Apps of the Week: Quetzcoatl, Swing Tale, Blippy, and more

Apps of the week

This is the last weekend before the holidays are in full swing. If family is coming to visit, you may not have the luxury of spending all weekend playing games on your iPhone. This weekend, make sure to take some time for yourself and check out all of the new titles the App Store has to offer. We’ve got a list of apps and games that might just keep you sane before the in-laws come trickling in.

Facebook Groups

Facebook Groups

At this point in the evolution of Facebook, you are probably already a member of some group. Whether it is the secret drummer society or a One Direction fan club, you are probably chatting with others about a particular subject. This app makes Groups a separate app that you can access much easier than the full mobile app. In it, you can check out status updates on groups you follow, discover new groups to join, or create your own group. The thing that makes this worthwhile for me is that I see so many status updates from friends throughout the day that I don’t get to see many of them, so Groups gives me the option of isolating just those pages to see what is going on. This app is available for free.

Football Manager Handheld 2015

Football Manager Handheld 2015

A new football season is coming. Sega has just released the 2015 roster so you can manage your team and take them to the finals. The 2-D Match Engine has been improved with better analysis. The Scouting Agent lets you watch players to see if you’d like to bring them over to your team. The Club Stats page has been as been updated with more details about the current and past seasons. Of course, the Achievements page is where you can keep track of your hard work. Who says you have to be a jock to love sports? This game is available for $9.99.

Earn to Die 2

Earn to Die 2

There is nothing more satisfying than mowing down a horde of undead in a souped up jalopy. In this racing sequel, players get to drive across the country, once again, to get to the evacuation ship. Instead of hitting the wide-open road, players must maneuver their way through a bustling zombie metropolis. You’ll also be able to stay above the skyline on highway overpasses, or delve into the subway system to smash your way through the walking dead. With 10 upgradable cares to choose from, you’ll be on your way to safety in no time. This game is available for $1.99.

Blippy

Blippy

If GIF responses are the new emoji, you’d better have your arsenal ready for war. This third-party keyboard app gives you thousands of curated GIFs to send right from within your iMessages app. Plus, search the Internet for any GIF you want and save it to the app. Then, favorite it so it will show up on your keyboard. You can also add your personal creations to share with others anytime you want. Add anything you want from your camera roll to create a GIF that can be added to the Blippy keyboard and used to respond to those silly remarks from your friends. This app is available for free.

Dumb Ways to Die 2: The Games

Dumb Ways to Die 2

In Melbourne AU, the metro system released a public service announcement to remind people that playing around trains is a bad idea. The “Dumb Ways to Die” campaign spawned a funny little mobile game staring the bean-like animated characters. Players must perform dangerous tasks, like pulling a piece of bread out of a toaster without getting electrocuted or dance around in a pond full of piranhas. This follow up title has more games, more danger, and all the fun of the first. In this Olympic-style sporting event, players must jump an electric fence, close all of the doors and windows, participate in curling with landmines, and more. This game is available for free.

Quetzcoatl

Quetzacoatl

This puzzle game will have you twisting and turning through nearly 200 complex levels. Players drag a snake across the game board into its matching color area. When there are multiple snakes on the board, you can’t cross them. So, you’ll have to plan their movements out in order to keep them from getting in each other’s way. Some snakes have multiple colors and you must figure out how to line them up correctly to their colors. As the game progresses, more snakes with more colors are added to the board. Plus new obstacles and challenges are introduced making it difficult to figure out how to get your snakes to their respective resting places. This game is available for $1.99.

Swing Tale

Swing Tale

Whether you have a green thumb or not, this game gives you the chance to make the flowers bloom. With mechanics similar to Cut the Rope, players help an adorable eyeball grab all the stars and plant itself right into it’s flower bed. Once it has landed softly on is bush, the colors will sprout. Swing from one target to the other by extending the eyeball’s tentacle. Then once in place, grab another target with a second tentacle and cut the first one so it will swing across the screen. Grab all of the stars before landing in the flowerbed for extra points. This game is available for $1.99.

More apps you should check out

These apps have been updated