Yoku-Gami is a pretty simple, straightforward board game, adapted from the work of game designer Reiner Knizia .  Here is the premise.  You have a board of 36 space. arranged in a 6×6 square.  Each square contains a number.  Your job is to draw a line connecting adjacent numbers (it does not need to be a straight line as long as the next number is adjacent to the previous one).  Here is the catch, all of the numbers in your line must add up to total the highest number in your grouping.  Sounds pretty easy, but watch out.  The further you progress in the game, the higher the numbers will be, making it more difficult to find moves.  Once you have completely run out of moves, the game will end.

Sitting on top of the board is Yoki.  He is your friend, and a sort of mascot of the game.  If you get stuck, just tap Yoki and he will show you a group of numbers to select (though you will not earn points for this).

There are three game playing modes in the game.  In Endless Mode, your goal is simply to rack up as many points as possible.  Play will continue until you run out of moves.  In Arcade Mode, your goal is to remove entire columns at a time.  Once a column is cleared, the rest of the blocks on the screen will shift to fill the gap.  Finally, in Level Mode, the game will take place over a series of independent grids, or levels.  Depending upon the moves you make on each grid, you can lose one or more of your 24 lives, or even gain additional lives, as you progress from one level to the next.

I have to say I really enjoyed this game.  It is deceptively simple.  The three game modes really add a level of complexity to this.  I used Endless Mode to get a feel for the game, and then moved on to the more challenging Arcade and Level Modes.  While the concept behind the game may not have been the most original. Meritum software did a fantastic job, as they have in the past, of putting their own unique spin on it. 

Additionally, with its reliance upon addition, this is the perfect game for young children just learning their way in the world of math.  With that in mind, I would love to see them add negative numbers into the mix so that you can use the game to strengthen both addition and subtraction skills. 

Yoku-Gami is available for the iPad for $1.99.  It can be purchased for only $0.99 on the iPod Touch and iPhone.

The WOWee One is a pocket sized speaker which uses an unusual technology where the top is a speaker and the bottom is a built-in subwoofer that uses different solid and flat surfaces to produce that thumping bass. This unit is rechargeable and can be powered using a mini-USB port including the cable (claimed to be good for up to 20 hours when fully charged – my unit lasted more than 23 hours on half volume – which is already quite loud, then it went out like a light) and comes with a cable to connect to any audio device that has a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. 

Press play and enjoy listening and feeling the rich clear sound.  I tried several surfaces like the Formica kitchen counter, the glass table, wooden surfaces, vinyl or plastic surfaces, and the sound was surprisingly rich for such a small unit.  You’ll notice different sounds based on different surface types that the WOWee One is attached to.  For example, our glass table increased the treble and gave the sound a more “crystal” type of sound.

The bottom “Gel” portion can be cleaned using a cloth and a bit of water.  Making good contact with the bottom to the surface is important to the quality of the sound.

I used it to amplify my iPod and iPad when I watched videos and listened to music.  It beats having to wear earphones and is great for watching and/or listening with friends.  My son and I have watched a few Netflix shows on my iPad while eating in our crowded little nook and this little gadget really adds another dimension to the sound.  Now that I’ve experienced the difference, I "suffer" when I watch a show on my iPad without it.  It is a solid unit without parts that may break off and that makes this unit easy to just throw into my handbag.   See how small it is when compared to an Apple Mighty Mouse?

All in all, I am very pleased with the performance of this WOWee One.

Vital Statistics:

Product: WOWee One Portable Speakers aka WOWee One Classic

Price: $79.99

Available from: WOWee One and Amazon

Posted by: kawc

Yes, you read that right.  Apple is discontinuing Mobile Me retail boxes.  No, Apple is not discontinuing the Mobile Me service.  Beginning today, Apple stopped manufacturing the physical edition of Mobile Me.  Once stores sell out of the physical product, the only way is to go to www.apple.com/mobileme.  What does that mean for Apple?  1) Greater profit for not having to have a physical product or the need to store it.  2) Yet evening more earnings as now, all of it goes to Apple.  None of it goes to the retailers.

Getting a small business off the ground is not a simple task.  That’s just what I’ve been doing this past couple of months after taking over JAMM.  Starting a new company requires decisions, decisions, and more decisions.  Staffing, operating procedures, communications, point of sale, inventory, legal stuff, taxes – what exactly does a small business need?  Learning from the school of red, black, and blue (hard knocks aka trial and error) we’re about to find out what a company needs .  To prepare, I’ve taken a crash course in business, accounting, and the principles of management.  What we’ll be looking at in the next couple of months will be the pros and cons of various business solutions that all utilize Apple’s iOS platform and how Cyberdale, L.L.C., my small IT consulting / computer repair business will operate using such solutions.  They say that 9 out of 10 small business fail – time to run the gauntlet.  I hope that this learning experience being documented will be of value to you, our dear readers.  Stay tuned to our first chapter in this series – “Why iOS”?

G5 Entertainment is excited to share Mushroom Age for iPhone as well as the HD version for iPad for free to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

In Mushroom Age, you’ll be helping Vera track down her lost love through thrilling epochs of earth’s past and future! Vera’s fiance, Tom, has gone missing a few days before the wedding. So she embarks on a race against time and through history to find him and save the world from evil powers that want to change history and destroy the world. Solve interesting puzzles and play mesmerizing mini-games with pre-historic characters like a dinosaur and a caveman, historic personages like Socrates and Nostradamus, robots and bad guys from the future, not to mention characters not bound by the confines of time! Featuring eye-popping puzzles and brain-bending mini-games, Mushroom Age is a wild adventure for the whole family.

Mushroom Age features:
• 23 Chapters in 45 Levels
• 41 Mesmerizing mini-games
• Strange and amazing landscapes
• Save the past and future!
• iPhone 4 Retina Display support
• iOS multitasking support

Get the iPad HD version of the iPhone version today.