A few more iPad apps since my last similarly-themed blog post, and you can tell that I have been off work as there are a lot of games here!

Monopoly for iPad (Classic game) - £4.99 (but often on sale – keep an eye out, I only paid £1.49)

I hate Monopoly.  It’s damn frustrating, takes too long and is damn ruthless.  However, on the iPad it’s much more bearable.  The graphics are very nice indeed, and it passes the time.  One gripe is that it is often too easy: the CPU players never seem to re-mortgage their properties, even when they can afford to; and their trading decisions are bizarre to say the least.  It does come with options to play others over Wi-Fi, including to the iPhone/iPod versions – this is good (well, apart from the fact it’s not a bundled app so you pay twice!).

Anodia (Breakout/Arkanoid clone) - £0.99

I have a soft spot for this type of game – I blame the 70’s Atari revolution, the excitement and wonder burnt an emotion into my soul.  However, this is one hell of a reboot of the genre, with amazing gameplay that is extremely varied.  It’s wonderful to look at, and addictive to play.  For the price of a chocolate bar you can’t go wrong.

Wooords (word puzzle game) - £1.49

Word problems do tend to piss me off, I prefer numerical/logic ones.  This has a nice interface and control that make it much more appealing. I have even tried it out in the classroom and the kids seemed to like it too.  Basic gameplay – you get nine letters and you have to make as many 4-letters-or-more words as possible. There are tons of levels and a daily set that includes a world leader board.  There is always one letter circled, and you have to use this one, but as the number of possibilities is displayed I am disheartened by how limited my vocabulary/skills actually are!

Quell (logic puzzle game) - FREE

This is one of the most beautiful games on the iPad.  It has embraced the platform well with a simple touch control, wonderful graphics and navigation.  However, the real plus point is the music – it’s delightful.  You could just activate the game and put the iPad down to chill out to the dreamy classic guitar.   Oh yeah, the gameplay…you have to guide a little bubble through a set of levels  that consist of blocks positioned in particular layouts, collecting targets and avoiding spikes.  You set the bubble off in a direction and it will travel until it hits a wall or blocks that have special properties.  One of those simple, yet addictive games.  It’s free, you’d be foolish not to get this!

Songify (Weird music app) - FREE

This will make you laugh, as long as you can think of a great ‘song’ to create.  Just activate it, speak into the mic and it turns your dialogue into an autotuned, Cher-style song.  There are a few styles free and more to download for a fee.  One of those use-a-few-times-to-great-hilarity apps, but it is that funny it’s worth a quick play.

Sky Go  (Sky Sports) – FREE (but you need to subscribe to Sky Sports for content)

Thank goodness Sky pulled their heads out of their arses and brought this app out.  My brother-in-law showed me the old Sky Sports streaming app last year, but the money-grabbing scum started to charge a subscription fee to existing subscribers of their sports packages.  One big backlash later, and this does what is required – streaming of all Sky Sports channels.  The best bit –it works over 3G (something the iPlayer refuses to do by design) and produces a pretty sharp picture when it does to boot.  Thank you Sky – you are starting to be worth the hundreds of pounds I mindlessly chuck your direction every year.

iMotion HD (Stop Motion Animation) - FREE (but all features for £1.49)

I’m a bit unsure about adding this one as I have not actually used it yet.  I have played with stop-motion before in and out of the classroom though, and a thorough look around this gives me the confidence to say that this is a good app.  I especially love the associated iMotion remote – the free sister app that allows you to control the main app remotely.  Ideal for avoiding any unnecessary movement of the main device.

I have been trying out a few note-taking apps too, but will stick these onto a separate comparison-style review later on…