Not since Bookworm has a word 
puzzle game been this engrossing. WordsWorth is less cartoony than the PopCap Games classic, but offers more diversity and (seemingly) a deeper vocabulary. Single player is fun, but the ability to play competitively with other players — via WiFi, Bluetooth, or 99 Games’ own online community — adds another layer of fun.
Read more at Common Sense Media
On paper, Maya Pyramid sounds like 
a so-so premise. Match cards up to add to 11, revealing other cards and then repeat. In actuality, it’s a nail-biting good time. The game is fast-paced and exciting and younger players won’t realize they’re building strong math skills in the process. It’s a wonderful example of the “easy to grasp, difficult to master” philosophy that makes for a good game. With a variety of levels and fun, but unnecessary, bonuses (like the game’s background reflecting what time it is when you play), Maya Pyramid is a satisfying time waster that is well worth the money.
There’s nothing particularly educational about Thomas Tilt and Go
, but kids who are big fans of the television show will enjoy the chance to control some of their favorite characters. It’s not a challenging game, either. As long as the player keeps Thomas moving forward, he or she will easily earn enough points to advance with time to spare. (They’re rewarded with short clips from the television show.) The upside of this is kids won’t get frustrated, but unless they’re die-hard fans of the show, the might get bored after one or two tracks. The gameplay is virtually identical from level to level. Is it worth $2.99? No. But if the price falls, it’s a good, safe addition for young children.
Stick Stunt Biker is an over-the-top racing game
that makes motocross look like a ride around a parking lot. The game features impossible jumps and bone-shattering crashes in a cartoon manner that is actually a lot of fun, at least for a while. It’s not an easy game, but the frustration of failure is mitigated by the cringe-inducing experience of seeing the stick figure racer tumble to the ground. The app might use a realistic physics engine to portray those crashes, but there’s nothing close to real about the rest of the game. It’s fun initially, but after a while, the repeated crashes get old and the varying tracks don’t really incentivize you to keep playing. Ultimately, Stick Stunt Biker is a fun diversion, but nothing that will top your list of favorite apps.
Zombie Infection HD tries to follow the path 
set by classic zombie survival games like Resident Evil 4, but it falls far short. The graphics are middling, at best. The story is ridiculous. And the zombies really aren’t that scary. The game also features some sloppy programming — like when zombies crawl through the middle of a roof, instead of up the side of a building. The controls aren’t intuitive and don’t react fast enough for a game in this genre. For 99 cents, it might be worth it for fans of zombie films. For anything more, though, it’s not worth it for anyone.
Face2Face does a good job of compiling a user’s varied 
social networking sites, but it goes a step too far by allowing friends of friends to know users’ general location. A privacy setting in the app’s upper right hand corner can make users invisible to people they’re not already connected with, but it’s not blatantly obvious and will likely be overlooked by many users. It’s reassuring that the app only gives general proximity, but that could still hit a little too close to some people’s comfort zones. While you can make yourself invisible to the world at large or specific individuals, you’ll have to regularly check the app to know if that’s necessary.
Power users of social networks might love the chance to meet friends and make new ones, but parents might want teens to sit this one out.
Learning how to string together letters to form 
words is tricky — and ABC Maze is a good tool to help kids learn to do so. The biggest challenge for some players will be having the motor skills to use the internal gyroscope to make the ball go where they want it to. While none of the mazes is punishing, some are harder than others. The game offers visual and audible rewards when a puzzle is solved, which encourages kids to keep playing. $1.99 is a bit steep for the app, though. It’s definitely wise to download the lite version and see if your child will enjoy it first.
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Josh & Emma Go to the Beach means well, but when
judged on its educational aspects, it falls a bit short. There are plenty of less expensive (and free) apps that teach just as much or more. The graphics that accompany the story are nice, but children aren’t likely to be engaged more than one or two times. At a lower price, Josh & Emma might be worth a look, but if you’re searching for an app that will keep your children’s attention and teach them something more than the most rudimentary skills, you can do better.
Tower defense games — titles that have you defend 
a position against a seemingly never-ending stream of enemies — have been around for a while and they’re often very similar. Medieval HD adds a few new bells and whistles to the genre. The addition of ground troops is a welcome one, but they’re not particularly well integrated into the game. It’s easier and cheaper to buy powerful, infinite weapons and deal with the marauders from atop the castle. There are also a variety of ways to earn bonuses, ranging from the method you choose to shoot your weapon (i.e. pull the bow back vs. simply tapping the screen). Ultimately, this is a fun game, but one that’s best played in short doses.
Flashcards Puzzles – ABC & Numbers makes learning 
fun for toddlers and has remedied the biggest flaw in the app’s initial release. (The first version didn’t read the letters aloud, so kids playing alone didn’t get the full educational effect of the game.) With that corrected, it’s a terrific learning tool that blends problem-solving with an introduction to letters and numbers that’s fun for kids to use themselves — or with a parent. On the easy level, kids rearrange 3-4 rectangular pieces to complete the flashcard, and on the harder level, they work with 5-6 pieces.
Chris Morris: Journalist 