Thing #20: Running, popping, and farming

I started playing candy crush a long time ago (well, less than a year, because I just passed my 1 year smart phone anniversary) and have been stuck on the same level (somewhere in the 200s) for months.  Since I refuse to buy any power-ups or cheats and have been doing the same level for so long, it has stopped being very fun and I'm taking a break.  In the meantime, I discovered Farm Heroes.  By the same people that created Candy Crush, it is similar but not exactly the same in mechanics, has cute dancing veggies, and fun sounds.  I would recommend it, but the vegetables have the same inherent problem as their less-healthy counterparts: eventually you will get stuck for a really long time on one level.  And without paying any money for special tools, it may seem impossible to beat....

So, for Thing #20, I tried out three new games on my phone.  (I was in airports for a long time last week!)  The first was Temple Run.  I have heard tons of people talk about it and I played it in the airport while waiting for my plane.  It is fast moving, you can play over and over, with a different path every time (which can also be frustrating, 'cause you can't learn the path to improve your performance!).  It is nice to have a kind of action-based game, which is more reflexive and less brain-intensive. In other words: Fun!  The downside: oh-my-god-does-this-game-suck-battery-power!!  (And heat up my phone!)  I literally had my phone plugged in and charging while playing and I never got anywhere in my charging.  In fact, there might have been a net loss of battery charge.

The second game I tried was Bubble Mania.  It is fun and cute and I do like it.  However, the "lives" on this one recharge at half the speed of Candy Crush and Farm Heroes (1 hour instead of 30 minutes per life).  Also, I'm super annoyed by their reminders to play.  Every time your lives fill up or if you haven't played in a while, the app sends you a reminder.  Um....yeah.  Bubble Mania, you are a game.  There is no reason for you to tell me that I "need" to play.  It is creepy and big-brother-like.  I may remove this from my phone soon, just because of the alerts.    

Finally, I tried Word Collapse.  It is a different kind of game and is sort of like really complicated word searches...where you don't have the list and the order you circle the words in matters.  I enjoyed it, but the free game has a limited number of themes and levels.  When I finish those, I won't be purchasing the more expanded version, no matter how cheap it is.  But I will probably seek out another word-based game.  (I have words with friends, but the a-synchronous nature is a different thing than a game I can play on my own.)