It's hard to find fault with a game like Tasty Tadpoles. Everything it does it does well, and it doesn't try to add unnecessary elements like mini-games, in-app purchases, or other gimmicks. This, combined with its friendly artwork and simple layout, makes it a fantastic game for adults and children alike. Tasty Tadpoles is easy to play and impossible not to enjoy!

If you have fond memories of Tetris, or just like puzzle games and own an iPhone, you should pick up Mosaique. You might even be compelled to complete your seven rounds every day to unlock “hidden bonuses.” Here’s to more addition by subtraction.

The game's heavy reliance on luck may well prove to be its downfall.

But while Survivalcraft may well provide some slight differences here and there, it's also missing plenty of the features that Minecraft has.

If you’re looking for an addictive, challenging, creative game that’s perfectly suited for mobile play (and why wouldn’t you be?), then Zoombies: Animals de la Muerte is the zoo for you. The game doesn’t overstay its welcome, and intelligent design decisions ensure that failure prompts you to retry the level rather than delete the app. Unlike first-person shooters with virtual sticks, this is a game that belongs on the iPhone, and belongs on yours.

The mini-games that make up much of Max’s Pirate Planet are too simplistic for adults to enjoy for a long time, though very young kids will have a whale of a time. There are worse planets to vacation on, like that one filled with sentient, horse-riding apes.

There are few game studios that can match Valve’s efforts; the team’s awesome talent is kind of what makes them Valve. It’s unlikely that POPS ever sought to really match the likes of Portal. On the other hand, if Better than Portal is supposed to be a joke, it’s not one worth laughing at. Especially not with its $0.99 price tag

I think Paper Titans might be a bit of a misnomer here, as nothing about this game – not the characters, nor the world – is particularly epic in stature or in the fun department. While my initial impressions were that Paper Titans would be a stunningly original creation like origami, it becomes painstakingly clear after only a few minutes of playing that this is one platform adventure that has instead been through the paper shredder more than a few times.

If you have any kind of interest at all in fantasy fiction or role-playing games, you simply must play Steve Jackson's Sorcery! It really is just that good.

Before playing Eclipse I believed that what it set out to achieve was nigh impossible. The board game offers many things that seem mutually incompatible. The app squeezes a game needing acres of table into an iPad screen. You’ll need dedication to experience this marvel: the rules are complex, the strategy makes your head hurt and the app isn’t as good as it should be at making the game accessible. But if you’re up to the challenge, the effort you put into this game will be rewarded a hundredfold in terms of entertainment.

If you’re looking for a simple strategy game that’s funny, frenzied, and dripping with style, you’d have a hard time doing better than Star Command. And besides – if you won’t travel the stars to introduce humanity to a surprisingly hostile galaxy, who will?

It's a fun and challenging game, though not especially deep, and it felt like we were almost nitpicking to come up with any flaws for it. It does what it sets out to do very well, and features additional modes such as Tournament and Time Attack to provide a little more variety. It might prove a little too simplistic for some gamers who don't fancy the old-school style, but for those looking to embrace a new style of arcade challenge, you can't go wrong with CandyMeleon.

I like the ideas behind Wizard Ops Tactics, and I really like the themes they’ve incorporated into the visual style, but that’s about it. As a turn-based strategy game it just feels awkward and clunky to play. And as an online-only strategy game it fails to manage basic matchmaking effectively.

Despite the lack of story, Dark Avenger is fun and satisfying in short bursts.

Haunted Hollow has so much going for it that it pains me to say that it could be even better. It’s a five-star concept that ends up something less in execution because of poor design choices, but that shouldn’t scare you off from giving it a free download and seeing if it matches your idea of a ghoulish good time.

If House of the Dead Overkill: The Lost Reels had a little more zombie meat on on its bones, I’d be telling you to fire up the App Store and download it right away. As it stands, I’d say it’s best to wait for a sale ($2.99 would be a good price), or to go back and purchase either the Wii or PS3 version.

This isn’t a “decent” endless game. Even the less than impressive ones understand the importance of being able to start a new game quickly. And making players have to wait and/or pay to repair their suits so they can get back to it faster only makes it that much more insulting.

If there is a bad thing about the game, and this might be reaching a bit, it would be the occasional trouble we had with-- for lack of a better term-- the "hit detection." That is, one would think that jumping onto a patch of floating land with a sloping incline would allow you to keep running, but that's not always the case for no particular reason that we can see.

If you don’t mind a virtual joystick, getting a complete console game for use on your phone for $5 is a sweet deal. The levels certainly aren’t meant for mobile play, but it’s not the kind of game that causes you to frequently lose your place either.

The zaniness of the sound effects and the aesthetics combined are off-kilter in the most pleasant way, and there's plenty for you to do, even if you exhausted the first couple of games. Weird sound bites, Duck Hunt cameos, and more make Mr. Runner 2: The Masks a worthy contender for your next App purchase, especially at its 99-cent price tag.

Even ignoring the incompatible touch controls, Gun Commando doesn’t satisfactorily accomplish any of what it set out to do.

It’s going to be a little weird going back to Facebook though after this, because now that I’ve had the very impressive Draw Something 2 experience, my boring old newsfeed is just going to pale in comparison without all those awesome drawings covering my wall.

Aside from Epic Mode,there aren’t a whole lot of surprises in They Need to be Fed 2 if you’ve played the first game. That’s not necessarily a terrible thing if you enjoyed the first game. If you’re still hungry for more great 2D platforming that spits in gravity’s smug face, come on back for a second helping.

Despite a nice presentation and fluid performance on the iOS platform, there is just not enough to do here in Bird Mania, and the bare minimum of things you can do in the game are just not all that fun either. So those early birds can have this bland worm: I’d rather spend the day in my nest instead.

Swapping out zombies for vampires and adding some particularly impressive visuals to the mix, Fangz is an exciting release during a rather dull week.

Even though the game is fun, it plays a single note that gets old fast unless you’re really driven to score as high as possible. That said, given how easy it is to grasp Deep Sea Deli, it might make a great introductory puzzle game for younger siblings and other guppies.

Blendoku combines perfectly executed aspects of nearly every feature one could want in a puzzle game: a concept that’s easy to grasp but difficult to master, stages that are as varied as they are numerous, rewards for success and minimal punishment for failure, and updates to keep new content flowing. Its four-word concept is simple, and it’s also simply great.

Despite a small misstep with ad placements, Idol Words pulls it together and provides a simple but enjoyable word game experience. Even though it doesn't change the Boggle-style formula very much, having several ongoing asynchronous games is reason enough to give it a try.

This game is pretty, but pretty ain’t everything…especially when we’re talking about slaying legions of the undead.

Stands out as one of the better controlling platformers to hit mobile devices. Sadly, that might not be enough to let it stand out among the forest of mobile games released each day.

Bookworm Heroes is a worthy extension of the Bookworm universe. It’s just a blasted shame that Popcap decided to make it free-to-play, since almost all of its failings can be traced back to the divisive gameplay model. Does Lex cry softly to himself when the game is turned off? He’s well within his rights to do so.

Despite the wavering longevity of Fish Out of Water, the cutesy fish-hopper is still a very welcomed addition to Halbrick’s impressive roster of casual arcade games, and I can see Olympus the goldfish and all the rest of his fishy friends making a real splash on the App Store for some time to come. Just don’t try and skip a fish across the water in real life!

Even though the game is a little bit too easy for my taste, Cut the Rope: Time Travel is still the perfect follow-up to Cut the Rope and Cut the Rope: Experiments, and a real lesson in how to make a sequel and how to make it right.

Legend of Talisman isn’t legendary, but it’s as solid as a piece o’ eight. If you’re into match-3 games that aren’t afraid to try something new, it’s definitely worth a download. Matey.

This is the first gamebook I’ve played where I was completely disinterested in the hardcore mode, which offers the toughest challenge. Instead I spent all my time with it in cheat mode, bypassing those annoying RPG elements, flicking back and forth through the book and just soaking up the humour. As an actual gamebook, its value is limited. But if you like cheap jokes, this is an app that keeps on giving.

Chances are these little things will seem like nitpicks, because iOOTP 2013 is really a powerhouse when it comes to mobile baseball sims. Consider that title belt locked up for another year, and go ahead and download it to get your baseball fix on the go.

Mr. Crab is the McDonald’s toy equivalent of an iPhone game, and it didn’t come free with the Happy Meal.

The Treasure Seekers of Lady Luck won’t blow your mind with originality, but it’s still a perfectly pleasant and fun way to pass a few hours. Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate’s life for thee.

I was honestly surprised by how much I’ve been enjoying Crime Connection. It’s got plenty of that familiar freemium style, but manages to change things up just enough to feel unique.

Run Sheldon is a cute little app and free endless runner that's worth picking up, especially for the younger set who need a jumping-off point.

Ninja Slash does a few things different; not enough to necessarily redefine the genre, but a little goes a long way. And those few things may very well help add a bit more longevity to this title than others of its ilk. If you're a fan of endless runners, then this one is definitely worth a look.

Pocket Village wants to be loved, but it doesn’t exhibit many loveable traits. It’s not awful by any means, but it’s slow, repetitive, and ultimately unoriginal. If you’re a collector of village building games, Pocket Village might please you for a time. Otherwise, don’t bother putting the Pocketeers to work. Let ‘em loaf.

Needless to say, Fruit Blast Mania is not necessarily a bad game: rather, it just finds a lot of ways to make you not really enjoy playing it. The game looks great, and it plays great too, but when it costs more to get to the end of the game than it would to buy an entire shopping cart full of real fruit down at the grocery store, then it might be best to leave this one next to the Brussels sprouts and find something tastier to eat instead.

Getting back to what the series did right in the first two games was definitely the right move. Despite the multiplayer missteps, Dungeon Hunter 4 is a fun way to let off some steam by slashing or blasting your way through a horde of enemies. And as we all know, it’s not like the fantasy worlds out there are going to be running out of dungeons any time soon.

Even though GolfStar still has some “ironing” out to do in the design department (get it? iron?), it sure is nice to look at, and when you actually get to play it, the core gameplay mechanics are smoother than any mobile golf game you’ve ever played before.

It feels like Big Win Baseball with a fully licensed coat of paint applied to it – which it kind of is. You certainly won’t strain your strategic brain cells playing it, but it’s a decent free download if you want to build your own team of MLB stars and you’d rather invest time instead of mental energy.

A very conventional CCG that does nothing of note any better than the already well-established heavyweights of the genre. And I rather strongly suspect that most CCG fans will prefer to spend their time with games that aren't quite so enthusiastic about making them spend their money on it too.

Bottle Cap Blitz is a slick little timewaster that doesn't try to be anything more complicated than it is, and instead caters to those who are looking for a trusty app to spend five or twenty minutes with on the commute to work or while sitting on the throne. It does its job, and makes bottle cap tossing pretty darn fun.

There's a difference between simple and bare bones, and Poker Royale veers a little too much in the latter direction.

The collection component may leave conventional CCG fans cold but the strategy aspect, while simple, works well and can result in some very intense and exciting battles. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that calling it a CCG is a bit unfair. It's a strategy game, plain and simple, and a pretty good one, too.

For a couple bucks, The Spookening is an entertaining romp that doesn't masquerade as anything more than it is -- a people-scarin' good time with plenty of ways to scare the pants off the average Joe. It may be completed quickly, but it's still worth your time.

Because there are so few MMORPGs that can be comfortably played on an iPad, it's hard to argue against it for fans of the genre. As long as you go into it knowing you're going to work a little harder than you might want to as the price of enjoying the sweet design, you just might like what you find.

Badland is a frequently clever and always gorgeous side-scroller for iOS. It has some issues in level pacing, and the physics simulation has that inherent quirk of sometimes acting in unexpected ways, but they are issues quickly forgiven in the moments when Badland truly soars.

Rockpocalypse is okay for a short while before it becomes tiresome, and not even the jabroni beating, pie eating, trail blazing, eye brow-raising People's Champ can save it by himself without some improvements elsewhere. They need to take this game, shine it up real nice, turn it sideways, and... maybe resubmit it for approval.

A great mobile game, and boasts a shining production value that most developers could only dream about.

An impressive iOS fighter despite its simplicity. In fact, that simplicity is part of the reason it works so well. Rather than force a bunch of complex control systems into a platform that honestly couldn’t handle it, they went with a much simpler and more accessible method that plays to the device’s strengths.

While there is no denying that Slayin is an incredibly charming title, it’s hard to recommend a game based on charm alone. Yes, this is a great way to kill a couple minutes, but it is also easily forgettable and just about as niche as it gets.

The sad reality of Dungeon Hearts is that it might be better to purchase the soundtrack and pass on the game.

The basic premise of Lie Swatter will still bring a whole lot of laughs, and if you don’t mind a lot of waiting and trying to reconnect to the game’s unreliable servers, then you still might get some use out of that old lie-detecting flyswatter.

A great concept partially foiled by really shoddy implementation.

Ms. Splosion Man is a great game somewhat diminished by an imperfect port. If you can swallow the business model and shrug off a few deaths that weren’t your fault, you’re in for a humorous, challenging, and rewarding time. That being said, Ms. Splosion Man is still best played with a controller, and best purchased for a single amount.

Athyr Above’s muddy visuals don’t help matters, either. Enemies are small and hard to see against the dark backgrounds. Picking off flying enemies is especially painful, since they typically rise into the air before attacking but it’s difficult to determine when they’re airborne and when they’re ripe for a pounding.

The whole package isn’t exactly deep, but it strikes a satisfying balance between the pleasures of power mongering and the toothsome delights of heavier strategy titles.

Tap and fling gameplay is nothing new on mobile devices, sitting at the root of a little game by the name of Angry Birds. But PUK manages to distill that style of play to its most essential bits, while bringing in a deviously clever timer to keep the action moving. The result is a game that could quickly become a new mobile obsession.

The bottom line is this: If you have a taste for chess-flavored brain teasers, Cheesy Chess will be right up your alley. But if you're after something that mixes it up now and then to keep you on your toes, you'll probably find that it wears thin in a hurry.

Nitro is good at providing plenty of simple, no-frills fun. That also means it’s not exactly an incredibly deep experience, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s fun, silly, and full of upgradeable cars.

Mini Golf MatchUp is a fantastic little game that will easily scratch that turn-based itch that so many gamers seem to have developed.

Even after enjoying the puzzle mode to some extent, I find it baffling that we’ve got an app version a divisive title like Abalone when there are so many great modern abstracts to choose from. Great games like YINSH and Qwirkle would make superb candidates for jumping the digital divide, but instead we’re landed with overly defensive marble jostling.

There's a seriously potent fun factor to Nimble Quest. Leaving the Bitizens behind without hesitation, this game shows off NimbleBit's mastery of the things that make bite-sized gaming tick, and blows the doors wide open on what we can expect to see from them in the future.

Actually playing Hell Quest, even with the over reliance on randomness, is still pretty awesome and a surprising amount of fun. It can be downright habit forming, actually. However the price for failure seems unreasonably steep, and even with a couple of playable characters it can still result in players essentially being prevented from making any progress for extremely large chunks of time.

The game is perfect for those looking for a more hardcore experience on a handheld device, without alienating the more casual mobile audiences either. With a shining presentation, addictive shooting gameplay, and a whole battalion’s worth of missions to complete, it’s going to be D-Day on your mobile device for a long time to come!

Even though Tiny Troopers 2 may not have set out to redefine the Tiny Troopers franchise, the game still functions as a fairly impressive sequel with great visuals, fun gameplay, and a perfect balance of depth and pick-up-and-play accessibility.

Hands down, Magicka: Wizards of the Square Tablet is one of the best action-adventure games I’ve ever played on my iPad. The game just has everything you could ever want in a mobile sidescrolling game: beautiful visuals, great gameplay, and tons of diverse environments and enemies that never seem to get old.

Ultimately, The Croods is a slow, mediocre game that doesn’t require you to do much beyond tap the screen on occasion. Only the littlest fans of the movie will get anything out of it—and you might want to turn off in-app purchases before you let them get too far.

Much in the same way as the lightweight strategy suits the platform, there just aren’t all that many engaging civ-lite games on mobile devices, making Legion strangely appealing in spite of its faults. It’s very much a game on the right platform at a lucky moment.

Fetch is a game that oozes personality, thanks in no small part to its gorgeous visuals, lively world, and less-is-more approach to storytelling. If you’ve been in search of a solid point-and-click adventure game —and you’re not a dyed in the wool cat person—you won’t regret picking this one up.

Pinpoint aiming and strategic terrain manipulation can remedy disparages a bit, and you can always grind to earn up currency to buy more firepower. Overall, the game is well worth a download for fans of the Worms franchise, and serves as a simple introduction to the genre for those still yet uninitiated.

Danger Boat isn't particularly horrible per se, as it's quite playable and safe.

With cool additional elements like Game Center achievements, leaderboards and the enticing Hall of Aliens, Alien Hive becomes one of the cooler puzzle games available on iOS.

For all its problems, Café 0 tells a compelling story. It’s certainly not the most dynamic piece of literature ever written (beware of tired old boob jokes), but if you’re into interactive novels and you’re curious to find out how a mermaid can actually drown, you’ll almost certainly want to play long enough to see the game’s true ending.

The game is a wonderful take on the Air Hockey concept, with tons of action-packed twists every way you turn, and that frantic addictiveness of a great arcade game. The environmental hazards and power-ups are exciting and unique, and I don’t think I’ll ever look at a regular old game of Air Hockey quite the same again!

The genius of Ridiculous Fishing comes from the fact that it’s actually three tightly woven mini games in one, which tie together in one of the most magnetic compulsion loops you’ll find.

Of course it’s only natural to expect some form of time-based gating when dealing with a free-to-play game. And as far as I’m concerned Heroes of Destiny does a great job of keeping those gates from becoming a huge problem. It’s full of loot and characters to acquire and upgrade, so there’s plenty of reason to keep playing for quite a while. And of course it’s fun to play. There’s always that.

It’s a bummer that PWN doesn’t get the last twenty percent right, because there’s a quality, demanding, engaging game to be played underneath the bad design decisions.

Gamenauts and Artlogic Games did a nice job marrying tower management with some light RPG and party battle elements, but nothing in Castle Champions really burrows its way into your psyche and sticks with you.

The combination of exploration and building meshes well in Eat Eat Hooray! and gives the game a good deal of personality and character.

Super Stickman Golf 2 combines two potentially dull themes - stickmen and golf - and comes away with a solid and hugely entertaining mobile game. Who would have thunk it!

Jones is so responsive—able to jump or charge the instant her last action is complete—that even failing on harder levels still feels like your own fault, not the game’s. Couple that with the adorable kitties who celebrate your success with fireworks, the blocky retro graphics that make even an overflowing litter box endearing, and the chiptune soundtrack that is charged with enthusiasm for kitty-rescuing, and Jones on Fire is an excellent automatic runner pick-me-up for the feline at heart.

Rivals at War is an interesting semi-departure for Hothead as it makes good use of their pre-established card collecting system and drops it into the middle of a firefight. What’s better is that it all comes together incredibly well. It can be a little frustrating to have to scrimp and save for the high-end card packs but using a team of Bronze or even Standard soldiers and tactics isn’t a guaranteed loss. And it’s just fun, besides.

If you’re super-enthusiastic about virtual aquariums, Pocket Fishdom is a decent catch. Those tanks aren’t going to clean themselves, after all.

Dungeon Plunder is a reasonable introduction to the Roguelike genre as a whole, but there are better examples available for only a little bit more complexity.

With striking animations, precise controls, and a touch of humor, Outland Games is well worth checking out, and will reward the time you put into it. More variety in settings and announcer dialog would go a long way toward fleshing out the experience, but there is still plenty of fun to be had in the outlands, barren as they may be.

By combining the breakneck endless pace of games like Temple Run with Sonic’s old school sense of speed, Sonic Dash manages to champion two things quite well; taking an existing formula and bettering it, and developing a Sonic game that’s finally worthy of the hedgehog’s good name.

Knitted Deer boasts cute graphics and a great soundtrack. Its knitted world is an interesting place. Unfortunately, if an endless runner doesn’t excel in every category—and Knitted Deer doesn’t—it’s going to get run down and left to bake on the asphalt.

Assuming additional episodes maintain the same quality of this first entry, The Silent Age will continue to be a must-play series well into the future.

In the grand scheme of things, Spellstorm isn’t all that difficult to figure out. At least it has an in-game help menu. And besides, once all the important stuff is covered there’s plenty of enjoyment to be had through questing, fighting, and upgrading. And it’s so, so pretty.

I like Amber Route in spite of its faults. The art is just lovely, each session weaves a unique narrative, a palpable sense of journey and adventure.

It would be interesting to see how multiplayer works, but that mode is apparently on hold until a future update. Even without it, I, Gladiator strikes you as a game that is very much in line with the conventions of its genre while having just enough tweaks to give it some some identity of its own.