iPhone Atlas

(Credit: CNET)

For a friend's birthday the other night, we all went down to his rehearsal space (he's in a band) and played music, often switching instruments to see what we could come up with. Not everyone there was a musician, but with drums, guitars, basses, a keyboard, percussion instruments, and microphones, everyone found a way to get in on the jam. To add to the fun later in the night, my friend also had a cord to connect an iPod or iPhone to the PA system which meant I could try out some of my music apps. Among the apps we tried--all to great success--were iDrum Hip Hop Edition, FingerBeat (reviewed below), and I Am T-Pain (auto-tuning our voices was a big hit).

If you want to create music on your iPhone, there are a ton of music apps in the iTunes app store to choose from, even if you don't have a fancy PA system to hook into. Consequently, Leslie Katz wrote an article today at CNET showcasing a group of University of Michigan students who took the iPhone-as-instrument concept to a whole new level. Using apps they designed themselves, they created an ensemble performance as a way to finish out the semester. Though it's much more serious than playing beats and auto-tuning your voice like my friends and I did the other night, their performance makes me wonder what new musical creations people will come up with in the future as more iPhone music apps are released.

Update: I guess music is in the air, because I just found out Brian Tong and the folks who make the Apple Byte included the I Am T-Pain app in their latest episode (about 3 minutes in). It's definitely worth checking out.

This week's apps include a music app to create your own music and a demolitions puzzle game that challenges you to raze buildings as efficiently as possible.

Play the drums manually or swipe to the left or right for more tools

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

FingerBeat ($3.99) is a music creation tool that helps you flesh out ideas, create multitrack songs, and make beats wherever you are. The primary screen (upon launch) is where the drum pads are where you can sample some of the sounds available by touching each of the pads. Once you've created a basic loop, get into the more serious song-creation tools by swiping your finger to the left. This brings up a visual editor where you can add or erase sounds from your loop and change the pitch of each of the tones. You also can create beats with separate patterns to play in sequence by touching the pattern buttons on the left side of the interface.

FingerBeat offers excellent sounds on its own, but you also can record short samples on the iPhone microphone and include them in your songs. Once you're happy with your song, you can even add a singing part to finish your project. The interface is not incredibly intuitive, requiring a certain amount of trial and error to get to some of the more advanced options and to figure out how to use each tool. Still, once you get used to the various screens and what each function does, you'll be able to create cool sounding beats and save them to your iPhone.

Place the bombs on key supports before hitting the plunger

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Implode ($1.99) is a remake of an online flash game that translates extremely well to the iPhone interface. The object of the game is to demolish structures so that they fall below a designated height limit and within a certain amount of time. To start you can choose from 3 different skill levels and play through several building types for each level. Just like those buildings that you've probably seen demolished on the news, you're job is to place explosives in key points to blow up walls that compromise the structural integrity of the building. Drag bombs to the precise location you want them before you hit the plunger. You only get a limited number of bombs to place, so you need to make sure they will cause the building to topple before the time runs out.

Implode is surprisingly addictive, and the hand-drawn quality of the levels (like building drawings) makes it fun to move through each of the building types. As you start to get in to the more difficult levels, you'll be faced with huge structures and unique wall types that you can't blow up. As I was playing, I liked how each building presented a new set of problems I had to work out, and getting a large building to fall on the first try is especially satisfying. If you like puzzle games, Implode is a unique option that is really well done both in the way it looks and the intuitive interface.

What's you're favorite iPhone app? Do you have a favorite music app to share? What do you think of the FingerBeat interface? Do you like the unique challenges of Implode? Let me know in the comments!

Connected's pipe-arranging puzzles are like potato chips: Bet you can't play just one.

A few weeks ago, I received e-mails from two developers within the space of about two hours. Each was pitching a new, "totally unique" puzzle game, and would I like to review them?

Now, I'm a sucker for puzzlers, especially on the iPhone, but the App Store is already teeming with them--each one claiming to be "original," "addictive," "brain-teasing," and so on. How truly unique could either of these newcomers be?

The first one, Connected, instantly reminded me of countless lay-the-pipe-before-the-water-escapes games--until I started playing it.

Connected does involve pipes, but here you're not fighting the clock (or the water). Instead, you merely have to figure out the proper arrangement of preselected pieces, which can be moved but not rotated.

It's a bit like Traffic Jam, but damn if it doesn't manage to be original, challenging, and insidiously addictive. With each level I somehow managed to complete, I told myself, "Just one more."

Add to it an elegant, simple interface and you've got 99 cents extremely well-spent.

The other game, Wriggle, also costs 99 cents--but there's a try-before-you-buy free version as well.

Great for kids but fun for anybody, Wriggle puts a great twist on block-sliding puzzles.

At first glance, Wriggle looks like a kids game--but don't let that fool you. While kids will undoubtedly enjoy the colorful, smiley-faced worms, there's plenty of challenge here for all ages.

Your goal is to help the blue worm escape the maze in as few moves as possible. This is done by dragging the heads and/or tails of the various worms that stand in his way.

Again, you can see elements of Traffic Jam, but that game doesn't go around corners. Wriggle does, and, like Connected, it comes across as a wholly unique kind of puzzle.

Wriggle also offers a bit more replay value, with four difficulty levels and the option of replaying any puzzle to see if you can win in fewer moves. You can even tweet your progress, if you're into that kind of thing.

Initially, I judged both games by their covers (make that screenshots), and that was a mistake. Connected and Wriggle are perfectly priced and perfectly entertaining. I highly recommend both.

Seen any unique puzzle games lately? Are there any you just can't put down? Share your puzzle faves in the comments. In the meantime, check out these five perfect puzzle games for the iPhone.

Any diehard puzzle fan knows the game Triazzle, which started out in jigsaw form and later landed on PCs.

The goal: Arrange a set of triangular pieces so that the sides of each piece match up with sides of the board and the other pieces. It takes just seconds to learn, but, man, is it a challenge.

Triazzle for iPhone and iPod Touch delivers a beautifully animated, musically rich experience for newcomers and fans alike. It has all the makings of an instant classic.

The game gives you a choice between 9- and 16-piece puzzles and novice, intermediate, and advanced skill levels. It also has special 9-piece levels for kids, offering simplified graphics and unlimited hints.

Yes, hints. One difference between iPhone Triazzle and its cardboard predecessors is the presence of hints. You get a fixed number per level; each one reveals which piece belongs on whatever triangle you tap. (It's still up to you to figure out the piece's orientation, though.)

That's a terrific enhancement to the game, as it gives frustrated players the option of a helpful nudge while allowing purist puzzle-solvers to play hint-free if they prefer.

Other enhancements include a lovely musical score, various sound effects, and puzzle characters that wiggle, glow, or otherwise animate when you make a correct match.

If you decide to throw in the towel on a puzzle, just shake your iPhone to see the solution.

Triazzle costs $2.99, a small price to pay for a game that delivers one of the best puzzle experiences the iPhone has seen to date. Just one problem: Once my 9-year-old daughter gets her hands on it, I may never see her (or my iPhone) again.

Puzzle games and the iPhone and iPod Touch go together like peas and carrots (and they're nearly as good for you). They fit beautifully on the small screen, they have no awkward controls to master, and they're ideal when you have 5 minutes or 10 minutes to kill (and don't feel like killing things).

Here's a list of my five favorite puzzle games (so far):

• Hanoi A beautiful rendition of the classic Towers of Hanoi game. The object is simple: move a stack of disks from one side of the board to the other. There's not much replay value once you master it, but it's fantastic until you do. And, hey, it's free.
• Nintaii I had no idea what to expect from this game when I won it from AppGiveaway, but it took all of 30 seconds for me to fall in love. Like any good puzzler, this block-rolling, switch-activating brainteaser is easy to learn, challenging to play, and thoroughly rewarding to beat. The full version's on sale for 99 cents, but there's also a Lite freebie.


Nintaii is just about the perfect puzzle game: clever, challenging, and fun.

• Myst The puzzle game to end all puzzle games, Myst is a lush graphic adventure based on the eponymous PC classic. Well worth the $5.99 given the amount of gameplay you'll get from it--and if you can beat it, you're a smarter player than I.
• Unblock Me One of countless iPhone versions of the beloved Traffic Jam board game, Unblock Me challenges you to remove a red block by sliding other blocks out of the way. The free version gives you 400 puzzles to solve before going on to the 1,600-puzzle full version (which costs of all 99 cents).
• Twisty Text Lite I love Boggle-style games like TextTwist, which challenge you to build as many words as you can from a set of scrambled letters. Until I can get the real deal, Twisty Text easily satisfies my word-building cravings. It's similar to Free Word Warp, but I like the presentation and input method better.

OK, your turn: What puzzle games have earned a permanent home on your iPhone or Touch? I know I've left out some classics, like Bejeweled and Wurdle, but for me those are just played out.

Update: I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that classic puzzler Jumble was announced for the iPhone just yesterday. Jumble Classic is $3.99 and available now.

Everything old is new again. Myst for iPhone and iPod Touch puts one of the best-selling computer games of all time into the palm of your hand. It's in the App Store now for $5.99.

If you're too young to remember Myst (in which case I hate you), it's a first-person graphical adventure that's not unlike dropping into the middle of "Lost." You find yourself on a deserted island (or is it?) filled with mysterious objects, machines, puzzles--maybe even a hatch or two.

The iPhone version looks just like its PC predecessor, from the rendered artwork to the puzzles and videos. It delivers all the original gameplay as well, meaning you get to experience all of Myst's Ages. Of course, instead of clicking on the screen with your mouse, you're tapping and swiping with your finger.

Despite its first-person design, Myst is no shooter--it's a slow-paced, play-in-the-bathtub kind of game, one that will undoubtedly appeal to those who like to find clues, unravel mysteries, tinker with funky machines, and so on.

Just make sure you have enough space for it. You need a whopping 1.5GB of free space to install Myst, though you get back roughly half that once the game's loaded. From there you just need time, patience, and a good brain (I'm batting 0 for 3 on that).

Developers have been working overtime to bring classic PC games to the iPhone. Some, like Wolfenstein 3D Classic, do a great job recreating the original, but just don't play well on a small touch screen.

Then there's Crazy Machines, the unofficial heir to Sierra's beloved classic The Incredible Machine. It's not only a faithful recreation, but also a perfect fit for the iPhone and iPod Touch. If you like puzzle games, this is $2.99 extremely well spent.

Like to build wacky contraptions? Crazy Machines is the game for you.

For those unfamiliar with the whole "machines" concept, the idea is to build a Rube Goldberg-style contraption that accomplishes a specific goal: dropping a basketball through a hoop, launching a rocket, knocking over a crate, and so on. (If you've never seen the classic Honda commercial that takes this idea to a manic real-world extreme, you must check it out.)

What puts the "crazy" in Crazy Machines is the eclectic set of tools you're given to build your gizmo: weights, ropes, pulleys, candles, balloons, batteries, motors, and the like. The challenge lies is assembling everything "just so" to make your machine work properly.

And it's a blast. If you're already familiar with the mechanics, working through the mandatory tutorial can be tedious--but after that it's nothing but fun. Crazy Machines serves up 50 levels, plus a Construction Kit so you can build your own. (Alas, there's no way to share them.)

One nice touch: the game allots you three profiles, meaning three different people can play and maintain their own separate progress. That's great for people who routinely have to share their device with kids and/or a spouse.

Bottom line: if you liked The Incredible Machine, you'll love Crazy Machines. It's a great way to pass a few minutes or even a few hours.

It's only fitting that one of the great game developers for Mac would dabble in the new iPhone gaming market. Freeverse Sudoku sports a smooth and beautiful interface for playing the addictive Japanese numbers game using the touch screen on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You can even "pencil in" numbers to see how they work as you play.

iPhone link:
http://freeverse.com/iphone/sudoku/

Web site link:
http://freeverse.com/games/game/?id=7014