Noyb

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I wasn't aware that DoggCatcher had multiple device syncing. I also wasn't super fond of the fit-and-finish of the UI when I tried the trial version before, though that may have since changed. However, having a trial/free version at all is a good enough reason to give DoggCatcher a try before throwing money at Pocket Casts with only recommendations.

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The UI for DoggCatcher has gotten a few updates and changes over the years so you may be remembering an older version.  Also the device syncing is currently in beta, so it technically does exist but not publicly yet.  It definitely does the rest of those things though.

 

I'd say it's worth a look with the free trial.

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You can disable auto-delete from Pocket Casts and it would simply indicate played vs unplayed, allowing you to delete what you consciously heard and relisten to ones you slept through.

Tried this. Downloaded podcast files still remain on my phone (visible after changing a filter setting in the Downloaded filter playlist), but are still automatically removed from my manual playlist after a single play. To their credit, the devs were quick to clarify this behavior when I asked them about this on twitter last year.

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Oh yeah, that's another thing. I've been consistently impressed with their support. I asked them about something stupid a while ago and they responded pretty quickly and helpfully.

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Tried this. Downloaded podcast files still remain on my phone (visible after changing a filter setting in the Downloaded filter playlist), but are still automatically removed from my manual playlist after a single play. To their credit, the devs were quick to clarify this behavior when I asked them about this on twitter last year.

 

Ahh, it is removed from the playlist not the phone. I didn't understand that part of your kinda weird ritual.  :fart:

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Hate to be negative, but I'm feeling "alone" on this opinion, and curious to see what others think:

 

Badlands.  I hate it.  As I play, I can feel my chest constricting more and more as I struggle to "control" the little dude(s).  Not that I would want direct control, but the physics they chose makes my body hurt.  And it gets worse when he gets bigger... the scroll of the screen with how fast he can move... it's just too much!!

 

I only hear great things about this game, so just curious to hear how other people here feel?

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I haven't been overly enamored with Badland either. The controls feel really sloppy to me. I'm still trying to figure out where all the hype is coming from.

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Duolingo is Code Academy for languages. Smartly put together.

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I was hooked on Knights of Pen and Paper for quite a while; it's a mildly humorous RPG-lite that was great for playing in 5-10 minute chunks

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afternoon folks, wanted to send a thank you for some great suggestions in this thread as of late

 

after spending a week in the dominican with "limited" (as in 5-10 minutes stable a day) most of the time at night was spent with some great suggestions in this thread.

 

Really enjoyed Pixel Dungeon and Hoplite

 

pixel dungeon was neat, but frequently died - i dont know if its player or just the random draw of the levels

 

and Hoplite is great.  i got to lvl 18 before exiting once...now experimenting with skipping some shrines for bonus points etc

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pixel dungeon was neat, but frequently died - i dont know if its player or just the random draw of the levels

 

Both really.  It's a pretty traditional roguelike so you're going to die a lot until you get a better idea of some of the systems.  And even then you're still going to die all the time.  I've only "beat" the game a couple of times out of many, many, many attempts.

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Monument Valley's out now for Android..

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ustwo.monumentvalley

.. sweet.

 

I've played through the first 8 puzzles or so, and I really like it so far. More than anything I'm going to be disappointed when it's over, which might be pretty soon. 

 

Now if we can get Hitman Go, Republique, and Hearthstone, my iOS envy will be almost gone.

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The presentation is really nice and the idea is interesting, but I'm not fully taken with the gameplay yet (think I'm up to level 7). The opening levels seem good, but I'm wondering how crazy it will get (hopefully very) and how long it will last - not that the asking price is very much for something that looks so lovely.

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The presentation is really nice and the idea is interesting, but I'm not fully taken with the gameplay yet (think I'm up to level 7). The opening levels seem good, but I'm wondering how crazy it will get (hopefully very) and how long it will last - not that the asking price is very much for something that looks so lovely.

 

I played through it almost in one sitting (then my battery died and I took a short break). I didn't find it particularly challenging until the last level, which left me feeling stumped a couple of times, but not for very long. I think the biggest thing that held me back from really getting into the gameplay is that there was really only one interactive element on screen at once (a thing you could lift or a switch you could flip) and that made the whole thing feel more like an extended demonstration of the level design rather than a genuine puzzle. Still, it was a pretty and enjoyable thing to click through if only for the art direction. The story stuff was pretty underwhelming though I will admit I was sad when 

the totem tried to follow the princess into the sea and ended up sinking. I'm a sucker for sentimentality.

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I just completed the Android version of Giana Sisters... it looks amazing and frankly, I like it better than the one I Kickstarted, it's "legit" hard and not "I Want to Be The Guy" hard, it has a lot of very tough parts, instead of just "do this perfectly for 20 minutes or die" like the "new" game does.

 

Hmm, if Republique does come out on Android, I wonder if I can ask the Kickstarter to change the pledge to the Android version, because I don't know when or IF we'll ever get the PC version. :|

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Anyone tried out the android phone (or any phone platform) version of XCom?  Sounds like it's pretty decent, but I'm curious to hear some first-hand accounts of playing on such a small screen.

 

edit: nevermind!  Downloading now.  I promise I'll give my impressions once I've had time to play a bit.  3.6gigs on mobile.

 

Speaking of console games to mobile.  Dragon Quest 8 is out on android.  I played the heck out of the ps2 version, and mostly loved it, but I remember it being unnecessarily long and grindy, so I won't be picking it up for a second playthrough.  Love that intro music, do:

 

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So, to revive this thread I'm just going to blab out couple recommendations cause there's two games I've really been digging a lot on my phone and android games don't get enough love.

 

Bag It! - A puzzle game where you're bagging groceries. Each food item has a different shape, weight and weight tolerance. You must arrange them so that they fit neatly in the bag without crushing anything in one of the modes. There's also a mode where you intentionally crush and destroy as many as you can in a time limit. Or another mode where it's a puzzle with a specific solution, that can have special requirements about not having two food items touching.

Basically, they really ran with a simple premise, developed it up to make it for some deep systems, and made varied mechanics that change it up. I've been playing it for months and I will likely actually try to 100% it, which is rare for me and is also not simple in this game. Completing levels is easy enough but getting a 3 star rating and performing the other 2 optional challenges is another story. They really just stuffed this full of well designed things to do and I'm enjoying it long after I give up most games.

 

Alcazar - This is a puzzle game where you have to draw a path through a maze. In a clever move they let you share levels with friends, so here's a link to one of the early ones you can play in browser:

http://theico.co/try-alcazar#pcwry9usioltc8ltot1u3c

(their web version looks a little rougher, it looks amazing in the app. I suspect they may have worked with a graphic designer)

 

The rules are that you must go through every square and each square must be only passed through once. The conceit is simple, but you learn the language of how it works and start to easily notice the logical deductions of where the path can and can't go. The levels get increasingly complicated and bigger, I think the difficulty is a little bit uneven. I flew through the first few books but started to slow down a lot after that. It's very much worth it though because it's got a really nice clean design and the "Aha!" moments of success feel great even when you're repeatedly solving them quickly, it just feels great. Also it's divided into 'books' of 30 levels each, and the first book is free to try out, and the app comes with free daily puzzles.

 

 

They both really hit on the game of android games I seem to enjoy, where it's a thoughtful puzzle experience with really nicely set out and designed controls and interface. Threes is a kind of runner up here, but aside from being well known I think Threes being so single minded in goal is less attractive to me than a series of discrete designed levels. So also if anyone has anything in this vein they think I'd like, recommend away.

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I've been playing some HItman Go on my phone lately. It's currently $2 in the Play Store (through the weekend, so I guess grab it today before it goes back to $5) and it's super good.

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Oh man, I'd forgotten about Hit Mango, waiting patiently in my wishlist next to Monument Valley.

Thanks for the tip about the sale! I'm already a whole box through the puzzles. Pretty much exactly nails what it was I was hoping for. Fun engaging puzzles with a super clean polished experience. I look forward to getting to the really taxing parts.

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Definitely second Alcazar, I'm almost finished with all the available levels. They're all really satisfying. I've found the Six Rooms puzzles to be the hardest of the lot because often it's not obvious what you have to do first to start making progress.

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Definitely second Alcazar, I'm almost finished with all the available levels. They're all really satisfying. I've found the Six Rooms puzzles to be the hardest of the lot because often it's not obvious what you have to do first to start making progress.

Looks like the core mechanic is based on the old DS game Polarium. They upped the complexity pretty substantially though, both with size and with the multiple exits.

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Do Androids play with Electric Thumbs? The first in my new series looking at Android games: a review of Hitman Go.

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