If you like using your iPhone for games (in the main casual gaming) then you may be interested in the following games that I have enjoyed playing on my iPhone over the last few years.
Fantastic Contraption – £1.49
If my memory serves me correctly I was introduced to this game by that Dave Foord. However the first time I played it was on my computer, as it was a Flash game. So when it came out for iPhone I did go out and buy it.
In Fantastic Contraption you build a machine from simple parts to move objects to a goal. There’s physics involved but don’t worry, just press “Start” and watch what happens! The simple controls and step-by-step tutorial will have you building fantastic contraptions in no time!
The concept is simple move stuff from one place to another using the bits, wheels and parts available.
What I like about the game is that there is a learning element, not just in the fact that there is physics involved, but that in order to pass a level you need to use trial and error and learn from your mistakes. Unlike some other games there isn’t a single solution either, so you don’t have to follow the path that the games designer usually makes for these kinds of games, you can create your own path entirely. One feature of the game is when you have completed a level you can see the solutions that others came up with.
As with a lot of games on the iPhone this one is nice in that you don’t need to spend a huge amount of time playing the game to have fun. You can spend five minutes fancompleting a level and then put the phone away (and catch that train or start watching that film).
For those that finish all the levels, there is now Fantastic Contraption 2.
Fantastic Contraption 2 is the sequel to the original Flash hit Fantastic Contraption! Developed in response to fan requests, Fantastic Contraption 2 contains the anticipated features of magnets, moving platforms, and a new integrated badge system. Users will also be able to conquer more than 60 new levels, master linking chains, and build creative contraptions of their own using the new Level Editor!
Get Fantastic Contraption in the iTunes App Store. – No longer available.
The iPod was really an interesting product for Apple to launch. At that time the only real player in the market was Sony with their portable CD Walkman players. Everything else on the market was very much on the fringe or niche. No one was really doing anything in that market that was really popular or mainstream. Also most of the players were very geeky, techy and ugly! Apple took a big risk when at the time their main consumer products were the iMac and the iBook.
