over again.

• app_name: Fleck
• rating: 9/10

© AppCraver, 2009. | Fleck Tells a Magic Story | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

An innovative and fun platformer makes its way to the App Store in the form of de Blob. If you are a Nintendo Wii owner it may sound familiar as it also exists in a well-regarded Wii version. The developers made good use of transforming de Blob from one motion-sensing gaming platform to another.

The premise is you are de Blob, a color-loving creature who must save Chroma City from a bland existence. The I.N.K.T. Corporation has banned all color and sends its agents about to enforce the decree. Your mission is to bounce through Chroma City re-coloring buildings by bouncing the jiggly blob onto their walls.

You do this by picking up ink blots throughout the city, changing de Blob’s color and leaving the streets looking like a Jackson Pollock painting. By scoring enough points in the various levels it opens up more challenging courses. Along with the color job, you must smash enemies and solve a series of puzzles and challenges to rack up more points.  For example, some buildings require you to paint them a specific color. But if you are blue, don’t count on just picking up some yellow ink to get to make yellow walls. The game knows its primary colors – yellow and blue turn you green.

de Blob has a training mode to get you used to how to manage the controls. Then you can play either Revolution, which takes you through the game’s challenges, or Free Splash, which lets you bounce your way through the city and throw some ink around. During Revolution you improve your overall point status and rack up points in a bunch of categories. It is almost a little overkill unless you really plan to keep track on how well you do with different color categories.

There are two options for controlling de Blob – through finger-tapping where to send de Blob; or using the accelerometer. The game’s handling of the accelerometer is quite innovative. You have a choice for calibrating the sensitivity and angle in which you hold your device when playing. This gives you the freedom to hold it upright, at an angle, or flat. And you can pause in the middle of game play and re-calibrate if you want to change it up. There were only minor hiccups, as when de Blob would be stopped by another character to be offered a challenge for additional points. After declining, it was nearly impossible to roll myself away, given how close the character was. It took nearly jerking the phone radically in another direction to get free of the benevolent creature. Tapping worked decently, but it is not recommended to play the game over the long term because directing de Blob puts your finger in the way of the game screen. A better solution may be to have a directional pad like is available in Zombie Mansion.

This is a great platform game that offers some excellent battery-draining fun. de Blob is well worth the price and provides some entertaining action.

• app_name: de Blob
• rating: 8/10

© AppCraver, 2008. | Bounce and Splatter Your Way to Fun With de Blob | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!

The graphics in Fairies Fly are exactly what you would expect from a Disney production. A beautiful animated sequence opens the game with the story of Pixie Hollow. It sets the scene and provide a little back story for the game. Of course, once you’ve seen it two, three or four times, you’re ready to be done. Tap the screen to bring up the video controls and skip the short flick to move directly to the game.

In Fairies Fly, the goal is to soar through three levels avoiding obstacles and collecting treasures in order to move on to the next season — spring to summer, summer to fall and so forth. Each level is a slightly different series of obstacles. Each level the graphics change to match the season. It’s thoughtfully rendered in great detail.

There’s a short lesson on flying located on the home page. And, it’s pretty simple once you get the hang of it.

Truthfully, that’s why I loved Fairies Fly. It was simple to pick up and immediately start gliding through the seasons. I finished every level in a single evening.

Of course, now I can still go back and try to beat my own score using the “high-speed fairy” Vidalia. Users can choose a new fairy avatar at the start of each level. There didn’t seem to be any differences between the five fairies aside from looks until you pass the final level. Once the game is completed, users unlock access to Vidalia, a new fairy with faster-than-light dashing abilities.

Fairies Fly reaches the top through beauty and simplicity. There aren’t any fancy High Score leaderboards and no multi-player features. It’s not a gateway to “more” on the Internet. Disney’s Fairies Fly is just good, wholesome, fun that parents and children can enjoy together or on their own. It’s a one-size fits most kind of game and easily worth the download price for an evening of entertainment.

The only thing that marred the fun was the game’s tendency to crash. It was more of an inconvenience than anything because the levels are simple and short. Restarting the iPhone helped for a while, but eventually it happened several more times. This is often a problem with memory-intensive games, and is probably caused by the many lovely graphics in Fairies Fly. Still, I expected better from Disney.

• app_name: Disney Fairies Fly
• rating: 8/10

© AppCraver, 2008. | Disney Fairies Fly Soars to Graphic Heights | Get our iPhone Reviews on Facebook & Twitter!