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10 great mobile games from this year's Casual Connect SF

Action! Puzzles! Silent reflection!

10 great mobile games from this year's Casual Connect SF
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The second annual North American Indie Prize Showcase was held at this year's Casual Connect in San Francisco. This time around, the showcase had nearly 50 games of all shapes and sizes on display.

Below is a mere sampling of what the show had to offer in terms of innovative, interesting, and fun mobile game experiences.

For the whole list, including the plethora of PC and console exclusives, check out the Indie Prize website here.

In no particular order...

Gemini Gemini

A beautiful and reflective (literally and figuratively) game designed by two MFA students at the NYU Tisch Game Center.

Along the same lines of flOw by Jenova Chen - who actually served as an advisor on the project - Gemini is a game that grants the player freedom to explore the world, and how to navigate it, at their own pace... while looking absolutely gorgeous the entire time.

This is definitely one to watch.

Hyper Square Hyper Square

A fast-paced, reflex-based puzzle game about mimicking various motions across the screen. You could technically play Hyper Square forever, as the levels are all procedurally generated and will keep making more until you fail.

Great for fans of Super Hexagon. It's out on iOS now for £1.49 / $1.99, with Android and Windows Phone versions on the way.

Apsis

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A calming, touch-based game similar to Gemini, Apsis is about controlling a flock of birds through wide and winding canyons.

Each level represents a certain mood, reflected in both the soundtrack and the motions of your flock. Coming to Android sometime in the future.

The Phantom P.I. The Phantom P.I.

An adventure game with the same amount of heart as old LucasArt point-and-clicks, The Phantom P.I. puts you in control of a paranormal investigator who helps bullied ghosts. I don't know if it can get cuter than that.

The Phantom P.I. released yesterday on iOS for £1.49 / $1.99.

Fearless Fantasy Fearless Fantasy

Fearless Fantasy is one of the strangest RPGs I've ever played, manifesting most in the game's unique art. It looks like a combination of styles between Jacob Buczynski, Alice in Wonderland, and perhaps even a bit of David Firth.

The mechanic is cool, too - a swipe-based combat system played with the touch screen that take a good amount of precision and timeliness to master. The game is on Steam now, with unspecified mobile versions possibly on the way later this summer.

Big Action Mega Fight Big Action Mega Fight

Another game with swipe-based combat mechanics, Big Action Mega Fight is a slick and well-paced beat 'em up with responsive controls some really great art.

Recently, the game switched to a premium app model, earning the devs a lot more success than they ever experienced being free to play. Read more on that here.

Simian.Interface Simian.Interface

A 2013 IndieCade finalist that was made popular first as a web game, Simian.Interface, the strange puzzler about aligning patterns and repetition, has made its way onto iOS for 69p / 99c.

Its spatial puzzles translate well to the touch screen, but know that the game is a very short and limited experience, with a set amount of levels. You can also play it for free or pay what you want for the PC/Mac version.

Spoiler Alert

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An infinite runner that you "unplay," using the touchscreen to tap away the action as the game runs its course in reverse. Unselect coins, unjump on enemies, and undefeat bosses. Spoiler Alert is best scene in action, so take a look at the trailer above. Coming soon to iOS.

BlocKing BlocKing

A casual, physics-based puzzle game, free for iOS. BlocKing is not the most "polished" game at the conference if visuals are important to you, but definitely one of those puzzle games you can sit back with for a relaxing challenge.

The Counting Kingdom The Counting Kingdom

A mathematical puzzle game meant as a fun educational tool for young children, The Counting Kingdom is honestly great for anyone who likes numbers and wants something quick, fun, and easy on the eyes.

It's Early Access on Steam now, but headed to iOS sometime this summer.

Chloi Rad
Chloi Rad
Chloi games, and Chloi writes, and at some point she made the dangerous decision of merging the two. Now she spends her time formulating words about weird games she finds, playing Dark Souls, and also playing Dark Souls.