Ski Safari

Ski Safari is a $0.99 iOS game by Defiant Development. In the game, you are asleep in your cabin on a mountain when suddenly an avalanche knocks you out of bed. To avoid the avalanche, ski as fast as you can and avoid rocks and icicles. Like Temple Run, the level goes on forever, and the only thing that can stop you is the avalanche.  If you can, catch a ride on a yeti, penguin, eagle, or even a snowmobile, each with different advantages. To higher your score, do backflips There are ranks you can get as you advance. You go up one by accomplishing a number of tasks, such as riding 3 penguins, jumping off 3 roofs, etc. You can collect coins and buy costumes, gizmos, and power-ups in the shop. I haven't found anything bad about this game, the look and sound is great. I give it 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 and up.

Flick Golf

Flick Golf is a $0.99 (iPad version is also $0.99) game by Full Fat. It isn't regular golf, but is instead more like target practice. You flick the ball with your finger with as much force as you want, making it fly towards the hole. While the ball is in midair, you can swipe to adjust the speed and direction. The goal is to get as many points as you can by getting as close to the hole as possible. If possible, you can get the ball in the hole, giving you a time boost. There are three different modes, Quickshot, World Tour, and Quickshot Pro. In Quickshot, you have 60 seconds to score as much as you can. In Quickshot Pro, you only have 30 seconds. However, you can get more time by getting the ball in the hole or very close to it. In world tour, you have a limit of 9 shots. The are many different environments to play on, and they are all unique and have different difficulties. It does lack some variety, and it may get a little boring quickly. I give it 4 stars and recommend it for ages 7 and up.

Flight Control

Flight Control is a $0.99 ($4.99 iPad) game by Firemint. In the game,you are presented with map of an airport and the surrounding area. Airplanes start to come in from the side of the screen, so you have to draw a path to a runway. There are several different aircraft, each one with a specific run way. As the game progresses, you start to encounter more and more problems. As planes fill up the screen, you have to adjust the paths, or else the planes (or helicopters) will crash and then the game is over. The goal is to land as many aircraft as you can before a collision. The gameplay is simple, intuitive, and quick to understand, but it gets more frustrating as more and more aircraft cluttter the screen. However, there are a range of maps to choose from which range from easy to hard. There is also a multiplayer mode that joins your map with other peoples', so if you don't have room for any more planes you can just send them off the screen. I like the fact that you can just pick up and play whenever you feel like it. I give it 5 stars and recommend it for ages 7 and up.

Subway Surfers

Subway Surfers is a free game by Kiloo and Sybo Games. It is a fun, free game, similar to Temple Run, reviewed here. In it, you control a variety of characters who  have been caught spray painting a subway car. To outrun the track inspector and his dog, you must run along the subway tracks, avoiding obstacles like subway cars and bushes. To unlock more characters, find or buy mystery boxes all with tokens that, if you collect enough of them, unlock new characters. Another way to unlock more characters is to collect coins that you find while running. The coins can also use to buy head starts, mystery boxes (which give you items, tokens, trophies, and coins), hover boards (which give you invincibility), and allow to skip missions. You can find various power-ups as you run, like jetpacks and coin magnets. You can purchase upgrades for these power-ups with coins. The only downside is that ads pop up from time to time. I rate it 4 stars and recommend it for ages 7 and up.

Minecraft: Pocket Edition

Minecraft: Pocket Edition is a $6.99 game by Mojang AB. Minecraft is all about surviving. You start out with nothing, in the middle of a blocky, randomly-generated world. You start of with the basics, wood, crafting table, tools. As the day runs by, you must construct a shelter, light it up, and prepare yourself for night. At night, the zombies come. In later updates, skeleton archers, huge spiders, and more hostile monsters will be added as well. As you mine and better tools made of iron and diamond, you build. Anything that you do is up to you, making the game have endless possibilities. If surviving is  to challenging, there is a creative mode that gives you as much of any block you want, as well as flying. For those that are fans of the computer version of minecraft, you may want to hold out, because many of the computer features are missing. However, new updates will bring new features in the long run, so I give it 4 stars and recommend it for ages 8 and up.

Cut the Rope

Cut the Rope is a $0.99 ($1.99 for iPad) game by Chillingo. The goal of the game is to deliver a piece of candy to Om Nom, a monster that arrives at your door and wants candy. Feed Om Nom by cutting ropes and avoiding obstacles. Every level has three stars to collect, and the more you collect the more levels you unlock. As you progress, new gameplay elements are introduced, such as spikes, which destroy the candy, air bags, which push the candy around, and many, many more. These elements add more of a challenge, but also make the game more fun. Since the game is physics based, it requires great skill and timing to win each level. Sometimes it is extremely frustrating to win a level, but that is only a small problem for a otherwise great game. I give it 4.5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 and up.

Fruit Ninja

Fruit Ninja is a $0.99 ($2.99 for iPad) game by Halfbrick Studios. In the game, various fruits fly up from the bottom of the screen. The point of the game is to slice the fruits before they fall to the bottom of the screen. There are several different modes to the game, each one with different features. In classic mode, you have to slice as many fruits as you can before hitting a bomb or missing three fruits, both which end the game. In arcade mode, you have a time limit of 60 seconds. In this mode there are power up bananas that slow down time, double your score, or unleash a frenzy of fruit, but be wary of bombs that take away 10 points whenever you slice them. In zen mode, you have a time limit of 90 seconds, there are no bombs and misses don't count against you. There is a multiplayer mode where you can compete against friends. This is played wirelessly on the iPod and spit-screen on the iPad. It is a fun game which gets more challenging the longer you play. I recommend it for ages 5 and up and give it 5 stars.

Doodle Jump

Doodle Jump is a $0.99 game by Lima Sky. In the game, you control Doodle the Doodler who climbs higher and higher by jumping on platforms. You move him across the screen by tilting your device back and forth, tapping the screen to destroy monsters by blasting nose balls. You can also destroy the monsters by jumping on top of them. There are a wide variety of platforms, form those that collapse when you jump on them to those that explode when you jump on them. Black holes in the background may suck you up if you aren't careful. Every update brings new power ups and more worlds to play on. I recommend it for ages 3 and up and give it 5 stars.

Osmos

Osmos is a $2.99 ($4.99 for iPad) game by Hemisphere Games. In the game, you control a mote, a blue circle that moves around by ejecting matter. However, whenever you eject matter you grow smaller, so you must use it wisely. As you propel yourself around the   world, you encounter motes smaller than you, which are blue, and motes bigger than you, which are red. Your objective is to grow by absorbing smaller motes. As you progress, you enconter obstacles like antimatter, which destroys any matter (including your mote) around it, and other sentient life which has the same objective as you: to grow bigger. All this, as well as a new multiplayer mode, makes this game great. I give it 5 stars and recommend it for ages 10 and up.

Where's My Water?

Where's My Water? is a free puzzle game by Disney. In the game, you direct water from a pipe by digging tunnels through the dirt. Your goal is to get the water to Swampy the Alligator, who wants to take a bath. Along the way, you can pick up rubber ducks and collectibles. Obstacles such as toxic waste (which infects water, making it toxic) and algae (which grows on water, blocking its path) can harm you or help you depending on how you use them. As you progress, new obstacles and challenges are introduced. Level packs can be purchased if you want more levels, but it would take a while to complete the included ones anyways. I give it 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 and up.

Ramps

Ramps is a puzzle game by Backabit that costs $1.99. In the game, you have to move and rotate ramps so you can get a ball to the cup at the end of the level. It may sound simple, but the further you progress the harder it gets, as the game introduces more obstacles. It also has achievements and challenges that you can go back to get. However the elves may fell a bit repetitive after a while. I still think you get your money's worth, so i give it 4 stars and recommend it for ages 6 and up.

Kosmo Spin

Kosmo Spin is a $0.99 game by Simogo. In the game you control a character that has to save breakfast food from an evil alien by running around a planet. You control this by spinning the pant around, collecting for, stoping balls from hitting the planet, and avoiding beams fired by the alien. There are included quests that add an extra challenge to the game. It is a fun, simple game, and a recommend it for ages 5 and up. I give it 4 stars because it takes a little bit to get used to the controls, but it doesn't drag down an otherwise great game.

Tiny Wings

Tiny Wings is a $0.99 game by Andreas Illiger which is, to say the least, highly addictive. In the game, you control a bird that flys by sliding down hills to fly up them again, making you accelerate . The further you get the harder it gets, making it a fun challenge. An iPad version of the game adds multiplayer, which idles a great feature. All in all, this is a really great game. I recommend it for all ages and give it 5 stars.

Little Writers

Little Writers is a free app by Alligator Apps. The premise of the app is to trace various words, letters, and shapes on your device. After you complete tracing the word, letter,or shape, a voice reads out what you just traced. You can customize the words and add your own, as well as adding pictures to go along with it. I give it 4.5 stars because it does not allow customization of the exact order of words. I recommend it for ages 2 and up.

Sushi Monsters

Sushi Monsters is a free game by Scholastic which consists of a monster that needs to eat a certain amount of sushi. The monster is surrounded by plates of sushi, each numbered differently. For example, if the sushi monster wants 5 sushi, you would tap the plate labeled 2, and the one labeled 3. As the levels progress, they get more challenging, and you are also able to play a multiplication mode, with the same basic prospect of the addition one. It proves  great at improving on addition and multiplication skills. I would recommend this game for ages 5 and up and I give it 5 stars.

Temple Run

Temple Run is a free game by Imangi Studios which consists of several characters that run from monkeys while dodging obstacles and collecting coins. With these coins you can buy power-ups that allow abilities like invisibility and boost, as well as new characters. Coins can also be purchased with real money (in-app purchases) but this can be disabled in the settings of your device. It is very easy to play and fun to set and beat high scores. There  is some violence in the game, such as running into trees, falling off ledges, etc. but no other violence is present. It is a fun, addicting game and I give it 4.5 stars and recommend it for ages 7 and up.