Readers’ App Reviews – November 2014
Check out some apps made by fellow readers in November 2014 – including a wacky shooter, a coloring book for kids, and more! By Ryan Poolos.
November came up fast! Its another month of great apps, from the best developer community on the web.
Your fellow readers have been hard at work making fantastic apps and games to share with you.
This month we’ve got:
- A wacky shooter
- A coloring book for your kids
- A app that speaks your tweets
- And of course, much more!
Read on to see some great apps from your community!
NUM – Insanely Hard Math Game
NUM is like a calculator turned into a game.
NUM gives you a target number and 6 random numbers. Using basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, you have to use some or all of those 6 numbers to make the target number.
There is a time limit, so work quickly, but be creative. Its not all just addition to get to the top. You can retry each level with new numbers. With an in app purchase you can see the solutions if you’re curious, but they don’t affect the game.
- Author: Kien Tran @thkeen
- Most useful tutorial: Readers’ App Reviews – January 2014
- App Store Link: Check it out!
Countdowns with Widget
We’ve all got things we’re looking forward to like Christmas, WWDC, or Frozen 2. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a sweet app to help?
There is an app for that! Its called Countdowns, and it couldn’t be simpler. Just open the app and tap Add New Countdown. A name and a date are all it takes. But if you want, you can also specify a time and select the units you’d like to countdown like days or hours.
And to top it off, Countdowns is iOS8 ready with a fancy Widget! You can choose to include each countdown in your Notification center separately so it won’t clog up your notification center just because you have a lot of countdowns.
- Author: Stephen Hayes @shayesapps
- Most useful tutorial: Top 10 Core Data Tools and Libraries
- App Store Link: Check it out!
FlyDive
FlyDive is a classic sidescrolling flying game with a fun twist: building your own flying machine!
FlyDive features over 10,000 combinations of parts for your very own flying creation. You can be a dog flying a hotdog with wheels. Or you can take to the skies as a robot in a bathtub with flipflops for wings. Or you can pilot favorite biplane with candy bars for wings as a pig.
The possibilities go on and on. Gameplay is simple: collect balloons, avoid bombs, and grab a few powerups along the way. See who can fly the furthest!
- Author: Itai Asaf
- Most useful tutorial: Sprite Kit Tutorial: How To Drag and Drop Sprites
- App Store Link: Check it out!
MadNotes
Note taking should be simple. If it’s not, most of us won’t take notes.
MadNotes helps in that department. MadNotes is a dead simple note taking app, where simple gesture based controls keep the interface clear of clutter. A quick pull down will create a new note. Swipe left to delete, right to prioritize.
MadNotes makes it easy to colorize as well. Just touch and hold to cycle through colors. And each note is easily sharable with friends.
- Author: Arsenii Feshchenko @ars_feshchenko
- Most useful tutorial: Top 10 Core Data Tools and Libraries
- App Store Link: Check it out!
Stars and Stones
Stars and Stones is a simple game, but that doesn’t make it easy.
The goal is to collect five stars on each level one at a time by dragging you finger to them. But of course there is a catch. Oh and its a good catch. As you drag your finger, stones slide around. The faster you move, the faster they move.
You must weave your way among the stones while they do their carefully choreographed routine to the beat of your drum. Powerups along the way help by providing a boost to life or getting rid of a few stones.
- Author: Jeff Clark @JeffClark
- Most useful tutorial: How to Make a Line Drawing Game with Sprite Kit
- App Store Link: Check it out!
Stomper Revenge
Stomper has had a rough day. A group of monsters and foxes took his crown and threw him down down a black hole. Now he’s fighting his way back to the top and he needs your help.
Stomper’s only hope is to stomp all the tiles out of his way. Foxes and Skunks won’t stand in the way of his massive stompers. Travel far and wide, stomping the land, collection trinkets along the way to help you on your quest.
What out for monsters, they’re not as easy to stomp as the foxes and skunks.
- Author: Theodor Radu
- Most useful tutorial: Cocos2D-X Tutorial: Making a Universal App: Part 1
- App Store Link: Check it out!
Number March
Number March is a tower defense game where you’ll need a little math to defend your empire.
Number March uses division to bring down the onslaught of numbers marching toward your base. Each time a number passes by a block that is one of its factors, it will divide and subtract one from the block.
Line your walls with common factors, but be ready for the big numbers and primes. They’re not afraid of your puny 2’s and 3’s.
- Author: Cagri Aksay @cagriaksay
- Most useful tutorial: How to Make a Game Like Candy Crush with Swift Tutorial: Part 1
- App Store Link: Check it out!
Cocoa Assist
Cocoa Assist might be the new must have for iOS developers.
Cocoa Assist queries the CocoaPods, CocoaControls, OSChina, and Code4App databases to find reusable components for your apps. Its easy to search each database or all.
If the control has an animated gif showing what it does, it will display it. And you can bookmark the components you like for quick access later. This will put all the best components for your apps at your fingertips.
- Author: Lann Chang
- Most useful tutorial: Top 10 Core Data Tools and Libraries
- App Store Link: Check it out!
Coloring book: Cat’s adventure
If you’ve got kids or love just coloring Cats, this is a great app for your iPad.
There are more than 20 adorable cats dressed up just for you. Each picture comes with only the colors you need to complete the page. The app is aimed at the younger crowd, so it also keeps your colors in the lines for you automagically.
Kids will love their creations when they’re finished so be prepared for show and tell. :]
- Author: Daniil Bystrov
- Most useful tutorial: Grand Central Dispatch In-Depth: Part 1/2
- App Store Link: Check it out!
TweetSpeak
There are plenty of things to listen to on your iPhone. But for us Twitterphiles something has been missing, until now.
TweetSpeak will read your Twitter feed aloud to you one tweet at a time. Its completely hands free, just start it and you can background the app and carry on. Its got settings to adjust read speed and supports four different languages.
TweetSpeak is great for catching up with Twitter while you’re driving home or cooking dinner.
- Author: sameh Mabrouk @same7mabrouk
- Most useful tutorial: Swift Tutorial Part 3: Tuples, Protocols, Delegates, and Table Views
- App Store Link: Check it out!
White House Fence Jumper
When someone jumps the fence at the White House, its a national affair. And how better to handle it than a giant cannon?
Its not just protesters going over the fence though. The aliens are here and we must stop them! Its up to you to man the last cannon and take down anyone trying to make it across the lawn.
The country is counting on you. Your parents are counting on you. And that guy on the skateboard doesn’t look human. What are you waiting for!?
- Author: Oluwaseun Odutola
- Most useful tutorial: How To Make A Simple iPhone Game with Cocos2D
- App Store Link: Check it out!
Honorable Mentions
Every month I get more submissions than I can handle. I give every app a shot, but I can’t write about them all. These are still great apps made by readers like you. Its no a popularity contest or even a favorite picking contest. I just try to get a glimpse of what the community is working on through your submissions. Take a moment and checkout these other great apps I didn’t have time to showcase properly.
Your Share
Do You Know Your Countries?
Make your team guess!
Numbed
Grappling Sheep
Blue Guy
meme generator best free
Where To Go From Here?
Each month, I really enjoy seeing what our community of readers comes up with. The apps you build are the reason we keep writing tutorials. Make sure you tell me about your next one, submit here!
If you saw an app your liked, hop to the App Store and leave a review! A good review always makes a dev’s day. And make sure you tell them you’re from Ray Wenderlich, this is a community of makers!
If you’ve never made an app, this is the month! Check out our free tutorials to become an iOS star. What are you waiting for – I want to see your app next month!