Best new mobile games this week: Scalak, Pocket Run Pool and more

It’s another Freaky Friday, and while we didn’t wake up in Chris Brown’s body or anything like that, we are amazed by the wide variety of new mobile games that have hit the app stores over the past seven days. …

By
Share this
  • Share this on Facebook
  • Share this on Twitter

It’s another Freaky Friday, and while we didn’t wake up in Chris Brown’s body or anything like that, we are amazed by the wide variety of new mobile games that have hit the app stores over the past seven days. Yes, it’s a weekly occurrence, but it’s one we shouldn’t take for granted.

This would have been a sweet time for new Star Wars games to roll out since Solo made the jump to hyperspace and arrived in theaters this week too, but alas, we’re rolling with the existing ones for the time being (not that that’s a bad thing, as some are pretty darn good). What we found instead among the most promising new mobile games is a cool-looking puzzler, a free-to-play pool game and more, so let’s get to it.

Scalak

Doesn’t Scalak sound like he should be part of Hordak’s Evil Horde, or are we dating ourselves with that reference? Scalak is the puzzle game we mentioned up top, one that is supposed to be a stress-free experience solving more than 90 puzzles by matching shapes, recognizing patterns and utilizing spacial awareness. The developer has brought us some good stuff in the past, so we’re keen to check this out.

Pocket Run Pool

It’s a good thing the ‘Run’ is in the title because … you know what? Never mind. From the maker of Really Bad Chess and Flipflop Solitaire, two really good games, comes this different and intriguing take on pool. Yes, you still have to sink shots as you would in standard 8-ball, but ever-changing multipliers for each pocket mean it takes an extra layer of strategy to get the highest possible score. Sounds like a blast.

World Soccer King

Remember what we said about how Star Wars games could have been timed for Solo? That goes double for soccer games, what with the World Cup on the horizon just a few weeks from now. World Soccer King turns the beautiful game into a simplified affair that is something of a cross between an arcade-style game and flick soccer, pausing so you can set up passes or shots when your player takes possession. It also features PvP play, so get ready to challenge your friends.

Faraway 3

Did we say one puzzle game this week? We meant two, of course. Silly us. Faraway 3: Arctic Escape looks like a Myst-esque affair as you put your room escape abilities to the test in a frosty climate, attempting to track down your lost father. With 18 new temples rendered as 3D environments, this game looks beautiful and should definitely interest fans of the previous games in the series. Note that only the first nine levels are free.

Sir Questionnaire

Let’s end this week’s crop of new mobile games with a genre we always have time for, turn-based hack’n’slash roguelikes. Sir Questionnaire boils its mechanics down to binary choices: attack or walk, or perform some other kind of action vs. running to the next room. Fight and win and you’ll become stronger, but take on the wrong foe at the wrong time and you’re dead. As you go, you can take on quests and learn more info about the monsters you encounter, making each procedurally generated run a treat. We like this idea a lot.

Nick Tylwalk enjoys writing about video games, comic books, pro wrestling and other things where people are often punching each other, regaardless of what that says about him. He prefers MMOs, RPGs, strategy and sports games but can be talked into playing just about anything.