Jonathan Flook –
Co-founder of Silver Dollar Games (One Finger Death Punch)
Marble Mixer
“My favorite pastime as of late is sitting at a pub with my buddies playing games on an iPad. The best game by far for this has been Marble Mixer. It’s like crokinole with digital marbles. Marble Mixer has three game modes. Space Mania and Monster Picnic are two modes where you flick a bunch of marbles as fast as possible. It’s a neat way to warm up to the game mechanics, but the real gem is the Table Tactics game mode.
“This game mode has a slowly rotating board with a hole in the center. Flick your marble in the center, and you lose it. Keep it on the board, and you score points. Score more for keeping your marble close to the center. It’s a great turn-based game. You can stop playing for minutes at a time, enjoy some conversation with your friends, and continue where you left off. You don’t have to keep passing the iPad. Everyone plays with the iPad as the centerpiece of the table. Turns are short enough that players don’t get bored between turns. It’s a great way to make mobile gaming social.”
Above: Marble Mixer: Bringing mobile gaming to the pub.
Marble Mixer by GameHouse is available for iOS and Android devices.
Robert Bowling –
President and creative director of Robotoki (Human Element)
Threes!
“Threes by Asher Vollmer is my recent mobile addiction due to it’s refreshing and beautiful design, simple yet addictive gameplay, and clever visual flares. When I first downloaded Threes, I burned about three hours besting my personal high score before I could put it down. It has such an intuitive design that you’re able to get into the groove with it almost instantly.
“The lack of in-app purchases and ads make it a more therapeutic experience than any other mobile game I’ve played in recent years and was one addiction that didn’t give me that guilty feeling!”
Above: Threes is a non-guilty pleasure for Robert Bowling.
Threes! is available for iOS and Android devices.
David Braben –
Chief executive officer of Frontier Developments (Elite: Dangerous)
DragonVale and Scrabble
“I eventually managed to give up DragonVale after what was probably a year, but Clash of Clans and Flappy Bird didn’t suck me in as they did a lot of people I know … but I still find it hard to resist Scrabble. The fact that it only takes a minute to have a go makes it very hard to give up!”
Above: David Braben with his two mobile addictions, DragonVale and Scrabble.
DragonVale by Backflip Studios is available for iOS and Android devices.
Scrabble by Electronic Arts is also available for iOS and Android devices.
Justin Bailey –
Chief operating officer of Double Fine Productions (Broken Age, The Cave)
The Room
“I’m a huge fan of puzzle boxes, but I found that the real-life ones are usually pretty simple. Then I picked up The Room, and it contained the puzzle boxes that I always dreamed of finding! I love the way it’s designed to give you a tactile feeling of actually interacting with the various boxes and puzzles. My 6-year-old daughter intuitively picked up, and now she’s so into it that I’m not allowed to play the sequel without her!”
Above: The Room is an ingenious mobile puzzle game. Even better than real life.
The Room by Fireproof Games is available for iOS and Android devices.
Julie Urhman –
Founder of Ouya
Triple Town and 2048
“I have two: Triple Town, but Boom Town, their two-minute drill — and 2048: need to beat my partner!”
Above: Julie Uhrman is another 2048 addict, and she also enjoys Triple Town’s quick-timed mode.
Triple Town by Spry Fox is available for iOS and Android devices.