Favorite iPhone Games for Kids

I'm no iPhone evangelist. I acknowledge it's groundbreaking technology, it's extremely useful, fun, beautiful, etc., etc., but I can't seem to get past what it does to its owners. I'll spare you the full-on soapbox, but I believe that people's love affairs with their iPhones -- complete with the stroking and the fawning and the moon-eyed gushing -- tend to interfere with their real-life activities. Things like walking. Looking at people. Noticing what's happening right next to them. The iPhone is just TOO fun and useful. It competes a little too successfully with real life.


 I begin this post with a mini-rant because I want to be absolutely clear: I'm not one of those people who answers 80% of the questions put to me with "There's an app for that!" Oh, no. I think kids need LESS screen time, not more. They need to fill those boring little life interstitials -- the times when they have to wait in line or tolerate a long drive -- with the stuff of imagination. Or with nothing. Pure and simple nothing, so they can fully BE where they are.



BUT.



I'm also not an all-or-nothing parent. There are times when we need a quick fix. We need five minutes of peace. We need the squirminess/bickering/whining/noise to stop. Now. We need go-to entertainment that will do its job. And for those times, the iPhone fits the bill.



There are hundreds of games that not only entertain but teach. (My notion of "learning" extends beyond academic skills; I think an entertaining game that teaches kids about comic timing is as educational as a flash card app.) Sharing games with your kids can be a great way to pass the time, and you're more likely on the iPhone (as opposed to a portable game system) to find games that appeal to both of you. Plus, it's a lot less painful to pay a buck or two for a game as opposed to $25 or more for a game cartridge. In fact, many of the games listed here come free on the Web or as a "lite" version.



And so here, in no particular order, are some iPhone games to get you started. You can find them all in the Apple iTunes App Store:




For the little ones:



Crush the Castle ($.99): Fun physics game

Sneezie ($.99, Lite version free): Bubble popping + cute

Scoops ($.99): Catch the ice cream scoops!

Pocket God ($.99): For those of you with delusions of grandeur

Spin Art ($.99): Endlessly fascinating color effects

Wood Puzzle ($.99): Brings chunky wooden "fit the shape" puzzles to the screen

DoodleBuddy (free): Free-form fun

Fluid (free): Touch and see the liquid surface of your iPhone move. Cool!

Preschool Adventure ($.99): Numbers, colors, shapes, matching, body, sound

BubbleWrap (free): free. Pop, pop, pop!

MadLibs (free): The best grammar-teacher out there, and a natural game to share.

Slide-a-ma-jig ($.99): Sliding game where kids create their own characters.

JellyCar (free): My son says this is SO fun.



For the whole family:



Bejeweled ($2.99, free play on the Web): Addictive pattern matching game

Plants vs. Zombies ($2.99): The most popular suggestion; 2009 Game of the Year

Strategery ($1.99, Lite version free): World domination!

Fantastic Contraption ($4.99, free play on the Web): Build a contraption that moves to a goal!

Talking Carl ($.99): a cute iPhone "buddy" that repeats what kids say in a funny voice, among other things. Good for car rides or other times when a little noise is ok.

Hipstamatic ($1.99): Awesome app that turns your iPhone into an old film camera, with resultant photographic effects

Fling ($.99, free version also available): Deceptively easy puzzle game

EliasZOO ($1.99): Farm animal game for the little ones

Wheels on the Bus ($.99): A digital story book that never fails to entertain little kids



No time to download? There's also YouTube (with supervision, of course), podcasts from Sesame Street, the Calculator (the best free math game around), and the Camera. Those should keep the kids busy until your next iTunes session.



If you're looking for more ideas, here are some great resources that will keep you clicking for hours:

• 
 GeekDad regularly covers iPhone apps and games. You'll always get smart pointers here.
•  Babble did a fantastic survey of the best iPhone apps for kids.
•  Jamie at Travel Savvy Mom offers her best game suggestions.
•  And here are Matt Haughey's.
•  Mashable's coverage. 
•  And Slate's. I like how the author referred to the iPhone as the "Swiss Army knife of mobile    parenting." 

 
With special thanks to the Twitter friends who shared their favorite games: 

@geekmomma
@bElzzaBub
@michaelwendell
@mchristi
@melissasummers
@odp101
@coolmompicks
@semaphoria
@MamaChockley
@conedude13
@soapboxmom
@mombloggersclub
@byteofgreen
@finslippy
@fitzwillie
@wizzyrea
@heitchue
@fields





Top image credit: Ricky Romero

And what about you? Do you have a favorite iPhone game I didn't mention here?
What about Android games? Please tell us in the comments!

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Asha Dornfest is the founder of Parent Hacks -- where savvy parents swap clever, often unconventional, parenting tips. Here's the practical, real-world stuff you'll never find in an "expert" book. Featured in Real Simple, Parents, and PC Magazine.