Free Nook App - Townsmen 6

Townsmen 6 ($1.25 Amazon), by HandyGames, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Townsmen 6 is a challenging building and strategy game that takes you to eighteenth-century France where you can play your part in the French Revolution. Aristocratic oppression, massive class inequalities, and beheadings by the thousands frame the scene…but before you can conquer the crown, you have a few things to do back in town.

Reign of Work
You'll need soldiers to defeat government corruption, and soldiers need a place to live. Sound simple? It means constructing buildings, catching fish, harvesting fields, fetching water, gathering various natural resources to establish a solid economic cycle and expand your influence, and a few other things. How will you get it all done? Wake up those sleeping Townies, of course, and put them to work.

Mobilize Your Townies
For Townies and Townettes, the division of labor is traditional; it is the eighteenth century, after all. Townies work hard to provide an economic structure and gather power to fight the king while Townettes devote their attention to the general welfare by getting water from the well and gathering food.

While the Townies and Townettes are on hand for employment, they also need a constant supply of food and water, which means more work. To make matters worse, as your town becomes more stable, the Townies get more picky and demanding about their eats. Townies do work for a healthy economy and the more satisfied they are, the faster they can gather and produce. So it's a good idea to keep them employed, well fed, and happy since you need them to be strong for your campaign against the king.

To see how many Townies and Townettes live in your town, click the Town Info screen. Townies will also help you out by displaying various icons above their heads: snoring zzz's if unemployed, fish or other resources they have gained, and a smiley if they're happy.

Build Your Town
After your Townies have collected and produced the necessary materials, you can start building. Whiz-kid Townies can perform university research to help with upgrading buildings and improving functionality. As you complete phases and sub-phases of research, you unlock new building opportunities.

Meanwhile, keep a lookout for surprise events. At any moment you might face a lack of housing, extreme weather conditions, or a merchant visiting the town for some friendly trading. Merchants stay only for a few days, so you'll want well-stocked supplies when they visit. If you don't, you can always put up a marketplace to trade without a merchant.

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, Life-and-Death Battles, and Other Stuff
Think you're prepared to take on the crown? Start by finding the best way to knock at the gates of Paris and call for the king's head. If your mission succeeds, you'll win action points that can be spent after each level for troop movements, bonus resource changes, and more.

Train your soldiers at military buildings and gather propagandists at coffee houses. Assign soldiers and propagandists to besiege and conquer neutral or royal buildings. But beware the king's wrath: Royal troops will defend their buildings and even attack your institutions, leading to life-and-death battles.

Leave it to Fate
In the Overview Map Mode, you'll toss the coin of fate to see which advantages and disadvantages await you. Depending on how the coin lands, you'll either gain some bonus gold or your opponent gains an additional soldier in an occupied or neutral zone. After the coin toss, you can explore all the different map levels including royal, occupied with hostile soldiers, your own zones, and territories that can be conquered. When you solve a mission, you earn action points that you can spend on distributing soldiers throughout the map, a new fate coin toss, or changing a selected bonus resource.

Join the Revolution
Play Townsmen 6 and enjoy stunning graphics, upbeat music, entertaining sound effects, a map generator that offers infinite replay value, and the option to save your progress and resume play at any time. You can also set various factors such as use of rivers and coasts and the aggressiveness of your war enemy. An extensive tutorial and help functions are also included and Poopsy the pig provides helpful hints along the way. You know your revolutionary spirit wants to join the fray so why wait. The Revolution needs you.

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Word Race

Word Race ($0.99 Amazon), by Agile Fusion Corp, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Sailors and pirates may disagree, but as far as we can tell, the best way to commandeer your boat through treacherous waters is with crafty wordsmithing.

Word Race challenges you to push your boat ahead of the others with the oft-forgotten power of words. Given a board of scrambled letters, your goal is to configure the longest possible word from the letters before you. The longer your word, the more power your boat has to pull ahead. If youre at a standstill, fear not, mate! Simply refresh the board and the letters will scramble again to hopefully reveal more Rs and less Qs!

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Animal Facts Trivia

Animal Facts Trivia ($2.99 Amazon), by Mobifusion, Inc., is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
What is the only species of bird that can fly backwards? What are male bees called? What color eyes do white tigers have? If you love to observe animals and all of the incredible things that they do, you'll have a blast playing Animal Facts Trivia. Thousands of questions about insects, mammals, reptiles, birds, emphibians, and fish range from easy, medium, and difficult. Kids love this game and learn amazing animal facts while they play! Interesting questions teach kids about animal habits, habitats, and behavior. It's a jungle out there- have fun!

Features:

• 100s of questions ranging from easy to hard
• Tests your knowledge on a variety of categories
• User-friendly, intuitive interaction
• Share your score and challenge your friends using Social Media Features

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Missile Defender

Missile Defender ($0.99 Amazon), by Epic Pixel LLC, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Defend your city against an enemy bombardment in this touchscreen twist on the classic arcade game. Intercept missiles, upgrade your defenses, and play through limitless levels. See how long you're able to hold out before your physical and psychological defenses crumble.

Hit or Missile
Incoming missiles rain down at night--tap on the screen and use the multi-touch feature to launch interceptors. Repairs and upgrades are available during the day, as you steel yourself for yet another fear-stricken night.

Upgrade your defenses in this Sisyphean struggle against the Fates
Anticipate the path of enemy missiles and pick your targets accurately. Keep an eye on your own missile count and use them strategically. Be constantly vigilant as difficulty increases each nightfall. And keep holding on to the idea that someday it will all end. Someday...

Retro 80s Zeitgeist
Missile Defender is in the style of a classic 80s arcade game. It features clean HD art work, multi-touch controls, upgradable missiles, and endless levels of gameplay--without the oppressive fear of a real-world nuclear brinkmanship. If you've enjoyed those old quarter-guzzlers, Missile Defender is sure to bring back great memories.

Prepare to get nostalgic as you defend civilization from anachronistic existential threats in Missile Defender!

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Wubbzy's Dinosaur Adventure

Wubbzy's Dinosaur Adventure ($1.99 Amazon), by Cupcake Digital Inc., is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Wubbzy's Dinosaur Adventure will have children and their parents laughing and learning with their favorite characters from the Emmy® Award-winning Nick Jr. TV series Wow! Wow! Wubbzy®. Using hands-on teaching activities, developed by seasoned educators, to emphasize and reinforce essential skill building for Matching, Counting, Reading and Site Word Recognition. Kids can also tap into their creative skills as they decorate cupcakes, paint storybook pages and much, much more!

The story includes professional narration, promoting reading through sound and sight. Parents will appreciate the Grown-Up's Corner, which provides thoughtful questions designed to spark conversation while promoting critical thinking and comprehension.

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Wordsearch Deluxe

Wordsearch Deluxe (no Amazon or Google edition available), by Astraware, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Word search is a popular pastime everyone enjoys! In each puzzle you are given a list of words and you need to find them hidden in a grid full of letters. For this reason, word search puzzles are also known as Word Seek, Word Find or Word Sleuth games.

Astraware Wordsearch Deluxe offers over 1000 puzzles in different themes. You can also download and play a new Daily word search each day - top the global leaderboard by completing the puzzle in the fastest time! For more of a challenge there is a Weekender puzzle available each Friday with an even bigger grid.

Great features include:

• A collection of over 1000 built-in word searches
• Over 12 categories of words for themed word searches
• Words may run horizontally or vertically, forwards or backwards. Hard puzzles also include words diagonally!
• Unlimited access to our Daily and Weekender puzzles*
• Intuitive interface
• 4 save slots available to have several word search on the go at once, so you can stop for a break and come back to a puzzle later

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Animal Park Tycoon

Animal Park Tycoon ($0.99 Amazon), by Advanced Mobile Applications, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Animal Park Tycoon is part of the Free App Friday promotion on Barnes & Noble. Dont miss out this offer available for a LIMITED TIME and create the most fabulous zoo of all time!

Lion, gorilla, zebra, unicorn As an animal lover, have you always dreamt of building your own zoo where your cute little creatures would live? Animal Park Tycoon offers you an empty plot to create the most fabulous and attractive zoo.
Discover new creatures and collect legendary species to make your animal park unique and famous. Its up to you to manage your zoos reputation and attractiveness: keep your animals happy and healthy and decorate your zoo with exotic trees and beautiful flowers. This will convince visitors around the world and even your friends to come visit.

Key Features:

• Collect and manage up to 15 species of animals and unlock new ones to bring diversity to your zoo.
• Play in 6 different environments: plain, savanna, polar, mountain, jungle and swamp.
• Unlock 2 legendary creatures to grow the fame of your zoo: the unicorn and the cthulhu!
• Enjoy mini-games like animal races and the Lost & Found child game to get exclusive rewards.

This application is recommended for ages 7+.

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond

Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond - Hidden Object Game ($0.99 Amazon), by SecretBuilders, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond is a wonderfully illustrated hidden object puzzle game based on the book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The game takes you through the detective mystery with high-quality AUDIO NARRATION!

Sherlock Holmes needs to uncover the mystery of how a blue diamond ended up in the throat of a goose of all places. Follow along as Holmes goes on this wild goose chase!

Based on the Oxford University Press edition of Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond, this game features stunning art and stimulating puzzles designed by award winning game producer SecretBuilders. Each brain-teasing level unfolds a scene from the book with beautiful illustrations and audio excerpts.

This application is recommended for ages 5+.

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Connect Me Puzzle

Connect Me Puzzle ($0.99 Amazon), by Agile Fusion Corp, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Its often the games that seem most simple that keep us addicted to just five more minutes. Nothing could be truer when playing Connect Me Puzzle.

Your goal seems elementary: connect the like colored Flowers, but the challenge comes in negotiating your way around a grid with the know-how and grace to never cross two lines over one another. Pair all of the colored flowers to cover the flower bed and solve the puzzle, but if even one path crosses another, your game is over, making for a strategy laden last round. Should the pressure of creating connections without crossing lines seem like kid-stuff to your superior gaming skills, put yourself under the watchful gaze of a timer to get your heart racing and your brain in gear.

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Magician's Handbook: Cursed Valley

Magician's Handbook: Cursed Valley ($2.99 Amazon and free intro edition), by G5 Entertainment, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Remove the evil curse in this captivating adventure by finding hidden objects in the dark and mysterious Cursed Valley! The fabled "Magician's Handbook" has fallen into your hands. You are beckoned to a dark and desolate place whose true name has long been forgotten. Search beautiful, hand-painted backgrounds for cleverly- hidden enchanted objects. Use special incantations to slowly reveal the pages of the sacred book. Lift the curse from the haunted valley to discover its true name in this brain-bending, hidden object adventure with unlimited replay ability!

- 13 enchanted levels to explore
- Unlimited replay ability
- 2 gameplay modes: casual and apprentice
- 12 challenging mini-games
- Exciting secret items to unlock
- Gorgeous hand-painted Backgrounds

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Ocean Adventures!

Ocean Adventures! Fun educational games for kids in Preschool & Kindergarten: Grammar & Vocabulary (no Amazon version), by i Learn With, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble. While looking at this app, I discovered that another by the same company is also free at B&N: Planet Boing! Fun creativity free game and activities for kids in Preschool and Kindergarten.

App Description
This application is recommended for ages 4+.

Discover these great language development games for kids in Preschool and Kindergarten! Top educational app to get children ready for school.
Your child will learn and practice key language skills such as vocabulary, listening comprehension and sentence formation while playing with lovely underwater animals!

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Dora ABCs Vol 1: Letters and Letter Sounds.

Dora ABCs Vol 1: Letters and Letter Sounds ($3.99 Amazon), by Nickelodeon, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
This application is recommended for ages 0-4.

The first in the Nickelodeon Literacy Suite, Dora ABCs Vol 1: Letters & Letter Sounds focuses on your childs emerging literacy skills. In this application, your child will learn the Alphabetic Principle: to recognize letters, write letters and associate letters with sounds. Once children are able to hear and discern sounds (phonemes), they are ready to associate those sounds with letters.

Whats that Dora and Boots see up in the sky? It's Tico in his Nutty Plane, writing letters and drawing pictures. But he needs you to help him with his ABCs! Pick up all the nuts he needs to power the plane by tracing the letters.

As your child traces the letters, Dora reinforces the sound of each of the letters. Supportive directions and sound effects help guide your child in learning their letters. A new game, Letter and Picture Match, reinforces initial letter sounds by grouping pictures that start with the same sound. A letter select screen allows your child to play any game on any letter they choose.

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Where Fairies Dwell

Hidden Object - Where Fairies Dwell ($1.99 Amazon), by DifferenceGames, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Where Fairies Dwell is a beautiful photo based hidden object game.

• Find items by their pictures. This is the easiest mode and great for kids.
• Find by items by the word. This is great if your child is just learning how to read and a slight step up in difficulty for everyone.
• Find items by silhouette. This is a tricky way to play that will often surprise you once you finally find the correct object.

Hints are available if you get stuck and every play through the game will use a different set of items

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Donuts

Donuts: Dunk n' Roll ($0.99 Amazon), by Beansprites, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Donuts: Dunk n' Roll is an exciting physics game where it's your job to tilt your device to collect all the candy!

Intricate mazes await, cute enemies inspired from a cartoonish candy-land, and puzzles that will blow your mind! Easy to play, tilt controls, gorgeous, cartoonish graphics, and oustanding characters, and gameplay make this a must have gem for your collection!

Easy for kids to get into, and Adults will get a kick out of this one too! Tilt, Swerve, Dunk, n' Roll your way through over 50 unique levels and puzzles! The fun never ends with Donuts: Dunk n' Roll!

Ages 4+

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free Nook App - Monkey Word School Adventure

Monkey Word School Adventure ($1.99 Amazon), by THUP Games, LLC, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.

App Description
Get ready for adventure...Monkey Word School Adventure! Join Monkey and his jungle friends as they explore a fun-filled world of letters, sight words, phonics and spelling. Seamless game flow and behind-the-scenes performance adjustment allow your child to jump right in and begin playing and learning.
For ages 3 to 7.

Monkey Word School Adventure is an entertaining and captivating way to introduce your child to the fundamental concepts behind reading and writing. The lessons range from letter recognition and writing to spelling and phonics introducing word components such as consonant blends, digraphs, irregular vowels and more! There is also a special focus on sight words, the vital building blocks of reading and writing.

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Free App - Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots

Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots, by Halfbrick Studios Pty Ltd, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble, price matched at Amazon (but not Google).

App Description
En Garde!

Fruit meets fairytales in Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots.

The suave, fruit-slashing swashbuckler, Puss in Boots, faces a challenge that would make Sensei proud. Prepare for a journey of familiar fruit-slicing action as Puss encounters a wealth of new and exciting challenges in his search for the Magic Beans.
Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots
Get classic fruit-slicing action in Desperado Mode
Puss in Fruits

Slice through a series of increasingly exciting challenges in the all-new Bandito Mode, and become the greatest Fruit Ninja warrior of all time. Each stage thrusts you into never-before-seen fruit frenzy adventure. Face massive fruit from the Giant's castle, precision and timing challenges, and all-out fruit onslaughts with new obstacles. Plus, for the first time ever, throw down against the much-requested tomato!
Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots
Face all-out fruit onslaughts and live to tell the tale

Real Banditos must put their best blade forward, because scoring is based on the number of fruits sliced, ninja reflexes, and slicing efficiency. A true produce warrior can upload their massive high scores to global leaderboards, and rank among the best players online.
If Kitty-Looks Could Kill

Bring your blade to Desperado Mode--an enhanced and re-mastered version of the Classic Fruit Ninja game. But this time, you will face even more fruit, unique waves, and Puss in Boots' elusive Magic Beans from the DreamWorks Animation feature film.

Finally, bask in the fruit-stained glory of Puss in Boots' own exclusive Ninja Stash, featuring a whole range of unique customizable content, including new backgrounds and blades.

Stay juicy, amigos!

Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Good Deals via Google (and Amazon)

There are several good Black Friday deals in the Google Play store, from music to apps/games to books. Music will work on any device (although it's a bit tricky to download them from Google; they would much rather have you upload your music to them than download and play your tunes somewhere else), but games are limited to devices with access to the Google store, which leaves out (unrooted) Kindle Fires and Nook tablets. Their books are in EPUB format, so can be read on the Fire using an app like Aldiko or side-loaded onto your nook devices. Kindle users, though, will find price matches on many of the items on sale -- I just troll thru the Google sale, then bounce back to Amazon's Appstore, MP3 Store or Kindle store and check for a price match on the ones that are interesting. Below, I've highlighted some of the deals I've found.

In the Google Music store, there are three playlists of free MP3's from Antenna, Stone Records and FILTER Magazine. There is no real equivalent at Amazon, which is a shame, since Google forces you to buy one song at a time (about 4-5 clicks and you must have a credit card on file, even for free songs).

On the Android side, you can go thru the complete list of the apps on sale on Google, but you'll definitely want to check out Quickoffice Pro ($0.99 Amazon, Google) and OfficeSuite Professional 6 ($4.99 Amazon, $6.99 Google), to see if they are compatible with your devices. The Full Version Key for DocumentsToGo is also on sale in both stores ($8.99), if you missed getting this free from Amazon last year (which I don't expect to ever repeat, now that so many more Fire devices have been sold). Be sure that the DocumentsToGo Main App is running on your device first, before buying the key. I definitely give the edge to Amazon on this one, as the app runs on all my devices, including my phone, while Google's is limited to my phone and one tablet.

One of the sale items that Amazon didn't price match is My Diet Coach - Pro ($2.99 Amazon, $0.99 Google), which you might want on your phone, anyway, rather than a Kindle device (although if you get in from Amazon, it will work on both). If free is more your style, be sure to check out Nun Attack (Google only), which looks like it might be fun. There are several Gameloft games discounted to 99 cents (usually $6.99), mostly matched at Amazon (who actually has some on sale that aren't on sale at Google), but be sure to check out which ones work on which devices (some at Google are restricted to my phone, while the Kindle version might only work on the 8.9" Fire HD), although at these prices, you can afford to grab both editions:

• BackStab HD
• The Amazing Spider-Man
• N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance
• Gangstar Rio: City of Saints
• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard
• The Adventures of Tintin ($4.99 Kindle, 99 cents Google

I'm also grabbing the Roku Remote app ($0.99 on sale from Google; $2.99 Amazon), to run on a Galaxy Tab that I'm setting up as a universal remote (I hope, anyway -- my existing remote won't do bluetooth and my TV doesn't do IR). Since Amazon's isn't on sale, I'll hold off buying it (although it works with all my devices), unless it drops to 99 cents there, too.

You don't want to miss The Icerigger Trilogy: Icerigger, Mission to Moulokin, and The Deluge Drivers ($2.00 Kindle, Google), by Alan Dean Foster (Open Road) while it's marked down this low.

Book Description
Stranded on a frozen and remote planet, Ethan Frome Fortune searches for a way back to civilization

Icy, desolate, and sharply carved by hurricane-force winds, Tran-ky-ky is a terrible place to crash-land. But a botched kidnapping aboard the interstellar transport Antares sends Ethan Frome Fortune and a handful of his fellow travelers tumbling toward the stormy planet. Stranded and cut off from civilization, the castaways struggle to survive.

In this page-turning trilogy, Fortune confronts vicious predators (even the plants want to make a meal of him) and forges an alliance with a native Tran. As he searches for a way off Tran-ky-ky, he helps the Tran gain admission to the Humanx Commonwealth and learns about their troubled history. Just as Fortune accepts that he’ll never escape the harsh planet and acclimates to its relentless winter, he learns that scientists have detected rising temperatures in the atmosphere. This sinister change leads Fortune to a thrilling and unexpected final adventure.

All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, and All Things Wise and Wonderful: Three James Herriot Classics ($6.00 Kindle, Google), by James Herriot, is only a penny more than the lowest price I've seen for it, when I grabbed it at the end of November, last year.

Book Description
Timeless stories from a country veterinarian about the animals and people that shape life in a sleepy English town

Perhaps better than any other writer, James Herriot reveals the ties that bind us to the natural world. Collected here are three of his masterpieces—All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, and All Things Wise and Wonderful—which have been winning over animal lovers everywhere for almost fifty years. From his night visits to drafty barns during freezing northern England winters, to the beautiful vitality of rural life in the summertime, to the colorful menagerie of animals—and their owners—that pass through his office, Herriot vividly evokes the daily challenges and joys that come with being a veterinarian.

Witty and heartwarming, these classic books also feature an original introduction from the author’s son, Jim Wight, and bonus archival photos courtesy of the Herriot estate.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh ($3.00 Kindle, Google), by Michael Chabon

Book Description
Chabon’s sensational debut novel: the coming-of-age story of Art Bechstein, a recent graduate whose life is forever changed by one sultry summer

Art Bechstein may be too young to know what he wants to do with his life, but he knows what he doesn’t want: the life of his father, a man who laundered money for the mob. Bechstein spends the summer after his graduation from a Pittsburgh university searching for his future and finding his own sort of trouble with brilliant and seductive new friends—erudite, unscrupulous Arthur Lecomte, mercurial Phlox, and Cleveland, a poetry-reciting biker.

Insightful and energetic, The Mysteries of Pittsburg beautifully renders the hard edges of a blue-collar city and the charm of its local characters.

This ebook features a biography of the author.

Wyoming Fierce ($1.60 Kindle, Google), by Diana Palmer

Book Description
Ranch owner Cane Kirk lost more than his arm in the war. He lost his way, battling his inner demons by challenging any cowboy unfortunate enough to get in his way. No one seems to be able to cool him down, except beautiful Bodie Mays. Bodie doesn't mind saving Cane from himself, even if he is a little too tempting for her own peace of mind.

But soon Bodie's the one who finds herself in need of rescuing—only, she's afraid to tell Cane what's really going on. How can she trust someone as unpredictable as this fierce cowboy? When her silence only ends up getting her into even deeper hot water, it's up to Cane to save the day. And if he does it right, he won't be riding off into the sunset alone.

How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You ($2.00 Kindle, Google), by The Oatmeal

Book Description
Jesus Rollerblading Christ--another helping of TheOatmeal! Mrow, MOAR kitty comics. Mr. Oats delivers a sidesplitting serving of cat comics in his new book, How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You.

If your cat is kneading you, that's not a sign of affection. Your cat is actually checking your internal organs for weakness. If your cat brings you a dead animal, this isn't a gift. It's a warning. How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You is a hilarious, brilliant offering of cat comics, facts, and instructional guides from the creative wonderland at TheOatmeal.com.

How to Tell If Your Cat Is Plotting to Kill You presents fan favorites, such as "Cat vs. Internet," "How to Pet a Kitty," and "The Bobcats," plus 17 brand-new, never-before-seen cat jokes. This Oatmeal collection is a must-have from Mr. Oats!

See Google's full list of book deals up to 80% off.

No guarantee on how long the sale will last, but I don't expect it to survive past Monday (if then; Google might bring out a new sale for CyberMonday).

Today's Deals

Additional formats on one free book is now available and three recent freebies are repeating (on Kindle and elsewhere).

• The Pawn (K/N/E)
• Medical Error (K/N/E)
• One Imperfect Christmas (K/N/E)
• A Simple Amish Christmas (K/N/E)

Pictures of You ($0.99), by Caroline Leavitt, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.

Book Description
Two women running away from their marriages collide on a foggy highway, killing one of them. The survivor, Isabelle, is left to pick up the pieces, not only of her own life, but of the lives of the devastated husband and fragile son that the other woman, April, has left behind. Together, they try to solve the mystery of where April was running to, and why. As these three lives intersect, the book asks, How well do we really know those we love—and how do we forgive the unforgivable?

Drowning Rose ($2.01 / £1.29 UK), by Marika Cobbold, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition). It's also the third day of the 12 Days of Christmas in the UK, so you might want to check ou the newly added titles (it appears that the previous days' titles stay on sale throughout).

Book Description
Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself…

It is winter in London. Eliza Cummings, a ceramics restorer at the V&A Museum, is leaving work when she receives an unexpected phone call. Standing in the haze of the Christmas lights she hears a voice which draws her back twenty-five years - to the night Rose died.

But why does Rose's father want her to visit him? Why now? And why is he killing her with kindness when they both know that he blames her for what happened to his daughter?

Grief and guilt cast terrible shadows, but as this beautifully wrought story unfolds and the scene shifts from London to the fairy tale landscape of the Swedish countryside - and back in time to Eliza's school days - we learn that generosity, humour and friendship can smooth over and restore even the most broken lives, and that some secrets just can't be kept hidden…

Free-Range Knitter ($2.49 Kindle, B&N), by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's Free-Range Knitter: The Yarn Harlot Writes Again reminds us of the joy we felt upon first encountering her hilarious and poignant collection of essays surrounding her favorite topics: knitting, knitters, and what happens when you get those two things anywhere near ordinary people.

For the 60 million knitters in America, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (a.k.a. the Yarn Harlot) shares stories of knitting horrors and triumphs, knitting successes and defeats, but, mostly, stories about the human condition that ring true for everyone--especially if you happen to have a rather large amount of yarn in your house.

Funny, unique, and gleeful in her obsession, Pearl-McPhee speaks to knitters of all skill levels in this delightful celebration of craft and creativity.

Be sure to get today's free Android App, MONOPOLY, by Electronic Arts Inc. The version currently at Amazon can be played on both your Kindle Fire and on most tablets and smart phones (even your computer, using an Android simulator (see this post on installing one, if you don't yet have an Android device). This is one of the few Electronic Arts games that I hadn't picked up in their 99 cent Android Game sale, which you'll also want to check before it ends. Several of them have "(Kindle Fire Edition)" in their title - these will install only on the Kindle Fire, but it's worth a buck to get a nice version of Scrabble, even if you don't want The Game of Life or Madden NFL 12 or one of the others.

Game Description
Legend has it that the modern version of the MONOPOLY board game was invented during the Depression by an unemployed man named Charles Darrow. Rebuffed by the major game companies of the time, he published it himself--and it went on to become perhaps the world's most popular board game.

Now, in the 21st century, you can play the same classic game of MONOPOLY on your Kindle Fire. And it's a ton of fun.

So, do you like to buy Boardwalk and Park Place and hope to make it big on a few unlucky rolls by your opponent? Or is your strategy to go with the Green, Red, or Yellow properties and slowly bleed your adversaries dry? However you like to play MONOPOLY, you'll love playing the Android version.

One of the great things about playing the digital version of MONOPOLY is that you don't have to track down someone willing to take you on--you can match your business acumen against the computer any time you feel like it. Set the AI opponent at three levels of difficulty, so you'll always get a challenge (or if you prefer, an easy win). Of course, it's much more fun to switch to Pass 'N Play mode, just so you can see your rivals' faces when you crush them.

Bargain Kindle and Android Games

First off, even if you don't have kids, you may want to grab A Charlie Brown Christmas, by Loud Crow Interactive Inc., while it is free today.

Game Description
A Charlie Brown Christmas, the beloved Peanuts classic by Charles M. Schulz, is now available as a spectacular interactive storybook optimized for your Android device. Sit back and enjoy original dialogue, digitally remastered illustrations, animation, music, and narration by Peter Robbins, the original voice of Charlie Brown.
"Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!"

Only Charlie Brown can turn the magic of Christmas into a problem. Even though the snowflakes are falling softly, carols are ringing sweetly, and people are gathering merrily, Charlie Brown is feeling down. He just doesn't understand Christmas. Join him, along with Snoopy and the entire Peanuts gang as they struggle to find the true meaning of Christmas. It's all accompanied by a charming soundtrack featuring music and sound effects from the original show.
Reading is Wonder-Full

This version of A Charlie Brown Christmas is bursting with fun interactivities that will delight children and adults alike. Go caroling with the Peanuts choir, finger-paint with the gang, and participate in the Spectacular Super-Colossal Neighborhood Christmas Lights and Display Contest to unlock decorations for your very own Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. You can even play Schroeder's piano (to the tune of "Linus and Lucy", of course). Note highlighting helps to introduce and improve musical skills.

Little readers will love turning pages with the swipe of a finger. They can also watch text highlighting as they listen to the story narration, hear individual words spoken with a single tap, touch and drag objects to make them spring to life or tilt to watch them slide and move, and much more. With something to discover on every page, this is one interactive Peanuts adventure you won't want to miss this holiday season!

Next, you'll want to check out Gameloft's 99 cent Android Games sale. I see a few games I missed during the 10 cent sales (although I did get at least one of them in the Android Market, I haven't worked out how to transfer them, yet). These generally sell in the $5-$7 range and they've even updated the list with new games that were just released this week. Do be sure to configure your KindleFire to require confirmation on (or block) in-app purchases, though, before downloading any game that allows them (especially if you have kids).

1. Asphalt 6: Adrenaline
2. UNO (Kindle Fire Edition)
3. Shadow Guardian HD
4. Order & Chaos Online (Kindle Fire Edition)
5. Block Breaker 3 Unlimited (Kindle Fire Edition)
6. Let's Golf! 3 ** Now free
7. Green Farm ** Now free
8. Hero of Sparta HD
9. James Cameron's Avatar HD (Kindle Fire Edition)
10. Modern Combat: Sandstorm HD (Kindle Fire Edition)
11. BackStab HD (Kindle Fire Edition)

Over on the nook blog, I saw them boasting about finaly having the Words With Friends app in their store. It's $2.99 there, but free in the Amazon store (and the Android Market), as is the add-on Words Cheat (be forewarned! I downloaded both on my Fire and my phone).

Game Description
Like words? Got friends? Perfect. You're set to play Words With Friends, the addicting word game that allows you challenge friends, family, or strangers and show off your superlative vocabulary and brilliant gaming skills.

Play Words With Friends Free, the world's number-one mobile word game, with both your Android and iPhone/iPad-toting friends. Experience for yourself why millions of players are addicted to the word-building, triple-score-seeking, chat-bubble-sending goodness of Words with Friends. Play Words With Friends Free, the #1 mobile word game, with both your Android and iPhone/iPad-toting friends. Experience for yourself why millions of players are addicted to the word building, triple score seeking, chat bubble sending goodness of Words With Friends.

For those using an eInk Kindle, Electronic Arts Inc is having a sale, with all of their Kindle games at 99 cents.

1. SCRABBLE
2. BATTLESHIP
3. YAHTZEE
4. MONOPOLY
5. TRIVIAL PURSUIT Master Edition
6. EA Sudoku
7. EA Solitaire
8. EA Texas Hold'em
9. POGO Hearts, Spades and More!

Mobigloo's Mahjong Solitaire Holiday Edition is 99 cents (for eInk Kindles), as is Jewels.

Mahjong Solitaire Holiday Edition
It's time to celebrate the Holiday season with this special edition of the popular matching game Mahjong Solitaire on Kindle.

In Mahjong Solitaire, you match pairs of identical tiles in order to remove them from the board. Only free tiles can be matched. Tiles are considered free if they do not have other tiles to either the left or right of them, or on top of them. The objective of the game is to clear all the tiles from the board. The game ends when all tiles have been removed or when there are no more free tiles left to match.

Mahjong Solitaire tracks the number of pairs of free tiles available to be matched for you. In addition, the game allows for unlimited undos, and contains a Hint feature that will give you suggestions for your next move, as well a Shuffle feature that will rearrange the tiles when you get stuck.

The Mahjong Solitaire Holiday Edition gives you 10 different game board layouts to choose from and two special Holiday tile sets.

Jewels
A Best of 2011 Editors' Pick -- Discounted to $0.99 for a limited time (offer ends January 2)

Jewels is a matching game which will put your planning and pattern recognition skills to the test.

The rules of Jewels are simple: you swap adjacent jewels (horizontally or vertically) to create combinations of three or more jewels of the same type. Once matched, the jewels are removed and the remaining jewels above it slide down to take their place. The challenge comes when there are few potential matches to find, and you must pick your next move carefully or risk eliminating remaining matches when the jewels shift down. If that's not challenge enough, then consider playing the timed mode where you race against a relentlessly decreasing timer and each successful match adds just a bit of time back to the clock.

If you cannot find a match, use the Hint feature to show you the next move. The game keeps track of your ten best scores for both Easy and Timed modes, so you can see just how much the pressure of the timer affects your performance!

Electronic Arts Inc. has several of their Android apps on sale as well; although not at the same discount as the Kindle apps, most of these are a dollar less than the usual prices.

1. THE GAME OF LIFE ($2.99)
2. SCRABBLE (Kindle Fire Edition) ($1.99)
3. SimCity Deluxe (Kindle Fire Edition) ($3.99)
4. MADDEN NFL 12 by EA SPORTS ($1.99)
5. Worms ($1.49)
6. Bejeweled 2 ($1.99)
7. TETRIS ($1.99)

Mystery Castle: Winter's Night, by Runestone Games Limited, is currently half-price at 99 cents.

Game Description
Mystery Castle: Winter's Night is the sequel to the top-rated favorite Mystery Castle: Dawn of Illusion.

Monty is back and he's going to save the Holidays! An ice palace has appeared in the middle of the night and Monty the Wizard returns with 32 stages of puzzles and adventure in this new quest to defeat the nasty demon scaring the people and penguins of a small village. Slide across the ice in this winter wonderland, collecting the evil demon's magic crystals.

Find boxes to build bridges across the dark abyss, and clear the path ahead with giant bombs. Teleport to different areas with the magical staircases and reveal secret areas with the 'Eye of Truth'. Be careful you don't fall through the cracked floor!

Mystery Castle: Winter's Night is for people that like brainteasers, puzzles and adventure. Can you solve the mysteries of the castle and save the villagers? Monty is counting on you!

Braintonik Games has a few of their Kindle games marked down to 99 cents.

• Blossom Holiday Edition
• Futoshiki Holiday Edition
• Strimko

Picture Cross Christmas Edition ($0.99), by puzzle.tv

Game Description
Merry Christmas picture puzzlers! 100 all new festive-themed Picture Cross puzzles.

Starting with a grid of empty squares, Picture Cross gives you clues in each column and row with which you must work out whether each square in the grid is black or white. Find all of the black squares to reveal a festive picture. Detailed instructions and helpful tutorial are included, and a hint feature is available if you get stuck. Once finished, you can reset each puzzle so you can replay as many times as you like.

Picture Cross Christmas Edition includes 100 unique hand-made puzzles, each with a seasonal theme. Puzzles come in grids of various sizes, with 20 each of: 8 by 8, which are nice and easy, 10 by 10, 15 by 15, 20 by 20, and 25 by 25 which are very challenging!

The game features fast navigation, check marks and hidden puzzle names.

If you love Christmas and love logic puzzles, you'll love Picture Cross Christmas Edition on Kindle!

Holiday Word Search ($0.99), by Oak Systems Leisure Software

Game Description
Enjoy the classic Word Search game on your Kindle this holiday season.

Holiday Word Search includes 50 13x13 puzzles, each with a different delightful holiday theme. With categories from Songs and Movies to Road Trips, there is sure to be fun for all ages!

Your goal is to locate and mark off words in the grid using the 5 way controller or the touch screen. Each word appears in a straight line, horizontally, vertically or diagonally in the grid - but be careful, sometimes the words are backwards! Play at your own pace or against the clock and see who can get the fastest time for each puzzle. Pause partway through a puzzle and return to where you left it. You can reset each puzzle and try it again as many times as you like. If you get stuck on a more challenging puzzle then you can give up and see the correct solution.??

People who like Word Searches and Holidays will have a great time with this game on Kindle.

Ultimate Christmas Quiz ($0.99), by HandyX

Game Description
Take the Christmas quiz challenge and prove that you really have the festive spirit: Ho, ho, ho!

Test your knowledge of all things festive with this fun interactive quiz experience. Question topics include Christmas movies, stories, carols and popular music, interesting festive facts, food and drink and Xmas traditions from around the world. Featuring 500 questions, this fun and educational quiz will get you in the Christmas mood.

Answer sets of questions in rounds of 10, or in a continuous stream. If you think you know it all then crank up the tension with the question countdown timer for an even greater challenge. In the 'Timer Play' contestants in the hot seat are under increased pressure to correctly answer questions before the time runs out!

Be inspired by fascinating facts from Christmas past and wonderful carols that conjure up happy family days. This quiz is perfect for sharing with friends and family members, and as a fun Christmas party activity!

Christmas Cocoa Stand ($0.99), by Play Gray, might even teach your kids some math (but don't tell them, that).

Game Description
Christmas Cocoa Stand is a game of fun, luck, and skill inspired by classic 'Lemonade Stand'-style strategy and simulation games. Each day, you decide the number of cups to buy, the price, and the taste of your cocoa. You then find out how many people bought your cocoa, and how much money you made. Pay attention to the weather and to your customer feedback so you can make the right decisions. Invest your earnings back into your business by buying extras from the shop, including cocoa flavoring and color posters, that will help you sell even more the next day.

Christmas Cocoa Stand is fun for all ages, and a great game for the holidays. If you make the right decisions, you'll see your stand grow from simple beginnings to selling hundreds of cups to eager customers each day. If you're lucky, Santa may even stop by and give you a tip!

Snakes Christmas ($0.99), by Applications Innovations

Game Description
Snakes Christmas is a Christmas themed game where you control a constantly moving snake to collect Christmas items.

The game has two modes: Unlimited Play and Adventure Play.

Unlimited Play: Collect as many pellets as possible before your snake runs into its tail, a wall, or another stationary object. This becomes increasingly more challenging as your snake grows longer and longer with each item collected. Three difficulty modes (Easy, Medium, Hard) will increase the speed and growth rate of your snake.

Adventure Play: Become a Snake Master by completing all 40 levels, each with a different layout and a specific goal of items to collect.

If you like challenging retro-style video games with a Christmas theme, Snakes Christmas is for you.

Fivestar Holiday Memory Classic ($0.99), by JoyBits

Game Description
Greet the holidays with this special edition of Memory Classic, featuring brand new art and a Pass 'n' Play mode!

Fivestar Holiday Memory Classic is a fun matching and memory game for Kindle.

In Fivestar Holiday Memory Classic, you are challenged to find pairs of illustrations hidden beneath tiles on a game board. The game board starts at 2 tiles x 2 tiles for easy play, and progresses to 5x6 for a really challenging game.

There are three game modes with over 15 difficulty levels each. Take your time in Relaxed Mode, or race against the clock in Classic Mode. In the Arcade Mode you will need to clear the screen while new rows of tiles appear as the time passes. The Pass-n-Play mode designed to hold the tournaments between two real players on the same Kindle device. The leaderboard feature lets you compete against friends and family for the top spots in the Hall of Fame!

Stretch your memory with Memory Classic today.