[Update] Advent 2012 deals round-up: The Adventures of Tintin, Venture Towns, Shardlands, and more

It's almost Christmas. As usual, this means that iPhone, iPad, and Android developers are feverishly slashing the prices of their best and most sought-after apps and games.

Why do they do it? We're not quite sure. We wouldn't be surprised to discover it has something to do with brandy-laced eggnog, though.

Anyway, there are several different advent calender-style schemes to keep your eye on this year.

Ubisoft, for example, will be offering exclusive discounts on its catalogue of titles every day this month.

You can also grab apps like Advent 2012: 25 Christmas Apps [download], which will point you in the direction of plenty of freebies throughout this mince pie-filled month.

Alternatively, you can bookmark this article. Each day, we'll sift through the latest and greatest deals and freebies and highlight the ones that are worth checking out.

We're starting five days late, and you've already missed four chocolates, so let's get cracking...

December 21st

• Avengers Initiative is Apple's free App of the Week [download].
• Silver Award-winning puzzle title Super Monsters Ate My Condo! is free [download].
• Twin-stick shooter Minigore is gratis for a limited time [download].
• Flick Nation's Rugby HD for iPad is also free [download].
• Flick Soccer! HD is free, too [download].
• Grab awesome side-scrolling brawler Punch Quest for free today [download].
• Platformer Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 is 69p / 99c for a limited time [buy].
• Square Enix is currently hosting a large iPhone and iPad garage sale.
• Gameloft's The Adventures of Tintin is just 69p / 99c for the foreseeable future [buy].
• Kairosoft has slashed the price of Pocket Clothier [buy] and Venture Towns [buy]. They're both £1.49 / $1.99.
• £1.99 / $2.99 is all you need to bag Bronze Award-winning strategy game Neuroshima Hex [buy].
• Classic Silver Award-nabbing drive-'em-up Carmageddon is 69p / 99c today [buy].
• Another 69p / 99c title: Jelly Defense [buy].
• If you have 69p / 99c lying around, make sure you grab Shardlands [buy].
• Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is £1.49 / $1.99 [buy].

• Several Android titles are going cheap in Square Enix's Christmas sale.

December 20th

• Stan Lee's Verticus won't cost you a penny today [download].
• Colourful arcade hit Coin Drop is also free for a limited time [download].
• Gold Award-winning third-person shooter Trigger Fist is gratis, too [download].
• EA has slashed the price of Burnout Crash [buy] to 69p / 99c.
• Punchy Real Boxing [buy] is a knock-out at 69p / 99c.
• iPad hits Command & Conquer: Red Alert [buy], Dead Space [buy], Flight Control HD [buy], Battlefield: Bad Company 2 [buy], and NBA Jam [buy] are 69p / 99c each, as well.
• 69p / 99c will nab you iPhone racer Need for Speed: Undercover [buy] or iPad sequel Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit [buy].
• Similarly, Shift 2: Unleashed is 69p / 99c [buy].
• Rubicon's Silver Award-winning Great Big War Game is 69p / 99c, too [buy].
• The Sims 3 [buy] and Fight Night Champion [buy] for iPhone are 69p / 99c apiece.
• Fancy another bargain? Mirror's Edge for iPad is also 69p / 99c [buy].
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies is £1.99 / $2.99 for a limited time [buy].
• Lili is 69p / 99c [buy].
• Real Racing HD for the iPad will set you back 69p / 99c today [buy].
• Max Payne Mobile [buy] and Grand Theft Auto 3 [buy] are 69p / 99c.
• The iPhone [buy] and iPad [buy] versions of Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars are 69p / 99c, as well.
• Excellent action-RPG Bastion is 69p / 99c [buy].
• Got £1.49 / $1.99? Why not pick up Space Invaders Infinity Gene? [buy].
• Sega is offering the majority of its iPhone and iPad catalogue at a reduced price.

• Sega has slashed the price of several Android titles.

December 19th

• Gold Award-winning tower defence title Kingdom Rush is available for free. Yes, free [download].
• Spirit [download] and Spirit for iPad [download] are also gratis.
• First-person shooter N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance is just 69p / 99c for a limited time [buy].
• The iPad edition of popular puzzler Cut the Rope is also 69p / 99c [buy].
• 69p / 99c will also bag you Inferno+ [buy].
• EA's Silver Award-winning FIFA 13 is 69p / 99c [buy].
• Similarly, the excellent Need for Speed: Most Wanted is 69p / 99c for a few days [buy].
• Gorgeous-looking slasher Infinity Blade is 69p /99c [buy], and its sequel Infinity Blade II is £1.99 / $2.99 [buy].
• Tower defence titles Fieldrunners 2 [buy] and Fieldrunners 2 HD [buy] are also 69p / 99c and £1.99 / $2.99, respectively.
• Trials HD-esque Bike Baron is 69p / 99c [buy].
• Platinum Award-winning racers Real Racing 2 [buy] and Real Racing 2 HD [buy] are 69p / 99c apiece.
• Fieldrunners for iPad is £1.99 / $2.99 [buy].

December 18th

• Episode 1 of Telltale's unbelievably good point-and-click adventure series Walking Dead: The Game is now available for free [download].
• Uppercut Games's Epoch-esque cover-based shooter SnowJinks won't cost you a penny [download].
• Bronze Award-winning simulation Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim is also free for a limited time [download].
• iPhone and iPad puzzlers Land-a Panda [download] and Land-a Panda HD [download] are both gratis for today.
• Both the iPhone [buy] and iPad [buy] versions of PopCap's excellent Plants vs Zombies are 69p / 99c apiece for a limited time.
• Grab RPG Lili for 69p / 99c [buy].
• All five episodes of Telltale's Back to the Future series are 69p / 99c each [buy].
• Similarly, all five Monkey Island Tales episodes have been slashed in price. They're also 69p / 99c each [buy].
• Jurassic Park episodes are 69p / 99c each, as well [buy].
• But wait, there's more. Puzzle Agent [buy], Puzzle Agent HD [buy], Puzzle Agent 2 [buy], and Puzzle Agent 2 HD [buy] are - you guessed it - 69p / 99c each.
• You can also grab all three episodes of Telltale's Hector series on iPhone and iPad for the same price [buy].
• Looking for a £1.49 / $1.99 gem? Check out Gold Award-winning boardgame Ticket to Ride [buy].
• Another 69p / 99c bargain. Epoch [buy].
• Still want more? Okay, award-winning titles Hunters: Episode One HD [buy] and Hunters 2 [buy] are now available for 69p / 99c apiece.
• 69p / 99c will now bag you Wild Blood [buy] or Order & Chaos Online [buy].

December 17th

• Age of Zombies [download] and Age of Zombies: Anniversary [download] are both free until 6am GMT tomorrow.
• Grab both Fruit Ninja [download] and Fruit Ninja HD [download] without putting your hand in your pocket.
• Want more? Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots [download] and Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots HD [download] are also gratis.
• Endless-runner Monster Dash is also free [download].
• Guess what else is free? Silver Award-winning blaster Shoot the Zombirds [download].
• Adult Swim's excellent cut-'em-up Amateur Surgeon 2 won't cost you a penny today [download].
• The iPad version of EA's Shift 2: Unleashed is free. Grab it [download].
• Both the iPhone [buy] and iPad [buy] versions of Sid Meier's Pirates! are 69p / 99c apiece for a limited time.
• Similarly, 69p / 99c will bag you either the iPhone [buy] or iPad [buy] edition of Civilization Revolution.
• It didn't score too highly at review, but you can currently pick up Borderlands Legends on iPhone [buy] and iPad [buy] for 69p / 99c apiece.

December 14th

• Silver Award-winning action-RPG Squids is available for free [download].
• Do you feel like a superhero today? Grab Thor: Son of Asgard for free [download].
• The iPad version of EA's Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 is gratis for a limited time [download].
• If you're craving more spandex, pick up Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty. It's also free [download].
• iPhone endless-flyer Fly With Me is currently available free of charge [download].
• Card-based battler Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer won't cost you a penny for the next couple of days [download].
• Mountain Sheep has slashed the price of twin-stick shooter Minigore 2: Zombies to just 69p / 99c [buy].
• Got 69p / 99c lying around? Grab Super Hexagon while it's cheap [buy].
• You can currently pick up the iPad version of Rovio's Bad Piggies for 69p / 99c [buy].
• Amazing Alex HD is 69p / 99c, too [buy].
• Rovio has slashed the price of Angry Birds HD [buy], Angry Birds Seasons HD [buy], Angry Birds Rio HD [buy], Angry Birds Space HD [buy], and the recently released Angry Birds Star Wars HD [buy], so they are also just 69p / 99c apiece.
• Another 69p / 99c title. Rock-solid platformer Mega Man X [buy].

December 11th

• Adult Swim's colourful Silver Award-winning Extinction Squad is now free for a "short time" [download].
• Similarly, Halfbot is giving away endless-jumper The Blocks Cometh [download].
• Solve 100 puzzles and banish a mischievous adversary in The Curse. It's now free for a limited time [download].

December 10th

• Side-scrolling platformer Prince of Persia Classic is now just 69p / 99c on both the iPhone [buy] and iPad [buy].
• EA has slashed the price of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to 69p / 99c for a limited time [buy].
• Got your eye on Dragon's Lair 2: Time Warp? It's also just 69p / 99c for the next day or two [buy].
• Grab the iPad version of popular boardgame Battleship for, you guessed it, just 69p / 99c [buy].
• Another 69p / 99c app. This time, the iPad version of Bop It! [buy].

• Now's the perfect time to grab Silver Award-winning survival-horror title Dead Space. It's just 62p [buy].
• The infamous Plants vs Zombies is also 62p for the foreseeable future [buy].

December 7th

• Grab Ubisoft's Rabbids Go HD and torture a cuddly critter for free [download].
• You can now download Ravensword: The Fallen King and prepare yourself for its upcoming sequel for just 69p / 99c [buy].

December 6th

• You can now grab the excellent Gold Award-winning Pizza Vs. Skeletons and crush the undead with a 25-foot-tall pepperoni-based snack for free [download].
• Universal app iBlast Moki HD is also available for nada [download].
• Similarly, EA's The Sims Medieval is gratis for a limited time [download].
• Sega has slashed the price of its Silver Award-winning Sonic Jump to 69p / 99c [buy].
• High Society, an interesting boardgame from infamous German designer Reiner Knizia, is currently 69p / 99c [buy].
• Grab the iPhone versions of EA's Need for Speed: Undercover [buy] and Risk [buy] for 69p / 99c each.
• 69p / 99c will also nab you Reckless Racing HD [buy] or Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 [buy] for the iPad.

December 5th

• Ubisoft has slashed the price of Michael Jackson: The Experience HD for iPad. You can currently grab it for just 69p / 99c [buy].
• Bronze Award-winning endless-runner Ski Safari is free for a limited time [download].
• Catan [buy] and Catan HD [buy] are just £1.99 / $2.99 each.
• Boardgame War on Terror is available for free [download].
• Grab Disney's Gnome Village via the Advent 2012 app [download], and receive an exclusive Yeti character for your 'troubles'.