I have a strange habit of surfing the iPhone’s App store when I’m bored. It’s basically my favorite thing to do during that transition from a long day of classes as a professional student, to my sweatpants-and-braless self. It’s also a great thing to do when I’m in line for some unholy amount of time.
I know some people listen to music, or Netflix and chill (but actually just Netflix and chill), or take a selfie; but it’s the classic Apple-blue icon with the stationary laid out in an ‘A’formation that I turn to for help in times of distress. The habit became a habit only this semester but I promise you, I do not plan to stop.
Now that I have proven to the Internet how obsessed I am with apps, I share with you my personal list of 2016’s Top 6 iPhone Apps That Best Kill Time (And That You Probably Don’t Know About). These are the apps that I would rather have really bad cramps on a Monday morning for than to delete off my phone.
And in no particular order…
THE 6 BEST APPS FOR KILLING TIME (and using minimal cognitive energy).
1. Slide the Shakes
I know I said ‘in no particular order’, but Slide the Shakes is hands-down the easiest, most engaging, and yummy-looking game out there right now for killing time. Its beautiful user interface and design will get you hooked immediately.
The aim of the game (AoG): You are a smoothie bartender whose sole job in life is to slide the delicious shake you just made across the diner-style counter to where, presumably, your customer is sitting. Using your finger to drag and release, slide the Jam Donut Shake/Cookie Dough Shake/Birthday Shake to the green area.
Why It’s Great:
· It’s got over 100 levels, meaning that this will keep you so occupied that you might as well stop reading this list and download it now (joking, please keep reading).
· Every couple of levels unlocks a new type of smoothie to slide down the counter, and the game provides real-life recipes for making them! You can find the entire catalogue of your unlocked smoothie recipes in the Shakeopedia. (I’m in love.)
· As you level-up, you’ll encounter obstacles like moving platforms, pink-goo, and frosted tables, so you never get bored.
· Trains patience.
The Glorious Shakeopedia
Pet Peeves:
· Only one: Each level has stages, and if you drop the shake on the floor, you restart that level. It’s sooo frustrating, but when you beat a level it feels sooo good.
2. Swing
A recent find of mine, Swing is great for those aimless couple of minutes while waiting for the metro to arrive. The concept is super easy, the graphics are made up of classic blocks in soothing pastels, and unlocking new characters gets you cavemen, men in tuxedos, a Hawaiian girl, and lots more.
AoG: As the cute little character (you) pulls back on his/her rope, it is YOUR job to gauge how much rope the little guy needs to reach the next platform, and to avoid missing it and plummeting to his/her death. Tap anywhere on the screen to jump off the platform and swing the length of that rope to the next platform. The next platform might have a diamond, which you need to collect to unlock the next character.
Why It’s Great:
· You only need a functional set of cognitive skills to get this game. Simple, clean, and a complete waste of time, this gets both of my thumbs up.
· Trains reaction time.
Pet Peeves:
The ads are a bit annoying, but considering it is free, I don’t mind having to see them every so often (yes, they are often).
Note: Swing is developed by a developer named Ketchapp. If you liked this simple and elegant game design, I recommend you check out the other Ketchapp products too. Stack, and Stick Hero have great ratings, but I haven’t personally tried them yet.
3. Super Phantom Cat
With a name like Super Phantom Cat, this game caught my eye quickly and didn’t disappoint. I found it late one night as I was doing my favorite-thing-ever, which is surf the App store (duh), and talking on the phone with my boyfriend. I hung up not long after so I could devote all my attention to this beautiful game.
As another game with classic block graphics, it’s designed to look like a retro arcade game that conjures up images of Mario and that ‘Fix-it Felix’ game from Wreck It Ralph.
You start off as this white blue-eyed cat and unlock characters as you level up.
AoG: Jump on monsters to kill them before they kill you, obtain sprites to gain temporary super-powers, break blocks to find and collect diamonds, and never, ever, forego a star. The aim? Survive, and level up.
I’m only on the second world, but I’m straight hooked.
Why It’s Great:
· I cannot get over the graphics. The game is vibrant, colorful, and has an irresistible retro feel about it. Maybe as a Gen Y kid growing up around games like Kirby and Pokémon, it evokes nostalgia? Who knows?
· If you play the game with the sound on, it takes the game to a whole ‘nother level. Like, YES. Sound and graphics marry together in a way I have not experienced since, well, Harvest Moon.
· It will make you happy.
Pet Peeves:
I can’t find any just yet.
4. Lumosity
If you’ve never heard of Lumosity, I’m here to tell you that it pretty much jumpstarted the whole ‘train your brain’ movement in the App world. Lumosity is made up of short minigames that train cognitive abilities like memory, speed, attention, problem solving, and flexibility. Now you can be somewhat productive while simultaneously being a potato!
Why It’s Great:
· Trains your general alertness and reaction time.
· Has daily ‘workouts’ that train each of the cognitive abilities, which is supposed to be somewhat preventative against Alzheimer’s.
· The color scheme and graphics are clean and simple—this is a no-frills kind of app.
Pet Peeves:
· Each cognitive facet has about 5 games to choose from, but you can’t choose which one unless you go PREMIUM. ARGH. This is my biggest pet peeve ever.
· My point is, you only get to play 5 games per day.
BEST FOR KILLING TIME (and learning about the world)
1. Timeline
Timeline’s tagline is ‘News in Context’. Ever read a news article that just assumes you’ve been keeping up with what’s been going on in the past year about that topic? Like you read the news every day or something? I don’t know about you, but although that is a good habit, I’m in college and I have A’s to earn and Stairmaster stairs to climb, and friends to drink coffee with and I ain’t got time to read the news daily.
Timeline is for us ‘Oh hey, world, been a while. Let’s catch up a little so I still feel like theres life beyond Roddick Gates’ kind of news readers. It puts the news into context and breaks it down from the beginning.
AoG: This isn’t a game, but the aim is to stay updated, informed, and entertained. More news, less boredom.
Why It’s Great:
· Beautiful, seamless flow of articles means you can just scroll down from latest to oldest news without lifting more than your thumb.
· You can choose articles between categories like ‘Latest’, ‘World’, ‘Health’, ‘Pop Culture’, ‘Business’, ‘Music’, and ‘Sports.’
· Timeline reads more like a magazine than a newspaper—and that’s refreshing beyond measure. Let’s face it, sometimes that neutral, PC-journalist-speak is the reason we aren’t reading the news that often. A lack of personality, opinion, spunk (or whatever you want to call it) makes for a rather less-than-compelling read. “Why don’t they just put it in bullet points?” you think to yourself. Timeline’s authors put their own twist into it. Covering more than the latest news which is often headlines of awful, bloody conflict, Timeline’s articles feature titles like:
o ‘Are Afghans White? The British Empire says yes. Hollywood says no. Afghans say “hush.”’
o ‘Obama: “I’ll travel to Cuba!” Cuban history: “Oh.”’
o ‘Let’s celebrate Zayn Malik’s perfectly executed sex-infused career-prolonging manuever’
Keeping up with the headlines featuring bloody conflict and other not-so-fun topics is important though; Timeline offers articles on these too.
Pet Peeves:
I got none. I’ve raked my brain and I got none.
Bonus App!
Neko Atsume.
Originally developed for the Japanese market, this is by far, hands down, my biggest obsession ever. Neko Atsume—which translates into ‘Cat Collector’—isn’t exactly the newest kid on the block, but man is it classic. And cute. And addictive. Thankfully for non-Japanese-speakers like moi, its been dutifully translated into English. Whether or not you like cats, this is going to rock your world for the next couple of months.
AoG: Put out different kinds of cat food and toys to attract the kitties in your neighborhood to hang out in your yard, where you sneak photos of them for your cat album, like a cat-stalker. You also get visits from ‘rare’ cats that only come by if you put out their favorite toys. After they’ve spent time in your yard, every cat will leave either silver or gold fish as a thank-you token, which you can use to buy MORE TOYS. Oh, and expand your yard to welcome more kitties.
Why It’s Great:
· The cats that come to your yard have different names, like different toys, and have different personalities (although they don’t show them–its just stated).
· You don’t stay on Neko for huge stretches at any one time—the app only refreshes your yard when you leave it.
The developers have just come out with a new yard expansion featuring a landscape of ice cream, jelly beans, cupcakes, lollipops, and meringues called Sugary Style. This alone is a good enough reason to download Neko Atsume.
Pet Peeves:
· The cats don’t actually do anything. Some of them will bat at a mouse or cook a pizza, but most of them just lie there motionless. They still look really cute though. Think you can’t form emotional attachments to a small digital cat that literally does nothing? Think again.
Images are the author’s own.