15 Minutes Of Game – Week One
There was a day when my body and the couch could be one for more than 24 hours. Time allowed me to pour hundreds of hours into Skyrim making my follower pick up thousands of pounds of junk to sell later. These days i’m far more busy and console gaming has become a bit of a rare treat. A treat like eating a real macaron, or finding out you overpaid your therapist and they’re sending you a check in the mail. Most days i’m left to the vices of my ‘one update behind‘ iPhone 6s plus while I’m on the go. This is the first issue of 15 Minutes Of Game; a weekly list of 5 mobile games that are easy to play on a work break, at the doctor’s office, or in the bathroom while you’re visiting your in-laws. With no further ado, these are the top 5 mobile games for this week.
Bacon The Game – free –
Pretty fresh on the market, this masterpiece has already stirred up talk. This free game is as addicting as the real food. The goal of the game is simple: flip a piece of bacon from a frying pan onto random objects. Flip bacon onto a pig. Flip bacon onto lines of code from the game. Make Sir Francis Bacon, the iPhone “Bacon would like to access the camera” notification box, and many other hilarious levels look better with bacon on them. Landing the bacon on certain levels like #17 or “ketchup” is more challenging than it seems. Be careful where you’re tapping or you will hit the ad at the bottom like i kept doing. It’s the most fun you can have with bacon besides eating it so do as Rhett and Link say. Rub some bacon on it.
The Knights Of Pen And Paper – $4.99 –
I was directed towards this game by our our fearless editor in chief. This turn-based D&D style game is amazing to say the least. The game starts with 5 empty chairs across the table from the “Master” who reads you through the story. Additional masters, tables, tabletop items, and room decorations can all be purchased with in-game gold. Each item gives a bonus (stats, extra gold, extra XP, etc) that can be used for each new game started after. The character selection options involve playing as Grandma, Little Brother, ET, Woofie, Jock, and more. Class sets are pretty standard, pulling from the MMORPG genre, I found the ranged damage classes were once again my favorite. The story is funny and wittily self-referential, making fun of its own story line at times. Games like this that allow gold and certain purchased items to transfer from different save slots will always hold a special place in my heart. With a price point cheaper than a gallon of California gas, this is a winner in my opinion.
Organ Trail: Director’s Cut – $2.99 –
The Oregon Trail meet zombies. The game takes a minute or two to set up, but once you’re on the road in your sweet, sweet station wagon the nostalgia begins to come back. After the apocalypse, you find yourself headed westward in a hatchback filled with other survivors in your group. Campsites are found that you can choose to loot, partially loot, or leave alone for when the occupants come back. Leaving the car affords the opportunity to go hunting for food while fending off zombies in 8 bit graphics. If you liked fording rivers and stopping at outposts to buy supplies but also like slaughtering the undead, then this is one i’d recommend. This game is a little more involved than others on this list, but it’s worth it to have it your repertoire.
Evoland – $4.99 –
In a world of mobile games that all seem the same, this one stuck out to me as a diamond in the rough. You start off only being able to walk right to a chest. Opening it allows the ability to walk left to another chest that allows additional free movement. Each chest opens new abilities like scrolling screens, sound effects, music, 3D graphics, playstation style loading screens, and more. It is stylized beautifully and true to the original sources. Advancing through the game is pure nostalgia from the 90s onward. This is an original take on gaming as you play through the history of video game technology and one of my favorite ways to pass a few minutes here and there.
MinuteQuest – free –
This 2D side-scrolling adventure game is fun even if you only have a couple minutes to spare in a waiting room. I hope you are ready to die. A lot. In fact, that’s sort of the point of this game. Leaving the castle starting point, all that there is to do is run forward and attack. A monster will kill you and you end up back in the castle. The king will pay you for each monster killed until he….stops paying you with money. Head back out of the castle and do it again leveling up, adding to your stats, and purchasing weapons or armor. Dying repeatedly has never been more fun for free.
