Try Not To Smile, Stairforce, Threader, and other apps to check out this weekend

This week’s edition of our Apps of the Week roundup features an app that tries to make you smile, an app that tries to make you healthier, and an app for Twitter threads. And as always, we’ve selected two great new games for you to check out.

Try Not To Smile

Try Not To Smile is exactly what it sounds like: an app that aims to get you to laugh. You select a category of funny videos—such as NSFW, Kids, Fails, etc.—and start watching. Using your iPhone’s front-facing camera, the app can tell when you begin to start smiling/laughing. The longer you make it, the higher your name will sit on the leaderboard. You can even record and share your reactions. Early reviews complained of inaccurate smile detection, but a recent update claims to have improved it. Either way, it’s a free app and worth checking out. Try Not To Smile is available for free.

Stairforce

Stairforce is a fun app that attempts to gamify a healthy habit—you guessed it—taking the stairs. Simply download the app, put your phone in your pocket and walk up a flight of stairs. You’ll notice the app is not just merely counting the steps, but it’s telling you how close you are to reaching space, with fun milestones along the way. Climb 256 meters? You’ve passed the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. You can even challenge friends on Facebook to see who can reach space faster. If you’re looking for a way to stop taking elevators, check this app out. Stairforce is available for free.

Threader

Treader is a Twitter client of sorts that aims to make it easier to discover and read popular threads on the social network. For the uninitiated, a thread—also known as a Tweet storm—is a series of tweets strung together to tell a story or validate an argument. Threader helps you discover a great selection of threaders every day. You can then open them into an easy-to-read single page view or bookmark them to read later. There’s even an extension to display a thread directly from Twitter. Whether you’re a Twitter power user, or a beginner looking to get more out of the service, this app is worth checking out. Threader is available for free.

Death Squared

SMG’s hit console game is now available on your phone! Death Squared is a puzzle game for 1 or 2 people about coordination, cooperation and robot explosions. Features include 80+ puzzling levels that unfold via fully voiced story, 10 additional vault levels that are almost too hard for human consumption, original score by Brad Gentle, support for Bluetooth controllers, and more. The price is a little on the steep side, but there are no ads or in-app purchases. Death Squared is available for $6.99.

Seaport

Do you have what it takes to develop the biggest sea transport business, manage the most powerful ship fleet and become a wealthy tycoon? Try Seaport now! Be sure you are ready for an exciting journey through the history of ships! Expand your ship collection from very basic boats to the high tech titans or warships. Build your own port and enter the world of sea and cargo trade. Features include new content every week, themed events every month, accurate historical ship designs and other details, in-game trading, and more. Yes this is one of those ad and IAP-filled freemium games, but if you find yourself bored this weekend, check it out. Seaport is available for free (with some IAPs).

More apps to check out