Lory Gil

Writer of all things app related, traveler of the space-time continuum, baker of really great cookies. Follow me @appaholik

A collection of iOS ports of games you played as a kid

Lory Gil ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

When I was very young, there was no such thing as home video games. At least, it wasn’t prevalent enough to be something everyone had in the household. Personal computers were just barely sneaking into the homes of some of the more tech savvy consumers.

By the time I was a teenager, gaming consoles had seen multiple renditions and a number of companies were competing against each other to be the next device on everyone’s Christmas wish list.

If you remember when Super Mario Brothers was the coolest thing you’d ever played in your living room, then you’ll appreciate our list of iOS ports of games from decades gone by…

Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol review: turn-based dogfights fly into the App Store

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Sid Meier is one of the best-known strategy video game developers in the industry. Partly because the games he puts his name on are so good, and partly because he puts his name on so many games.

Because the strategy-based games that Meier puts his name on are well made, exciting, and interesting, you can almost guarantee that you won’t be disappointed by any new titles with the nomenclature.

Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol is a turn-based strategy game set in World War I. Players command a team of ace pilots as they try to take down enemy forces. This is the first game from Meier that is exclusive to iOS and it is definitely worthy of the man’s name...

Mosaique is a simple puzzle game for the minimalist in you

Lory Gil ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Puzzle games are a dime a dozen in the App Store. Actually, they are about $11.88 a dozen, if you assume the average price is $0.99. My point is that there are a lot of them and they are basically all the same with slightly different skins. However, every once in a while, a unique twist on a simple game comes along and impresses the world.

Mosaique is one of those apps that transcend traditional puzzle games. With its minimalistic design and innovative gameplay, you’ll be drawn into its relaxed structure and simple design. According to the app’s summary, colonist engineers on the moon of Vraxis play this game, so you are in good company…

Capture every moment of your life with Days

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Whenever I head out on a road trip or drive into the City for a day of record shopping and urban adventuring, I take pictures. If I see a cool sign or some really fancy graffiti, I whip out my iPhone and snap a quick pick. I’m always thinking I’ll show these pictures to someone, someday. Most of the time, they never make it past my Apple TV screensaver.

Days – Your Visual Photo and GIF Diary lets you gather all of your daily antics into one collage so that you can share it with others without making them scroll through hundreds of individual shots of your pizza dinner…

Let Songza find the music to fit your mood

Lory Gil ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Whenever I’m having a get together at my house, be it barbeques or board games, I’m always thinking up playlists for my guests. Sometimes, there is such an eclectic mix of friends around that I have a hard time deciding which genre to pull from, or which mood-setting music to use.

Songza is a universal app that takes the work out of playlists by offering streaming music for your device based on types, moods, genres, activities, or whatever sparks your listening desire at that moment. The app’s developer recently updated it with a cleaner user interface, manual Concierge service, and better audio performance…

Here are some great apps for celebrating Mother’s Day

Lory Gil ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Mother’s Day is right around the corner and you may have forgotten to get a gift for the most important person in your life. Have no fear. You can send her a digital card, or make her a virtual bouquet of flowers. If you are really creative, you can find a way to turn a few iOS apps into the best Mother’s Day she’s ever had.

Whether the mom in your life needs pampering or just wants to be left alone on her special day, we’ve got a list of apps we think will help make this Mother’s Day great. Mom, if you are reading this, I love you…

Tigris & Euphrates turns your iPad into an empire

Lory Gil ∙ May 7, 2013

As a self-proclaimed board game fanatic, I feel compelled to seek out every digital version of my favorite games, as well as ones that I’ve never played. Sometimes, a low-priced digital board game will prompt me to spend the big bucks on the real deal.

Reiner Knizia’s Tigris & Euphrates is an empire building board game that uses tile placement as a means to take over a kingdom. This is one of those games I’ve seen on the shelf at my favorite board game store, but never had a chance to play. If the physical version is anything like the digital, I’m in…

How to turn on vision accessibility features in iOS

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 13, 2016

Touch screen devices like Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, are not particularly usable for visually impaired people. If you are blind, or simply have a difficult time seeing the small images and texts on the screen, iOS devices are effectively useless.

Apple has worked to make their touch screen products usable for those with impaired vision. Apple’s accessibility features offer a variety of options for vision including VoiceOver, zoom, inverted colors, and more. We have a basic tutorial for activating these features, plus an explanation of what each one does…

Evomail review: a modern email app for your iPad

Lory Gil ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Mail clients are becoming a big deal in the App Store. Only a few weeks ago, Orchestra launched their popular Mailbox app to much fanfare. Before this, Twitter clients were trending, before that, RSS readers. Mail clients are likely to be the next wave of iOS apps for the months ahead.

Evomail is another mail client for the iPad to recently hit the App Store. This Gmail-specific app lets users access, organize, and respond to their mail in a way that incorporates Gmail’s interactions with Apple’s native Mail app…

How to set up email VIP lists

Lory Gil ∙ Updated February 16, 2017

When Apple inveiled iOS 6 way back, one of the new Mail features was the addition of a “VIP” inbox. I’m sure you’ve seen it. Some of you may have already started using the VIP feature. For those of you who have an Aunt Linda in your ear, asking what this VIP “doo-hickey” is all about, send them our way and let us guide them through the steps to setting up VIP contacts.

By setting up VIP contacts in your Mail app inbox, you will have a separate folder for your important email correspondences with certain people. If you get dozens (even hundreds) of emails every day, it may be difficult to weed through the garbage to find the important ones. The VIP contacts feature automatically sends all emails from your selected contacts to a separate folder so their correspondences are much easier to find.

In this post, we will show you to use setup a VIP email inbox on your iPhone or iPad.

Sorcery! brings gamebook magic to life on iOS

Lory Gil ∙ May 3, 2013

When I was a kid, choose-your-own adventure books were all the rage. You didn’t have to be an antisocial geek to enjoy them, either. There were fantasy adventures, horror stories, detective mysteries, and more. All you needed was a love of books and a few dollars for a paperback.

When I first saw the game trailer for Sorcery!, I was elated to see that the gamebooks of my childhood were experiencing a revival on iOS. Not only is this a fantastic story, but the app’s developers have worked hard to bring the pages to life in an interactive and exciting way.

Sorcery! is a gamebook adventure that first launched in 1983 as part of the Fighting Fantasy series of books. Today’s universal iOS launch is not the first Fantasy Fighting gamebook to hit the App Store, but it certainly has revolutionized the choose-your-own-adventure story as a digital medium...

Code your robot to life with Hakitzu: Code of the Warrior

Lory Gil ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

I like to pretend that I know a thing or two about computers. When I’m around my mom or friends that don’t play around with tech stuff too much, I always sound like a real pro. However, when I’m around my IT buddies, I tend to clam up. Throw around the word JavaScript and you have me running for the hills.

When I first discovered the universal app Hakitzu: Code of the Warrior, I was already excited about building giant fighting robots before I even found out that I’d be writing their movements in JavaScript.

If it sounds intimidating, don’t worry. Hakitzu was created for the purpose of teaching code. Everything you need to know to make your robot move, attack, and destroy is available as a learning tool in this game…