In the mid-1990s, Jellyvision’s irreverent and crazy-entertaining You Don’t Know Jack trivia game took the Mac/PC world by storm. Originally delivered in several topical flavors on old school CD-ROMs, the animated, pop culture trivia questions delivered with twisted, semi-adult humor laced throughout always added up to a fun 15-20 minute game, either alone or with friends. Now the game makes its triumphant return to our modern Apple tablets, and not a moment too soon. The remainder of our iPad Games of the Week are focused on young gamers and physics puzzle lovers. Smart Pet HD lets you adopt and play with your own virtual dog, while Bug Village will challenge your youngest to build, maintain, and decorate their own virtual bug habitat. Finally, Drop The Chicken brings a Cut The Rope experience to an all-new physics puzzler.
You Don’t Know Jack HD ($4.99)
My first round of the resurrected YDKJ trivia game kicked off with this question: “How many human bones would two and a half men actually have?” The correct answer: 515. The wise-cracking game show host’s response when I got it right? “The real question is Charlie Sheen’s mistresses. How many bones are in them?” And that, ladies and gentlemen is pretty much all you need to know about this must-have offering. After playing through the CD-ROM originals in the ‘90s, I was totally jazzed to see this animated, pop culture treat coming back for more in the ‘10s. It’s silly-fun trivia questions delivered with just the right amount of twisted, semi-adult humor. There are 20 full episodes to digest, Game Center achievements and leaderboards, plus the usual litany of question types: DisorDats, Jack Attacks, multiple choice queries, Who’s the Dummy?, Funky Trash, and the always-amazing Cookie’s Fortune Cookie Fortunes with Cookie “Fortune Cookie” Masterson. Yes, it’s a must-buy.
Smart Pet HD Light (Free)
Between my son and his friends, I’ll bet five litters of virtual puppies have been chosen, loved, fed, played with, and then abandoned through the power of the Nintendo DS. Now it’s the iPad’s turn. Smart Pet HD lets you adopt a puppy into the huge virtual kennel that is your iPad, then touch him, train him, put on outfits, play with interactive dog toys, feed and clean him, and play a mini-game to earn money to buy items. The light version gives you just the right amount of dogs to pick from (two) and toys to play with to decide if the $0.99 full version is worth it. While the graphics aren’t as sharp as some of the latest DS versions, there’s more than enough detail and gameplay here to satisfy the most dog-crazed child under 8.
Related: World of Goo leads iPhone Games of the Week
Bug Village (Free)
Why, hello there little red ant. Of course I can help you build a new bug village for you and your friends! Let’s get started. And with that, an entire hour was spent doing just that. Glu is no slouch when it comes to making addictive mobile games, and Bug Village has all the elements needed to spring it into the top free games listing in a hurry. The graphics are top-notch, placing new buildings is a breeze, and the sheer variety of missions to take on and items to purchase and place make for a solid experience all around. Separating the “food” and gathering area from the village itself is a nice touch. In-game ads are there but not intrusive, and you will likely run up against the old “buy more coins to keep going faster” wall after a while. With a little patience, there’s no reason to hand over any real-world money. But no doubt the die-hard fans of this kind of game will fork over their $5-$10 to supercharge their villages.
Drop The Chicken: Training (Free)
If you love Cut the Rope, you’ll enjoy Drop The Chicken. The free training app will get you in the spirit, and fast. Basically, there’s a cute chicken at the top of your screen who needs to make it down into his nest below. You’ll need to eat the bugs on the screen as you fall and bounce, and arrange the scene to ensure his drop into the soft hay after his tumble. It’s a tried and true physics puzzler, adding some new elements to the mix. Sure there are trampolines at various angles that you can drag around the screen to control his fall, but there are also blocks of wood to drag into place to stop him cold in his tracks. So there’s no rope cutting or bird-launching, but there are critical moments to drop your feathered friend, and some crazy levels that require you to move the elements more than once. Concentrate on getting all the bugs during a single drop, and be sure to concentrate, as you may need to move items into position several times in a row to get the perfect path. It’s one part frustration, and one part fun, just like always!
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