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There isn't a wealth of great games in the Android Market. Or if there is, it's buried under mounds of slide-puzzles, soundboards, and soft porn.

But among the (admittedly competent) derivatives of other games, I found an interesting time-killer that condenses a core concept of Civilization down to a 60-second mini-game.

If you've ever played Civ, you probably know the satisfying feeling that comes from watching your borders expand due to your micro-management decisions. Battleflood abstracts this to colored gems on a grid.

Here's how it works:

  • You and an AI opponent start with a single gem in opposite corners of the grid.
  • You take quick turns choosing a color.
  • Your gem changes to this color and you "capture" any similar-colored gems in contact with yours.
  • Repeat until someone controls the majority of the map. (A "domination victory" in Civ.)

It's missing any sound design whatsoever and isn't particularly pretty — it's also free. You can toss the developer if you want, but here's the QR code for the free version. (You'll need the Barcode Scanner or Google Googles apps to scan it.)