/via John Gruber.

Good weekend for games.

Shaun Inman, who just released The Last Rocket for iOS, put together a quick game called Data Entry Sentry that works on an iPad (or any Webkit browser). Fun to play. I don’t know where he gets the energy.

Since posting about the iPhone apps that I use most I’ve had a few requests to do the same for the iPad. So, here are the iPad apps that I use most.

• Mail.app. I check, read, and write email on the iPad every single day. I actually prefer using the iPad to my computer for email. It forces me to be succinct and makes email fun again.
• Reeder. With Reeder on my iPhone, Mac and iPad I am able to keep up-to-date with my Google Reader account whenever I have time to read. In bed, on the go, and at my desk. Out of the three Reeder for iPad is the best.
• Instapaper. I tend not to use Instapaper on the iPhone all that often but I use it quite a bit on the iPad.
• Twitter for iPad. The Twitter application for iPad is better than any desktop or mobile application. It is just about every feature you could need or want.
• Dropbox. I share files between my iPad, iPhone and Mac using Dropbox more than any other way. And, having Notational Velocity + SimpleNote storing documents within my Dropbox share makes it easy for all of my devices to be wirelessly synced.
• SimpleNote. The only way I keep notes on my iPad/iPhone.
• Numbers and Pages. I use both of these applications fairly often. I bought them thinking that I would only open them occasionally but it turns out that having a real word processor and spreadsheet application is very handy.
• iThoughtsHD. I give a fair number of speeches and I like to use mind mapping for my speech outlines. On the go I use iThoughtsHD to put these maps together.
• VLC. Getting video into iTunes into the Videos app on the iPad is an exercise in frustration sometimes. VLC will playback just about any video and adding them to the iPad is a snap.
• Google Books. I read my books in Google Books so that I don’t have to buy books more than once (iBooks only works on iPad/iPhone).
• Angry Birds. The only game I keep on the iPad.

These are the applications that I use the most. I’m a fairly “light” applications user in that I spend a lot of time in a small amount of applications – rather than a little amount of time in a lot of applications. I see other people’s iPads and I wonder how they can possibly keep everything straight with so many applications.

There are, however, some applications that I use from time-to-time that deserve honorable mention. Flipboard, NPR, iSilo, iPod. Also, Devour.com is a great way to watch video on the iPad.

*Update 08/30/2011:* I failed to mention in this post that I use the core iPad applications (the apps that ship with the iPad by default) all the time. Safari, Mail, Maps, Music (iPod), Calendar – I use them all and often.

If you have any suggestions for applications that you think I would enjoy please feel free to send them along. My email address is on the front page of my site.

It seems everyone is playing Oregon Trail online.

Quite possibly the most impressive emulator I’ve seen in recent memory. Super Mario Crossover allows you to play Super Mario using Mario, Mega Man, Link and more – all with their own individual controls, sounds and gameplay. Superb.

/via Chris Coleman.

Many of the third-party iPad applications I’ve seen so far have me wishing that I wasn’t so sure that I’m not getting one. Game Table for iPad is no exception. It includes Checkers, Chess and a deck of cards (and some chips) for only $.99.

I love this bit.

“Game Table is not a video game. There is no “logic” built into these games. Game Table simply provides brilliantly designed game tables and game pieces along with an extremely intuitive and fun way for you and your friends to interactive with them. It’s so intuitive, you might even forget you’re not playing on a real table.”

/via Cameron Moll.

A few more hands before our friend Burke goes away for two months.

This was my first game of Risk ever. What a perfect day for playing a game!

Sometimes Eliza and I like to treat ourselves.

Playing with Eric and Terry. I love this game.

There goes a few hours.

To help out, here is a link to their new game for the iPhone – Pickin’ Time.

Random 60: Game systems | Favorite on Viddler.

As it stands I have, setup and working, an original Nintendo, Xbox 360 (which I use for Connect360), and a Nintendo Wii. The Wii is slowly replacing the original Nintendo completely while the 360 ends up being my media center more than my gaming console.

I never play games on my computer anymore, though I only played games on computers when I was a Windows user. I do play games on my iPhone but only when I have nothing else to do. Papijump!

Somewhere around here I have a Playstation too.

How many video game systems do you own? Do you use them?

I’m not very much into playing “mindless” board or card games that rely on the right card falling at the right time. Which is probably why I enjoy playing Poker so much. It isn’t about the cards at all, really. Once the game of Poker is learned, and you’ve played a few times to get used to the flow, you begin to play the people instead of the cards.

I’ve only played Bridge twice. It is at the same time both incredibly fun to play and really, really complex to the point of nearly being frustrating. If you do not enjoy games that have a lot of rules, styles, and even unwritten rules – you will not like Bridge.

While Poker is a game of trying your best not to communicate your hand to others Bridge is the opposite. Your primary objective, being a game of partners, is communicating your hand to others using bidding styles. Bidding style choices really matter between team mates but, really, it ends up being critical to anyone playing at the table. If different bidding styles are at play one could easily come to the wrong conclusion about another player’s hand – whether that player is your teammate or opponent. While there is a variety of styles there are some ‘standard styles’ that are typically practiced.

Which, for me, is where a lot of the initial frustration comes in. Playing with someone that is much more skilled and experienced with Bridge means that by communicating the wrong message to your teammate you could, and probably will, sabotage that player’s ability to help you win. Make the wrong bid at the wrong time and, unwittingly, you will tell your partner that you have a strong or weak hand. Are you following the rule of fives? Are you using a point system? Are you bidding based on feel?

Obviously communication is needed between teammates prior to the game even starting. But even then misinterpretation runs rampant. (Or at least it has for this beginner.) I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken too long to bid and ended up sending the wrong message because of it. Yes, taking too long to bid is a form of communication too.

It is madness!

Again, I’ve only played twice. Which is why I’m not getting into any of the rules about the game here at all. Nor suggesting any type of strategy or gameplay that I could recommend based on results. I’m simply stating that, although it can be frustrating at times, I’m slowly learning to play Bridge and I’m finding it enjoyable.

Thanks to my friend Dave Oberheu for his patience in teaching all of us to play.

But there is more. id is releasing the source code for the game. (See link at the bottom of this page.) And John Carmack, the brains behind nearly every id project for the last several decades, wrote about his experiences with development on the iPhone.

Via: John Gruber.

I remember one of my favorite activities while in the fourth grade was playing Oregon Trail – on a Macintosh – whenever possible. It forced you to make choices, to read, to do math, to learn a little about geography and the limits of what humans can be asked to do. Oregon Trail, for many people my age, is one of the classic games we’ll never forget.

Well, now you can play Oregon Trail online, for free – right in your browser.

Source: Play Oregon Trail online.
Via: Justin Blanton.

The gameplay is great. The game has no “controller” interface, as with most well-done iPhone games, but there is an amazing attention to detail in Rolando. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch – this is a game that I highly recommend you buy immediately.

Source: Rolando.

Weighing in at a 13.7mb zip file this update has been one I’ve anticipated for a very long time.  Upon launching Delicious Library 2 I was prompted to update my OS to the latest version.  I didn’t even know I wasn’t running the latest version!  I’m guessing the Delicious Monster crew had to wait until 10.5.3 was released to get this out.

I’ll write more about Delicious Library 2 later – for now, just go grab a copy.

Source: Delicious-Monster.com

Update 8:56am EST:  Turns out that Wil may have jumped the gun here.  According to Software Update, 10.5.3 hasn’t been fully baked yet, or at least it hasn’t been released yet.  It doesn’t appear on the Apple downloads site for Mac OS X updates yet either.

All in?

Thought I’d share some photos of a recent crushing by us guys.

Guy’s first turn

Chris chops a word

Chris thinking

James’ “windshield”

Me trying

Victory

The guys win at Pictionary

You might be wondering why there are no photos of the girls? Well, if women have control over the camera the entire night, you seldom end up with photos of them. This will have to change the next time around.

Update: I just realized I’m wearing a shirt from Threadless called “My Life is a Game“. Haha.

Great job Chris and James, we showed them.

[tags]games, pictionary, chris fehnel, colin devroe, james paul, photos[/tags]