0 Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Style

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 08/10/2022

Cancer, Aquarius, Taurus, and Scorpio. Four of the twelve zodiac signs. The three visual styles you see below are used when mobile game pieces are displayed in Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle.        As you complete 50 easy, 50 medium, or 50 harder levels, all three styles come into play. The cosmic and badge based images are used in the higher levels. These jigsaw puzzles are a snap to finish on mobile phones or tablets. You won't have to worry about dragging and dropping hundreds of game pieces to put the final signs together. Try Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle on your tablet or mobile phone for a change of pace. 

0 Black History People Mobile Game

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 07/27/2022

Black History People Game is the app that literally drops all the great names for fast fun. The folks just float down your screen. Touch the letters on your keyboard to score points. No shifting to upper or lower case required. Forget about backspace. We made this too easy! Black History People Game is a fast keyboard busting trivia experience. Play the game one more time! Watch this video then get it on your device.

0 RnB and Hip Hop Quiz Shines

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 06/01/2022

In Music Trivia Quizzes Sing Song Success you'll see a video that features our RnB and Hip Hop Quiz on an iPhone - iPad. Below are just a handful of questions from this music trivia throwback challenge app as they appear in the Android version of the mobile game. I wrote and researched all of the questions in RnB and Hip Hop Quiz trivia.   Did you know that in 1991, Janet Jackson's "Love Will Never Do" (Without You)" was a #1 pop hit. Janet was the first artist to have seven top five pop hits from the same album.    Ray Charles Robinson (1930 - 2004) was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. He received his Lifetime Achievement Award at the thirtieth annual Grammy Awards in 1988.   Ronnie Wilson (vocal, horns, keyboards), Robert Wilson (vocals, bass) and Charlie Wilson (vocals, drums) are the funk trio The Gap Band from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Charlie Wilson continues in 2022 as a solo artist. The group chose their name after three streets in Tulsa: Greenwood, Archer, and Pine. Ronnie Wilson, the founder of the Gap Band died at 73 in November, 2021. Brother Robert Wilson passed at age 53 in 2010. Trivia tease. What's the other famous three brother Latin jazz-rock classic soul group whose founding members have the same surname as the Gap Band? It's Mandrill with: Lou, Richard, and Carlos Wilson. No relation to The Gap Band Wilsons!    I've seen Chaka Khan live at least 6 times and was at the 30th Anniversary Rufus and Chaka Khan Concert with Earth, Wind & Fire, September 1, 2001 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.   TLC's first hit "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" was in 1992. Five artists were sampled in their track: James Brown, Kool & The Gang, Average White Band, Silver Convention, and Bob James. I think I'll take a few points off for originality.   Do you know the answer to this one? I won't give it away.   Do you know the answer to this one?   An easy one! Discover RnB and Hip Hop Quiz trivia featuring 12 levels with R&B questions, and 12 levels with hip hop questions. Your choice. Twenty-four levels are in the mix. Enjoy both the Android or the iOS version on your mobile device. 

0 Superhero Flyer Challenge - Why Is This Game So Hard?

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 05/04/2022

So easy to play it's boring, or so hard to learn it's easy to lose? That's any mobile game challenge. As you know, good games take a few moments to flush out and more devoted time to master winning techniques. Superhero Flyer is a side scrolling action game that looks simple to play but there is significant strategy you must use to get to the top levels. This is our most difficult game. Watch the 59 second video for a quick overview. Here are some ways you can get the most fun out of Superhero Flyer for iPhone and Android. You start the action with Scout and play against the countdown clock. Touch the screen to keep flying. Scout has 5 lives and leads the way. You can't score with Scout. Scout powers up to Blue. When Scout touches the sun, moon, windsock or drones Blue will appear to continue the game. Blue is active for a random amount of time. A short amount of time. Blue will take out the small rockets (enemies) and score points, but will be eliminated by large rockets. In level 1 when Blue touches a balloon, Trax appears (and Blue disappears). Trax (below) can take out all of the rocket enemies but your score won't climb as fast. That's why in the video I avoided making a move to bring Trax into the gameplay. Trax can be used in the game for a random amount of time that is short. Scout reappears when Trax disappears! (level 1 and possibly level 2). In a few of the levels, meet the eagles. They want to and will attack the drones. Don't worry, you or the bomb enemies can't hurt the eagles. Get Scout to touch the drones before the eagles swoop on them if you can, or you lose valuable time bringing Blue back into the game. If you can get to level 5 then you'll control Bambi (left) and Thump (below) as they take the lead. Bambi and Thump can knock out balloons, drones, and rockets. Super tip. In levels 6 - 8 go for the balloons if you can. They have the highest value to score points. Once you reach level 6, strap in. Score by taking out the drones, balloons, and rockets. Good luck getting all the way to level 8! I've revealed just enough to give you an edge. Can you get to 70,000 or more points? Grab Superhero Flyer and play the game to score.   

0 Puzzle Games: Black History Picture Puzzle, Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 04/08/2022

Scrambled pictures have always been popular games of skill requiring you to engage your brain. You have to put back together what your mind tells you is an eye perception trick. Once you meet the challenge and solve the visual chaos, your temporary illusion returns to reality! Take a look at these four puzzle pieces: These are four prominent Americans shown in the "easy," scramble mode from our mobile app Black History Picture Puzzle (Android). Each picture lives on a separate screen. You tap each block to solve the puzzle by putting the picture back together. A touch of your finger rotates the block. No swiping is needed. If the "easy" mode looks simple enough, jump right into the "hard" mode with 70 different blocks for each puzzle. Now we're talkin' difficult! Jigsaw puzzles offer another approach to lovers of games with pictures. Here are four of the many images that make up the mobile app Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle (iPhone, iPad, Android). Once the pictures are segmented into jigsaws, you just put everything back together. This game features easy, medium, and hard modes. When moving old school concepts into new technologies some comprises are made. For a mobile game on a small screen thousands of jigsaw pieces aren't very practical. Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle has a good balance of game pieces for each of the 150 different levels. Fast and fun is the goal as you roll through the levels. All the signs are here.  Learn more about Black History Picture Puzzle and Zodiac Signs Jigsaw Puzzle. Grab both and leave a review or comment. Watch this video as I play both games.

0 Spelling Runners Literacy: Driving A Game App

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 03/31/2022

Imagine a young twenty-something year old in a densely populated urban area who just loves to drive a car through the lively city streets, without a license. Jose' (not his real name) realized that commercial driving might be his chance to earn an income in a job he was sure to love. Jose' was a high school graduate, but at 21, Jose' could not read at a 5th grade level. This is a true story. I joined Literacy Volunteers of America to help folks of all ages learn to read when I was an undergraduate at Rutgers University. To drive a truck, you need a commercial drivers license. Jose' couldn't get one. He wanted one. Passing the written part of the CDL test was an obstacle for him even though he was granted a high school diploma thanks to forgiving schools. A paper diploma won't help you if you don't have the foundation to back it up. Sometimes, bad education systems move students through, up and out of the 12th grade to deal with the real world on their own.  I wish this story had a happy ending. Jose' was not able to finish the tutoring I was giving him. Family responsibilities, earning money and other obstacles stood in his way. My Literacy Volunteers of America experiences inspired me to consider creating some entertaining teaching tools under our "apps, quizzes, teaching tools, and casual games with a multicultural touch" umbrella. Spelling Runners for iPhone, iPad, Android is a game that just happens to include over 400+ English words that I picked that are appropriate for all ages. Remember, this is a game and not a formal teaching vehicle. Look elsewhere for "best in the world" spelling bee championship drills. If you or young people you know like entertaining word games, here's one that is different. Watch the video and hop on board Spelling Runners game with an instant free download.   

0 Backpack Bounce App Video: What Kind of Game Is It?

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 03/24/2022

Did you know that Match 3 Games are the most popular mobile games in the world? We have six of them in the app stores responsible for thousands of downloads across Android and iOS. Modern match 3 game design is patterned after the trend setting 1984 game Tetris. This image is an example of a Tetris game. The Tetris challenge features horizontal rows and vertical columns of equally sized blocks. As blocks fall down from the top of the game screen, players move the blocks from left to right (or rotate them) to score. The early home for Tetris was on the Commodore 64 and IBM PC computers. Next to jump on board was Atari (1988). In 1989, Nintendo added the game to their hand-held Game Boy portfolio. Most match 3 games evolved using this familiar row and column layout with the following gameplay rules... You the player either swipe to move images up, down, left or right to create three or more matches. A second style allows you to just touch your screen without swiping to score matches. We've used both approaches. Our first match 3 games were developed using LibGDX, an open-source game-development app framework written in the Java programming language with some C and C++ components. C and C++ are two to the world's most popular programming languages. We switched to the software development tool kit Unity for our latest match 3 games. Our two most successful match 3 games are Thanksgiving Match 3 (Unity) and Thanksgiving Retro Match 3 (B4A - Basic for Android SDK). Xcode (SDK software development kit) is used for our iPhone and iPad versions. In addition to the Thanksgiving games, players agree that all of our other match 3 mobile games are fun to play. Here's what you've said...  ---------- "Just incredible...!! Superb visuals, smooth as butter...and very addictive... fun to play" - Ashish Kachrola (Thanksgiving Match 3) "Thanksgiving Match 3 game is a really fun game." - Shirley Conners  "Love this on my commute"- Anita Johnson (Pizza Burger Match 3)  "Fun little spaceship game. It's simple but enjoyable to play." - Joe Willmott (Spacehip Match 3)  "The game is very nice, good pastime!" - Adriano Ferraro (Backback Bounce Match 3) ---------- On your phone, tablet, console, computer, laptop or other hand-held device, match 3 games grab you and don't let go. That's entertainment! Watch the video to see non-stop Backpack Bounce Match 3 Game action (with my comments) and grab the free app. 

0 Swinging Santa Safely Jumps For Joy

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 12/02/2021

Had enough of Office Christmas Party, Bad Santa, or Reindeer Games. These wild December holiday movies might bring you cheer or get you fired if you act out the fantasies in the films. Get fired-up instead on the safer side of life playing Santa Jump Game Party, a mobile marvel of an app mixing action with patience. Just a touch is all it takes to get Santa to hop over to the next pole. We wanted to offer you some free promotional copies of our exclusive "Holiday Cheer Red Capped" 'ugly' sweatshirt, but supply chain issues have made that contest possibility a bust for Christmas 2021. Mediums, Large, and X-Large sizes are temporarily missing in action and not available from our supplier. Watch me play Santa Jump Game Party for iPhone, iPad, and Android. I'm playing on an Android device (phone) in the video below.

0 Black History Names - Arena Spelling Games

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 11/18/2021

The keyboard on your mobile phone or tablet is very important. Two of our games take you into tapping, touching and using your keyboard to construct names or words. First, let's thank the artists we commissioned for the pictures you see, Olivia Burton who drew George Washington Carver, and Julia Liberali who drew Michelle Obama. Black History People Game floats names down your screen. A person's first name is followed by their last name. Touch your keyboard to spell the name before any letters hit the white foul line. Spelling Runners is an arena battle between two players. The keyboard is inside of the stadium field. You are the green runner. Drag your finger to move green runner to the correct letters to complete the word. Both of these games are for iPhone, iPad, and Android. Watch and listen to the video, then learn more about Black History People Game and Spelling Runners Game.

0 Pizza For Anytime

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 11/12/2021

Pizza in the morning, pizza for lunch, pizza for supper time. Grab a slice, then enjoy this video featuring the iPhone - iPad version of our Pizza Burger Match 3 Game App. Also available for Android. How much pizza can you get for a dollar in countries outside of the USA? See our "all the toppings post" How To Eat Pizza With Your Game On. Examine the 'dollar value pizza' video there. It's the 2nd video on that page.

0 Playing RnB and Hip Hop Quiz Trivia Game

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 09/22/2021

If you are sharp eyed you probably spotted Patti LaBelle on the left in the smaller picture of this post. Sadly, on the right is Labelle member Sarah Dash who passed away on Monday, September 20, 2021. R.I.P. Labelle is Nona Hendryx, Patti LaBelle, and Sarah Dash. This photo is from their great 2008 album Back to Now with production contributions from Lenny Kravitz, Gamble & Huff, and Wyclef Jean. What a wonderful musical legacy these three soaring songbirds have blessed us with. Back in the day they scored big time with the super hit "Lady Marmalade" in 1974. It's not important how many Labelle related gems there are in our RnB and Hip Hop Quiz trivia app for iPhone, iPad, and Android but you'll find nearly 600 questions (iOS version) to keep things interesting. Rather than me listing all of the ways you'll enjoy this app, here's a 4 minute video of me playing the game. From each genre: R&B and Hip Hop, I'm presented with three questions at random for a total of six questions. Two single answer questions Two multiple answer questions Two true or false questions  See how I do! Grab the free app now. Everything is included. Watch the video,  discover more, then musically cover with your mobile device RnB and Hip Hop Quiz.

0 Sizing Up Thanksgiving Match 3 Game App Screens iOS

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 09/15/2021

iPhone 13 has just been released. As a follow-up to the disclosure about Android screen sizes in Sizing Up Thanksgiving Match 3 Game App Screens, here's a quick look at the same mobile app on iPhone. Although it is easier to design screens for iPhone and iPad because there are many less variants than Android, the iOS screen design process is still tricky. Here is the same Level 7 of the game, first displayed on an iPhone 12 Pro Max. Now, the same Level 7 on an iPhone 8 Plus:   The subtle difference between these two is where the 'Home' button in the upper left corner is rendered by development software. To support every iPhone from iPhone 6S to iPhone 12 (and now the new iPhone 13 as of this writing), screen elements have to adjust as precisely as possible so you'll see a pleasing layout that is easy to use. This technique is implemented in the screen design process by the developer using various tools. We rarely get notes from our app users anymore about games or informational applications not displaying correctly on their mobile screens. Our past two posts have explained what's behind the contemporary screen design process for iOS and Android.  Thanksgiving Match 3 Game app version 2.0 for iPhone has now been submitted to Apple for review. Look for it soon (Update September 15, 2021: now approved and live in the App Store), and also see the new Android version right now!

0 Sizing Up Thanksgiving Match 3 Game App Screens

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 09/09/2021

What kind of mobile phone do you have? From a game developers point of view, if your phone is iOS, we celebrate. Why? iPhone and iPad models add up to a few dozen variants so designing a visual layout to accommodate these devices is straight forward. Unfortunately (for app developers) there are thousands of Android device models with design features that challenge our screen layouts! As an example some of our mobile apps have nearly 14,000 Android devices in their list of supported units! Every manufacturer takes liberties with the Android operating system to make changes. Samsung in the past has made more changes than others. Here are some examples using our Thanksgiving Match 3 Game, just updated for Android. An older version is in the App Store for iOS, but the new version of Thanksgiving Match 3 is coming for iPhone - iPad soon. Except for the Fire tablet, all examples you see are rendered through emulators while we actually play the game live in real time. We use in the examples the same game level 9 (there are 20 levels) featuring an 8 column by 5 row design for level 9. See how there are subtle differences across the devices? One comment about Samsung. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G phone (their most expensive) challenges this game layout. Yes it works on their foldable phone (screen shot with the game on it not shown) but the phone is so wide rather than tall that we'd have to make a minor adjustment to just the home screen (and not the game) to optimize the look. Now, see the differences between the LG and Google phones... Here are two more, Huawei P40 Pro and Amazon Fire 7 (9th generation) tablet.   Note again it's the same exact screen design but rendered differently across all of these devices! It has gotten easier over the past couple of years to build app projects that will look good despite what phone or tablet you have. We asked you about your phone or tablet. Here are a few of ours that we own and use the most: Samsung Galaxy S8 Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Motorola Droid Turbo 2 Two Fire tablets (3rd generation and 9th generation) iPhone X iPad Air 1 We have to use a lot of devices to test-test-test the apps we develop. The highlighted ones above we use everyday. The Droid Turbo 2 is always in my pocket! Wifi is wonderful for all of these phones - tablets. iPhone X and Droid Turbo 2 do have active cellular service. There are a few more not listed that we use only for testing and for nothing else. These Fire tablets are the only devices we purchased brand new. All other devices were bagged pre-owned used! As for the game used in the examples, you'll want Thanksgiving Match 3 Game version 2.0 submitted to both Google Play and the Amazon App Store as of this writing. Hopefully they will go live within days. Grab the original iPhone version too right now. Version 2 for iPhone is coming soon. Have a wonderful fall season! Also see Sizing Up Thanksgiving Match 3 Game App Screens iOS (with the focus on iPhone)

0 Backpack Bounce Match 3 Game App Video Tips

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 09/02/2021

We've added two new improvements worth noting to Backpack Bounce Match 3 game for iPhone and Android mobile devices. Bounce through the 29 second video below to learn more!   

0 Snakes and Ladders Mobile Board Game App

• Games
• by Kingsley H. Smith
• 08/11/2021

According to the Times of India, "The board game, today called Snakes and Ladders, originated in ancient India, where it was known as Mokshapat or Moksha Patamu." Ancient is an understatement! The Times of India adds "According to some historians, the game was invented by Saint Gyandev in the 13th century A.D." "Originally, the game was used as a part of moral instruction to children." "The square in which ladders start were each supposed to stand for a virtue, and those housing the head of a snake were supposed to stand for an evil." You can learn more about the game backstory elsewhere. Luckily, we aren't interested in teaching you morals here! As board games go, Snakes and Ladders is a classic. One of our summer of 2021 projects was to create our first mobile board game. This is it. Here's a sneak peak at the finished mobile game in the video below. Some more tweaking is in store including increasing the size of each square. Game play is person vs. person, or person vs. device (artificial intelligence). In the slightly sped up 45 second example video below all four players roll the dice themselves by touching the 'Roll Dice' button in their color (bottom of screen). Our Snakes and Ladders game is currently in Portrait view. We may experiment in making it landscape instead so the game board can be bigger and wider. Take a look and expect a fall 2021 release for iPhone, iPad, and Android. An enjoyable game is coming for all ages.