Readers’ App Reviews – September 2015

While Apple was busy announcing tons of new products, you all were hard at work on tons of new apps!

September is once again stuffed with amazing apps from the RW Community.

I’ve installed them all and picked a few to share with you. There are so many I don’t have time to write about them all, so don’t miss out on the Honorable Mentions below as well.

This months community showcase includes:

• An app to keep track of chores
• A rock star manager simulator
• A game made by yours truly
• And of course, much more!

Keep reading to see the apps readers like you released this month!

Ciphers

Sometimes you just can’t rely on others to encrypt your important messages. Sometimes you’ve got to take matters into your own hands. Ciphers is here to help.

Ciphers supports more than ten common methods of encryption. Its got Enigma Machine, Caesar Cipher, Simple Reversals, and many more. May of the methods even have extensive options to adjust the cipher. Ciphers gives you a preview of your encrypted message live.

Ciphers also decrypts messages of the same type. The app makes it easy to download or share your encrypted message with a friend. Then they merely need to decrypt the message on the other side.

• Author: Simon Booth @ciphersapp
• Most useful tutorial: Scroll View School video tutorial series
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Air Hockey Dreams

Air Hockey Dreams is a great 3D air hockey game for your iPhone or iPad. The 3D really adds to the immersion factor.

Air Hockey Dreams lets you play 1 or 2 player. Single player is a campaign of sorts as you play against others for coins to level up your paddle or unlock new contenders. Multiplayer moves into a top down approach so two players can use the same device.

Air Hockey Dreams has 10 different opponents each with their own skills and table. There are 20 different paddles to buy that have special stats and abilities. In game power-ups will give you a boost when you need it.

• Author: Mark Hewitt
• Most useful tutorial: Creating a Cross-Platform Multiplayer Game in Unity (4 parts)
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Mouse Times – Florida

Mouse Times is a must have companion for your next trip to Disney World!

Mouse Times will help you plan out your whole trip to Disney World. It has ride images and descriptions for all four parks. You can see them on a map to find the closest ones or get directions to exactly the ride you’re looking for. Best of all, Mouse Times has up-to-date wait times and statuses for all rides throughout the park.

Each ride has information like height requirements, disability access, single rider line info, and fastpass availability. Build your favorites list before you arrive and use it as your hit list for the trip.

Get park tips and tricks to show you all the best places to eat and ride. And the best time of day to avoid the crowds. Apple Watch support makes sure you can leave your phone and your pocket and enjoy the day!

• Author: Andrew Walker @AndrewNWalker
• Most useful tutorial: WatchKit by Tutorials
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Swipefight

Swipefight is a mix between of fighting game and a puzzle game. Solving the puzzle drives your fighter.

The puzzle you have to solve is a simple match-three style game. Each simple is a different attack. Match the right symbols to get just the right attacks. Stuff like four in a row, or shields offer special advantages. Combos have a whole new meaning as they unleash a fury of attacks on your opponent.

There are four fighters to choose from each with their own attacks. You can play title mode for glory or survival mode for the highscores.

• Author: Victor Keinander @vkeinander
• Most useful tutorial: iOS 8 by Tutorials
• App Store Link: Check it out!

WaveAmp

WaveAmp lets you test your hearing with your iPhone. It also simulates hearing loss and hearing aids so you can see what its like.

WaveAmp lets you take the sensorineural hearing test and see your personal audiogram. You can compare it to normal, mild, and severe hearing loss audiograms to see how you do.

Once you know how good your hearing is, you can simulate hearing loss to see what it would be like. You can also simulate hearing aid effects on sound files to see how they help the situation. Live audiowaves give a visual of how these simulations affect the sounds. Its very cool to get an idea what hearing loss is like for those affected.

WaveAmp works best with a good pair of stereo headphones.

• Author: Georgi Ivanov @GeorgiIvanov_
• Most useful tutorial: Adaptive Layout video tutorial series
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Rock Star Manager

Rock Star Manager puts you in charge of taking a musician from punk to rocker. Run the music business in the palm of your hand.

Rock Star Manager lets you hire a musician, produce their first album, and tour them around. If you play your cards right you’ll profit and be able to keep the gravy train rolling.

Its up to you how to best spend your money to build a rock legend. You can choose to practice, tour, record new stuff, advertise, or give lavish gifts. The right combination will make your musician a rock star! Earn money by touring and selling records. Make it into the top charts. Avoid news scandals. Managing a rock star has never been so fun.

• Author: Roman Bezugly @RomanBezugly
• Most useful tutorial: How to Make Game Music for Beginners
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Pinbox

Pinbox will help you map everything. You can plan your next vacation, pinpoint your favorite spots around town, or anything.

Pinbox lets you store up to 2,500 pins! Pinbox lets you divide your pins into separate maps so you don’t have to weed through all your pins. You can also color code them, give them metadata, and take pictures. Great for documenting a trip as you go.

You can open your pins in Maps, Google Maps, or Waze for directions. Share your pins with others. And of course Pinbox supports Standard, Satellite, and Hybrid map views.

Best of all, Pinbox isn’t a social network. Its just an app for you to manage your own geobookmarks. No signup, Facebook, or account required.

• Authors: Paul Burd and Scott Smith
• Most useful tutorial: iOS 7 by Tutorials
• App Store Link: Check it out!