App Reviews - Solitaire and 3 Hidden Objects

Abhi over at 7 Dragons Inc., whom I have known for a while and run into on some of the forums, asked if I would review a few of the newly released games that his company has been optimizing for the Kindle Fire and Fire HD platforms. Since I also have the older Nook Tablets, he agreed to also send over the Nook versions for comparison (I didn't fire up the Kindle Fire to compare non-HD versions, but I have no doubt they games will look similar to the way they do on the Nook Tablet). The B&N editions of these games support all of their tablet devices, from the original Nook Color up to the HD+, while the Amazon editions support all Kindle Fire models, from the original Fire up to both HD editions (I don't have a 2nd Edition Fire to check, but since it it nearly identical to the original Fire, which I do have, I would assume that it is supported, as well). The apps in neither store are supported on generic generic Android tablets or phones

Right now, they are also having a sale on these games, which are marked down to an even $1.00 (down from $4), for a limited time. For those with a Nook, you should be able to play the games in test mode for 1/2 hour (although I haven't tried this feature for these particular games) and you can also send an app as a gift to another account. Neither feature is available for those shopping in the Amazon Appstore, so they've come out with a special free version of the first app that allows you 15 minutes of play per day. Copies of all games reviewed below were provided to me by 7 Dragons.

Solitaire, Mahjong Solitaire, Spider Solitaire, 4 Rivers, FreeCell Solitaire, Memory Solitaire HD ($1.00 Amazon, B&N; Free Test Version Amazon)

This was definitely my favorite of the two apps. I played thru at least one game of each of the six include "mini-apps", any one of which I've seen for sale for dollar or more as stand-alone apps. You can jump into the menu options in the middle of a game and immediately change the background, face format and deck backs (for card games) and the changes take effect when you return to the game. You can get hints on any screen, if you can't figure out what to do next (or just want to verify there are no playable positions) and undo worked flawless when I tested it to move back thru several plays. When you finally give in (the solitaire games won't tell you that you've lost, so you have to quit), you have a choice of replaying the same game or starting over with a new hand.

For card games, the Solitaire game is the one you've played forever, both with cards or on your computer. Spider Solitaire adds the same game that many of us became addicted to on later Windows version and FreeCell rounds out the games that many an office worker has wasted some downtime playing. In addition to that, Memory Solitaire is a basic flip-2-and-match game, with many grid sizes available, along with other play options. The difficulty of play ranges from easy, on a small grid, to mind-twistingly difficult on a 13x4 grid (not enough challenge - play the infinite mode on the Insane level).

There are two tile games included, Mahjongg and 4 Rivers, which I had not played before. It works lot like Mahjongg, but you can match two tiles in the interior of the board, but you also must be able to "connect" matching tiles with a straight line that has no more than two right angle turns. Sounds simple, but can take a little extra strategy to make sure that you don't end up with blocked tiles.

This app made it to my Favorites list, right beside Cubistry, which I try to play once a day. No doubt the Memory Solitaire is the "best" for you (and is a lot cheaper than joining Luminosity, although it only works on one type of memory), but the Solitaire standards are the ones that I ended up playing over and over. FreeCell and Spider require you to use a bit more strategy to win, but that also means you aren't entirely at the mercy of the shuffle/deal, as you are in regular Solitaire. Overall, I'd give this one a 5 out of 5 stars - it's definitely worth a buck and will be staying on my Fire to play over and over.

App Details
Solitaire gives you - Autosave, Draw 3, Draw 1, Hints, Undo, 6 Card Front Designs, 12 Card Back Designs, 10 backgrounds, Best Score, Trophies.

Mahjong Solitaire gives you - 19 Tile layouts from Easy to Very Challenging, Every Game is Unique, Autosave, Realistic Tiles with shadows, Hints, Undo, 3 Tileset Designs, 3 Tile Colors, 7 backgrounds, Best Score, Best Time, Trophies.

Spider Solitaire gives you - Three Difficulty Levels (1 Suit, 2 Suits, 4 Suits), Autosave, Hints, Undo, 2 Spider themed Card Designs, 5 additional Card Designs, 12 Card Back Designs, 6 Spider themed backgrounds, 4 more backgrounds, Best Score, Best Time, Trophies.

FreeCell Solitaire gives you - Autosave, Hints, Undo, 6 Card Designs, 10 backgrounds.

Shared Features - Background Music, Game Sounds (can be turned off), easy and intuitive Touch & Drag gameplay.

3 Hidden Objects Adventures HD ($1.00 Kindle, B&N)

I told Abhi that Hidden Object games are not my favorite, but he sent this one over anyway. I won't say this one made me a fan, but it was quite playable in story mode. I played thru several scenes in one adventure (of three) on both the Nook Tablet and my Kindle Fire HD 8.9". I could actually see the objects easier (for the most part) on the Nook, but it was easier to move the image around after zooming in on the Kindle Fire. By default, the game starts in 15 item mode, so if you want to drop back to 5 object mode (which will give you more re-playability and faster moving between story line segments), be sure to do that before you get to the first object scene. You can change it after you start, but the switch won't take effect until the next scene. In 5-object mode, you also get one hint per scene, so use it wisely. Each scene is played against both a timer and has a minimum of 4 of 5 objects found in order to progress to the next story segment.

You'll note below that the app also needs quite a bit of space to download (those HD graphics are worth it), so plan on waiting up to 1/2 hour (we have slow DSL) after first opening the game to download the necessary files. After that first download, though, the game started up quite quickly and remembered where I was when I returned to continue. I ended up using the Zoom feature quite a bit and moved the image around on the Kindle Fire in order to track down some of the more sneakily placed items. Overall, I'd give this one a 4 out of 5 stars, simply because I thought some of the items were just too difficult to see. I didn't run into any glitches, hangups or slowdowns while playing (other than the Nook kept thinking I was randomly clicking, when I was trying to move the zoomed image, which I blame on the hardware, not the game) and you should definitely get quite a bit of playtime for the money (I played quite a while and was still on the first adventure).

3 Hidden Objects Adventures gives you three beautiful Hidden Objects Adventures in one great app.

3 Adventures, 158 scenes, 2,392 hidden objects. You will have a fun, challenging, and satisfying Hidden Objects experience.

Please Note: App needs 600 MB of free space on your NOOK (TM) to download the graphics.

Please Note: These Adventures only have Hidden Objects scenes (no mini games). These are not 'Very Easy' Hidden Objects Adventures with all items out in plain view. You might need to use Hints and the Zoom feature. For young kids you should turn on 'Extra Hints' and turn off the Timer.

Free & Bargain Book / Game Roundup

I'm just getting back in from the puppy's training class, so I'm tossing a few things into the same post - should be something for everyone, with free books, bargain books and games for Kindle and nook. If you are doing any shopping at Carina Press, be sure to use coupon code CARSP1011 to save $5 on purchase of $10 or more (expires 1/4/12; can be used more than once) and check out their 40% off Hidden Gems of 2011. For those of you who get audiobooks, Tantor Audio is having a 70% off sale on all of their MP3 downloads, thru Jan 2, 2012, as well as having a New Year, New You sale with 50% off selected CD's.

Get a free Kate Daniels novella, Magic Gift, from the Ilona Andrews' website and consider a second one on Kindle in the $2.99 anthology Magic Graves. The free one is DRM-free and in multiple formats (and even now in multiple fonts for PDF, as those getting a free book complained about the PDF).

Magic Gift
A dinner date after a hard day at work sounds heavenly. Of course, when that date is between the Beast Lord and Kate Daniels, things don’t go as planned. Before you know it, undead are running amok, heads are being chopped off, lawyers are deployed and used with extereme prejudice, and drunk vikings are calling people out.

Magic Graves
Jeaniene Frost's story, One for the Money, features vampires Cat and Bones trying to protect a spoiled heiress with a price on her head and an undead hitman on her trail. Previously published in Death's Excellent Vacation. Also includes the first three chapters from Jeaniene's story in The Bite Before Christmas anthology, as well as a sneak peek at ONCE BURNED, the first novel in the new Night Prince series.

Ilona Andrews' story, A Questionable Client, is a prequel to her award-winning Kate Daniels series. In a world beset by magic waves, Kate Daniels works as a mercenary. She is tired, hungry, and there is foul-smelling blood on her boots. All she wants to do is to go home, but when Mercenary Guild offers her a job she can't refuse, she finds herself protecting a man against Russian wizards. Previously published in Dark and Stormy Knights. Also includes first two chapters of FATE'S EDGE, book 3 in the Edge series, and first two chapters of Magic Grieves, a Kate Daniels novella.

SETUP ON FRONT STREET (Key West Nocturnes series), a self-published novel by Mike Dennis, looks interesting and has good reviews (and he did everything right to get a mention - he let me know ahead of time and made sure he has a number of solid looking reviews before attempting to offer the book for free at Amazon; I generally don't even look at the KDP books with no reviews or a single glowing one that looks like it was written by the author's parents). I won't guarantee it's a great read, but it's at least worth downloading to take a look.

Book Description
Key West, 1991. Don Roy Doyle is back in town. Tough and quick-witted, he's fresh out of prison, where he served three years for a diamond swindle. Now he's back to collect his share of the proceeds, about $200,000, but the money has vanished.

A local family dynasty which has controlled the island's politics for generations, a cop with a grudge, the FBI, and the Russian mob all have a stake in the action. They're convinced Cuba is on the verge of "opening up", and they all want Doyle gone.

In this tightly-knit town, who can be trusted? And how long can Doyle stay alive?

SETUP ON FRONT STREET is the first novel in Mike Dennis' Key West Nocturnes series. It takes you deep inside the world of Key West noir, a world tucked way back in the shadows, where the tourists never go.

It probably seems like you already have everything that Jack Kilborn/J.A. Konrath has written, but it turns out there are still a few more that he has to offer for free; this time, the list includes two short stories and a short novels with Ann Voss Peterson as co-author and two additional novellas.

Babe on Board - A Harry McGlade/Jack Daniels Mystery
Private detective Harry McGlade is on the prowl, looking for a one-night stand. Or, in McGlade's case, a five-minute stand.

When he finds a sexy lady at his local bar, he thinks he has a chance with her.

But she isn't alone. There's a guy with her. A guy with a gun whom she's desperately trying to get away from.

When the local mafia becomes involved with McGlade's tryst, things start going bad.

Then they go really bad when a baby comes into the picture. And the only one McGlade can turn to for help is his old partner, Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels.

Babe on Board is an 11,000 word novella (about 50 pages long), written by bestselling Kindle author J.A. Konrath, and romantic suspense author Ann Voss Peterson (who has over 3 million books in print.)

It's a hysterically funny, and sometimes poignant, look at sex, relationships, pregnancy, and fatherhood. It also has guns and violence and criminals and double-crosses and twists. Ann and J.A. are confident that it will appeal to fans of mysteries, thrillers, and even romance (as long as the reader keeps tongue firmly in cheek.)

Wild Night Is Calling
Wisconsin. Summer. Late at night.

Two teenage girls are picked up by two boys, who invite them back to their place to party.

But an innocent mistake turns the party into a nightmare, where nothing is what it seems...

Wild Night Is Calling is a 6000 word short story by thriller writer J.A. Konrath (Shaken, Trapped) and romantic suspense writer Ann Voss Peterson (A Cop in Her Stocking, Seized By The Sheik).

Exposed - A Thriller (Chandler Series)
She's an elite spy, working for an agency so secret only three people know it exists. Trained by the best of the best, she has honed her body, her instincts, and her intellect to become the perfect weapon.

CODENAME: CHANDLER

Before special operative Chandler was forced to FLEE, she executed the most difficult missions—and most dangerous people—for the government. So when she’s tasked with saving a VIP’s daughter from human traffickers, Chandler expects the operation to be by the numbers…until she uncovers a secret that will endanger the entire population of New York City, and possibly the world.

EXPOSED

Death is in her blood.

KILLERS - A Psycho Thriller
Guess who’s back?

A sequel two years in the making...

First there was SERIAL...

Acclaimed thriller writers Blake Crouch and Jack Kilborn pitted their skills against each other in a psychotic game of serial murder. Crouch wrote about Lucy, a hitchhiker who killed drivers. Kilborn wrote about Donaldson, a driver who killed hitchhikers. Then they brought their characters together and tried to slaughter one another on the page.

SERIAL has been downloaded over 350,000 times. The film rights have been optioned, and it is currently available as an ebook, in print in various collections, and forthcoming in audio.

Now comes KILLERS...

At the end of SERIAL, Donaldson and Lucy didn't die. When they each wake up in a hospital, under arrest for their crimes and guarded by the police, each burns with a single, overwhelming desire:

To escape and finish what they started.

The Screaming
Liverpool.

The 1960s.

Vampires.

An addict in need of a score decided to rob a house.

He picked the wrong house...

Gordon Ryan has both To Faithfully Execute (A Pug Connor Novel #3) and Destiny: The Callahans Book One free in the Kindle store.

To Faithfully Execute (A Pug Connor Novel #3)
Election Day is looming and the fate of a united America lies in the hands of its citizens. States are threatening to secede, politicians have their own agendas, and as rumors of treason rumble throughout the land, Pug Connor has a decision to make. He can continue to serve the country he loves and watch it break apart, or he can take matters into his own hands and change the course of history. He hates the man he is forced to become, but with stakes this high, he forges on, regardless the cost. His growing love for Senator Rachel McKenzie--and his fear regarding the possible loss of her respect--make his decisions much harder.

Pug's deputy director, Carlos Castro, faces no such conflict. He fully understands his nature: he is a stone-cold, instinctive killer, single-handedly seeking to rid the world of evil one terrorist at a time.

Destiny: The Callahans Book One
Fleeing an abusive father and a hopeless life in Ireland in 1895, nineteen-year-old Tom Callahan takes passage on a ship bound for America. On board, he meets Katrina Hansen, a young Norwegian woman traveling to Utah. It's not a likely match. The brash Irishman is a Catholic, a brawler and a young man without prospects. Katrina is a refined young woman, yet naive in the ways of the world. Lured into a polygamous marriage, she finds herself abandoned on a remote Mexican beach as the man she loves, unaware of her status, seeks his fortune in Alaska. Destiny is a sprawling historical novel set at the turn of the 19th century, played out in such far-flung places as New York City, the gold fields of Alaska and Old Mexico.

Saints Preserve Us, a Cozy Mystery (A Ronnie Lord Mystery, #1), by L.K. Ellwood, is free in the Kindle store, as is a short story, Seeking Cygnus.

Book Description
Winner of the Florida Writer’s Association Royal Palm Award for Best Mystery.

Where’s Lorena Alger? This is what everyone in Ash Lake, Florida is asking about their most famous resident…a young girl about to be canonized as a saint, a young girl who hasn’t moved from her grave in over 150 years. Now she is gone, and her grave is now occupied by the fresher corpse of the cemetery caretaker.

Great grandniece Ronnie Lord is determined to aid the town sheriff in Lorena’s safe return. She finds it isn’t an easy task when obstacles like a nosy reporter and stubborn relatives get in the way. Meanwhile, as an object of ransom tucked away in a single-wide trailer belonging to two petty thieves, Lorena is in for the adventure of her…well, death.

If you enjoy this book, be sure to check out the sequel, Pray for Us Sinners.

If you have an eInk Kindle, be sure to check out the Best Kindle Games & Active Content of 2011, as all 25 titles are currently marke down to 99 cents each.

1. Jewels, by Mobigloo
2. EA Solitaire, by Electronic Arts Inc.
3. SCRABBLE, by Electronic Arts Inc.
4. Mahjong Solitaire, by Mobigloo
5. Word Search, by Oak Systems Leisure Software
6. YAHTZEE, by Electronic Arts Inc
7. MONOPOLY, by Electronic Arts Inc
8. Slingo, by Gameblend Studios
9. Calendar, by 7 Dragons
10. Notepad, by 7 Dragons
11. Sudoku Unbound #1, by Puzzazz
12. Easy Calculator, by Mobigloo
13. EA Texas Hold'em, by Electronic Arts Inc.
14. SpongeBob's Treasure Quest, by Mobigloo
15. Hangman 4 Kids, by Sonic Boom
16. Maze A Thon, by A Gamz
17. NY Times Crosswords Vol. 1, by The New York Times
18. EA Sudoku, by Electronic Arts Inc
19. KenKen Vol. 1 Presented by Will Shortz, by Gameblend Studios
20. Jewel Quest Solitaire, by iWin
21. Choice of Broadsides, by Choice of Games
22. My Yoga Studio, by Nickel Buddy
23. Peg Solitaire, by Compulab
24. Wordoku Unbound #1, by Puzzazz
25. Strimko, by Braintonik Games

For those of you with a nookColor or nookTablet, you have an exclusive app available, Stroke Your Genius. This free app is a promotional gimick for a Showtime Networks show that's starting soon; the reviews are mixed - it's either love it or hate it, but it won't cost you anything to give it a try.

Book Description
STROKE YOUR GENIUS
MARTY'S GUIDE TO MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

In the management consulting biz, the currency is BS. Inspired by the new SHOWTIME® Original Series HOUSE OF LIES, this irreverent guide to the in-out-in-out of one of the business world's most lofty professions is sure to tickle all your bones. Ace consultant Marty Kaan packs the guide with flashy visuals, time-sucking games, and all the useless insight the field is known for. It's sure to be a worthy distraction from all your actual work.

Topics include:

• Selling Bulls**t to Bullsh**ters
• Those You F**k and Those You F**k Over
• Making the Unthinkable Billable
• Dressing to Kill It!
• My Way or the Unemployed Way
• And More!

With this handy guide at your fingertips, you'll be ready to take corporate America by storm, while taking them for all they're worth. It's business, grow a pair.

Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Sanction ($1.99), by Eric Van Lustbader

Book Description
Jason Bourne returns to Georgetown University and the mild world of his alter ego, David Webb, hoping for normalcy. But after so many adrenaline-soaked years of risking his life, Bourne finds himself chafing under the quiet life of a linguistics professor.

Aware of his frustrations, his academic mentor, Professor Specter, asks for help investigating the murder of a former student by a previously unknown Muslim extremist sect. The young man died carrying information about the group's terrorist activities, including an immediate plan to attack the United States.

The organization, the Black Legion, and its lethal plot have also popped up on the radar of Central Intelligence, where new director Veronica Hart is struggling to assert her authority. Sensing an opportunity to take control of CI by showing Hart's incompetence, National Security Agency operatives plan to accomplish what CI never could-hunt down and kill Bourne.

In Europe, Bourne's investigation into the Black Legion turns into one of the deadliest and most tangled operations of his double life-the pursuit of the leader of a murderous terrorist group with roots in the darkest days of World War II-all while an assassin as brilliant and damaged as himself is getting closer by the minute . . .

The Perfect Assassin ($0.99), by Ward Larsen

Book Description
One perfect shot will change the course of history. Christine Palmer, a young American doctor sailing solo across the Atlantic, makes an incredible discovery - a man narrowly clinging to his life in the frigid waters. But there is much more to this desperate survivor than meets the eye.David Slaton is a Kidon - a highly-trained, highly-precise, and highly-dangerous assassin. The Kidon is both the hunter and the hunted, and he and Christine are in grave danger. Will they win in this race against time?With the precision of a sharpshooter, author Ward Larsen weaves an intricate tale of espionage and intrigue.

Manhattan In Reverse: And Other Stories ($4.99), by Peter F. Hamilton, is now available to pre-order. You can still get the single story If at First . . . for free.

Book Description
A major collection of short fiction from Peter F. Hamilton, New York Times bestselling author of Pandora’s Star, The Dreaming Void, and many other epic science fiction novels—including a brand-new novella starring detective Paula Myo

Fans of the Commonwealth Saga will enjoy the return of Paula Myo, the genetically engineered police investigator whose single-minded pursuit of justice runs up against a postwar citizenry eager to forget old crimes. In the all-new novella “Manhattan in Reverse,” Paula is dispatched to the backwoods planet of Menard after a docile, supposedly nonintelligent alien species attacks peaceful human settlers. Menard may have to be evacuated—something the planet’s corporate owners and human populace are prepared to resist . . . perhaps with targeted aggression.

Violence hits closer to home in “The Demon Trap” in which Paula’s investigation of a gruesome act of terrorism leads into unexpected political, technological, and philosophical waters, threatening the course of human evolution.

Time travel has never been so tricky—or so deadly—as it is in “If at First . . .,” in which Metropolitan Police detective David Lanson finds himself matching wits with a sociopath who might very well be from the future . . . or, at least, a future.

“Blessed by an Angel” is set in the Commonwealth Universe of the Void trilogy and features an alien visitor who offers the local human population a chance at paradise. But one species’ paradise may be another’s hell.

Three other thrilling pieces round out the collection—and showcase Peter F. Hamilton’s ability to weave scientific speculation into very human storytelling.

Publisher Angry Robot has 30 titles currently discounted to $2.99, including Embedded, by Dan Abnett and Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes.

Embedded
HE'D DO ANYTHING TO GET A STORY. When journalist Lex Falk gets himself chipped into the brain of a combat soldier, he thinks he has the ultimate scoop - a report from the forbidden front line of a distant planetary war, live to the living rooms of Earth. When the soldier is killed, however, Lex has to take over the body and somehow get himself back to safety once more... broadcasting all the way.

Heart-stopping combat science fiction from the million-selling Warhammer 40,000 author.

Zoo City
WHERE NO ONE ELSE DARE VENTURE…

Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty online 419 scam habit – and a talent for finding lost things. But when her latest client, a little old lady, turns up dead and the cops confiscate her lastpaycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job: missing persons

An astonishing second novel from the author of the highly-acclaimed Moxyland.

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.

Free nookColor App - Minesweeper

Here's something I don't find very often: a free game for the nookColor! Minesweeper, by Toy Studio LLC, has been temporarily reduced to free in the nookColor app store. For those with a Kindle, it's version of Minesweeper is still free and there are quite a few versions in the Amazon App Store (for Android).

Game Description
The classic word game of Minesweeper is now available on your NOOK Color™ by Barnes & Noble. With 3 types of difficulty levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced you will have hours and hours of addicting and fun gameplay. You won't want to put it down! Experience for yourself why hundreds of players love this addicting game. Enjoy an AD-FREE game of Minesweeper in the car, at home, or on the go.