I cannot believe it has already been a month since my last edition of The Arcade.  I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season (celebrating whatever holidays you celebrate) and you are now rested, refreshed, and ready to get back to the grindstone and get something accomplished in the New Year.  I know I am, and to kick off the New Year, right, here is a look at the following five games:

1. Dove Hunting
2. Hot Death Uno
3. Phyllis
4. A Viking Saga
5. Fast Swapper

Dove Hunting:  This is a first-person shooter game in which you are a hunter trying to "bag" as many doves as possible within the time limit.  Doves both large and small (the smaller the dove, the more points you will receive) fly across the screen as you shoot at them.  Just tap on the dove to fire.  But watch out, rival hunters will sometimes pop up on the screen as well to say hello.  Try not to shoot them too.  This is a fun game, and a great way to relieve any pent up aggression.  But be forewarned, it will take up some space on your device (up to 3 Mb).

Hot Death Uno: This one is a recommendation from our very own Steve Laser.  Everyone knows how to play Uno.  You match cards of the same color or number.  And who can forget the secret thrill you get when you play that "WILD — Draw Four" card.  In this new game, you can play in Standard Mode or Hot Death Mode.  I don’t want to ruin any surprises, so we’ll just say that Hot Death Mode adds numerous new cards and rules for dozens of twists and options to really "stick it" to your opponents. 

Phyllis: This was another reader recommendation (unfortunately, I received the email too late for last month’s edition).  Phyllis is the card game for all of you card sharks who have seen and played everything you can do with a deck of 52.  It begins with no apparent strategy or logic, and twists and turns into a whirlwind of activity from there.  The rules are easy to learn, however, and can be found here.  

A Viking Saga: A Viking Saga is a fast paced adventure game.  You are the Captain of a group of Vikings in the 10th century.  Sail the world while trading with foreign cities, discovering new land, plundering monasteries and villages and even becoming the first European to set foot in America.  In order to run A Viking Saga, you will need to download and install Visual Basic Runtime for Pocket PC.

Fast Swapper :  This is another interpretation of a classic game.  You are faced with a puzzle board consisting of various colored shapes.  Swap any two adjacent pieces in order to form a line (vertical or horizontal) of a minimum of three or more identical shapes, which will then be cleared from the board and replaced.  How many shapes can you clear in this fun and addictive puzzle game?  Note that the Halloween  version is no longer available, however, when you select download, it will automatically provide you with the standard edition.

So, there you have it, five fantastic games from five fantastic developers…all of them free.   I hope you enjoy all of them as much as I did.  They are all entertaining and offer a level of gameplay and graphics which is usually reserved for commercial products.

If you are a game player or developer, and would like to recommend a freeware game for use in a future installment of The Arcade please email me at doug@justanothermobilemonday.com.  All requests are welcome.