Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

Mobile gaming is probably the most overlooked form of gaming. The only way to purchase these games is basically via your cell phone (or via a PC for transfer, in a few cases), and not only do you get charged for the game itself, but also a data fee for the download, unless you’re on a package deal. It’s also hard to know what you’re getting, since you usually only get one screenshot through the mobile provider, due to the cost of downloading such an image. I don’t know about other services, but I find the descriptions on the Cingular MEdia Net (capitalization intentional) to be very lacking in most cases. A one- to two-line description is just not adequate for some games. Oftentimes, the description you get from visiting the websites on the PC isn’t much better.

Another problem is that most games either get made for only one provider (e.g. Verizon, Cingular) or only the most popular phones. There may be mobile games you’re jonesing for, but are limited by your phone’s technology (or lack thereof). A few games are only possible on the bleeding-edge newest phones, which are expensive.

When a game is made for multiple phones and carriers, due to the number of versions, it’s often hard to know what to expect. For example, on my old phone (a Sony Ericsson T236 with Cingular) I had Wheel of Fortune 5. That game had what felt like dozens of puzzles, and the puzzles were mixed up between games, so that when I did have a repeat puzzle, it could be the first puzzle or the bonus round. Once I got my new phone (a Sony Ericsson Z520a with Cingular), I naturally went to buy Wheel of Fortune – the version being 2005. Unfortunately, not only does it charge a subscription fee per month ($3.99) for new puzzles, it only has about 15 games, and the puzzles are always the same and in the exact same order. Once I got through the few puzzles included, I was given the option to replay the puzzles I had, or to pay yet another fee for more puzzles. I like to play games on my cell phone in waiting rooms, when I haven’t brought along my DS or PSP, and 15 games just wasn’t enough. I unsubscribed.

I have, however, found one game that keeps me coming back – Scrabble Blast. It’s just like the Bookworm game – you have tiles in a 5×5 grid and have to make words out of adjoining tiles. Due to the screen size, you’re limited to words of 5 letters in length; this does somewhat limit the game, but at least it keeps me busy.

I’ve also found a few free games, like Solitaire and Jezzball, around the net. Fortunately my phone has Java, and that’s all these games need.

So, my questions to you are, do you game on your cell phone? If so, what are your favorite games? Any game disappointments like mine above?