Once upon a time, we did an article on apps to boost productivity. (Have you seen that one, yet?)
We’re back with another app list! This time, we share some interesting apps to kill travelling time with. Have fun; be careful and don’t miss your stop! Most of these apps have desktop versions, too, so you can use them at home if that’s more of your thing.
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Elevate
[Google Play | App Store]
While there’s no concrete evidence that brain-training games help in boosting mental agility, there’s no harm in giving them a spin—they’re actually pretty fun. Why not see what we mean for yourself? Crowned by Apple as App of the Year in 2014, Elevate contains over 35 mini games that train you in various critical cognitive skills like memory, math, and focus. You get a score and an idea of how you fare against fellow players of the same age range, and unlock achievements along the way.
Do note that you’ll need a paid subscription to unlock all its features (free users only get to play 3 out of 5 games daily, and don’t have access to training activity reports).
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AlphaBears 2: Return of the Blank
[Google Play | App Store]
Word games can’t get any cuter than this. Travel to different eras and return history to normal, after your bear character touches a time machine doohickey (hi bear, meet Pandora) and messes everything up. Collect bear friends along the way for special power-ups, and let the board domination begin!
What I really like about Alphabears 2—apart from its bright colours and brand of humour—is how easy it is to access the in-game dictionary after you submit a word. It’s great for when you need a memory refresh, or happened to try your luck and succeed. Simply fantabulous.
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MindNode 6
Need to brainstorm for an assignment while on the go? Or simply have a lot of thoughts that need organizing? MindNode 6 will be your new best friend! You’ll find yourself bidding goodbye to cluttered mind-maps when a paper’s too small, or when points need shuffling around.
The interface of MindNode 6 is pretty user-friendly; simply tap to type your first thoughts/points and go on to add sibling nodes/child nodes/new parent nodes! The app lets you add images and hyperlinks into your mind map, which is pretty useful. You can adjust the colour, width, and font of your nodes and branches, too.
Other handy features include an outline section and the focus feature, which allows users to fade out the other parts of the mind-map so that they can concentrate on their latest branches. It’s a great app to use free, and you can choose to unlock all features for 14.99 USD.
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Clawbert
[Google Play | App Store]
If you like the crane games in the arcade but simply can’t get the hang of them (and the cute things within), you’ll appreciate Clawbert a whole lot. Help Clawbert find friends by catching eggs that hatch into cute toys. That’s it! You can collect coins and gems to speed up the hatching process/double your catch, and earn tickets to buy cute hats to dress Clawbert up with. The game has multiple islands with different themes that unlock as you progress through the game (or with gems if you catch enough/decide to buy them), so there’s certainly no lack of adorable in this game for sure. Now, if only they were actually real…
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Viridi
[Google Play | App Store]
School and work can be exhausting, and sometimes you just want to run to a quiet place and not have to think about responsibilities for a while. Viridi gives you a chance to do just that. A gardening simulator, the app lets you grow and tend succulents to gentle music (you can ‘sing’ to your succulents, no joke). Name them, try not to over or under-water them like I did, and watch them flower for you!
‘Singing’ aside, Viridi’s music is serene and makes the perfect background music to listen to as you plough through assignments and work. In-app purchases are available but not necessary for the enjoyment of the app: you’ll get a free seedling weekly to add to your pot, for one thing! If you need some tranquility and don’t mind minimal interaction, Viridi might be helpful.
We hope that these apps help provide some entertainment, respite, or help to you as you travel home! Or while you’re at home, too, we won’t judge. If you have any apps to recommend, do share with us so that we can spread the word! More fun apps, more joy.