2 Free and Simply Awesome Game Apps

These two apps show that you don't always need complicated game structures or a lot of fancy graphics and effects to make a good game app that's hard to put down. Sometimes the simplest game apps reign supreme. 

1. Pancake - The Game 

Warning: May cause pancake cravings.

In this simple game, all you do a flip a pancake. But don't be fooled, you might just get addicted. Flipping the pancake isn't as easy as it seems, either. I failed miserably the first few times, but I just couldn't resist tapping to try one more time. Then started to develop some strategies. I realized I could  tilt the pan to have more control of the catch, and that higher flips are riskier but don't get you any more points. This is a good game for players who are "problem solvers" by nature, because there are no guides to help you figure out how to successfully flip the pancake. It's all trial and error. The way the game is set up, you are always trying to beat your own high score (number of consecutive pancake flips). So far, I'm at 10, which isn't very good judging by comparisons with friends in the Game Center!

The app is also clean and well designed. The only visual you see is an arm holding a pan against a stark white background. They show your current high score in a clever way, too. It is tattooed on the side of the arm. When you get a new high score, a tattoo gun comes in and revises it with the new number. The only part of the game that bothers me visually is that each new pancake is cracked from an egg shell and dropped in the pan. I've never seen a pancake come straight from an eggshell before!

Here's a look at the game play in action:

Pancake - The Game is FREE in the App Store - Download Pancake

2. aa 

This super simple game will test your reflexes, but once you pick it up, it's hard to put down. When you begin playing, you have a big wheel with a bunch of spokes that is spinning. Below the wheel there are numbered circles. Your job is to tap the screen when you think there is room for another spoke, and one of the circles will move up to become a new spoke. But, you can't hit any of the other spokes, or you're game is over.

It seems, too simple at first, but as you progress, the wheel changes directions and speeds to make it more challenging. Also, the number of circles you have to add to the wheel increases, making it more difficult to find space for them all without bumping into other spokes.

aa is FREE in the App Store - Download aa