The quick play or casual game is a gaming phenomenon spawned by the mobile phone explosion and characterized by its simplicity, ease of play and quickness in loading and delivering instant gratification. Gaming on the go, in the bus or on the john. In the 3D world there are some terrific titles in this category which, if you’re not careful, can lead to family, coworkers or irate strangers pounding on the door to get you out of your gaming stupor.

Rollercoaster Rush 3D

If any developer understands the casual game genre it’s Digital Chocolate as shown by its motto “Seize the Minute”. Possibly one of the simplest most exciting mobile games ever created, Rollercoaster Rush 3D puts you in the shoes of a rollercoaster brakeman responsible for squeezing as much thrills and smiles out of your riders as possible without killing them. More than one thumb play it’s one button play as you rarely need to brake. Simply on or off the accelerator sends your coaster hurtling down the 33 tracks collecting stars to advance to the nexthair-raising 30-second ride. The sense of speed is astounding and the stomach-churning jumps, loops and high-G turns are perfectly captured by the 3D camera. With gorgeous graphics, music and coaster SFX it’s a must have for every 3D mobile gamer.  

3D Super Ball

Another great airborne casual game is 3D Super Ball from Indiagames. The ball physics are fantastic as you roll your ball down ramps and rails, across moving platforms, opening doors pushing aside boxes and jumping over gates to reach the end of each level without falling into the void. It demands a little more one thumb dexterity than Rollercoaster Rush as you really need to control your ball well to reach the end. Many levels need some thoughtful planning to finish which is where a rotating 3D camera view and zoom becomes useful. You can switch between a light ball for rolling uphill, jumping and riding airstreams or a heavy ball for pushing aside boxes. Each ball has its own well designed characteristics. Although there is no SFX there is good music with controllable volume and a nice midair feel to this casual 3D title. Very addicting.

3D Tornado Mania

Back to Digital Chocolate with the unique and inventive 3D Tornado Mania. Controllingthis destructive force across the 3D landscape is a simple one-button affair as it normally rotates clockwise until you change its spin and direction by pressing the center d-pad. In no time at all you will feel like Zeus on your ceramic throne as you rampage through cities and farms picking up houses, cars, cows and office buildings. As your tornado picks up or destroys buildings it grows in strength until it attracts planes loaded with dry ice to combat it. You can also pick up bonus items like funnels (adds smaller tornados around the main one), lightning (adds speed) and shields. There are two modes of play, simple rampage and utopia where you build a happy city by picking up buildings and placing them into a biosphere. Great music with nice rolling 3D terrain.

Qblox

If you want to exercise the right side of your brain along with your thumb try Qblox from Cocoasoft. Like the rubik’s cube, simple and hard at the same time. The symbols perform functions like adding tiles, making bridges and splitting your rectangle while the light brown tiles break away under too much weight. With simple controls, nice graphics and animation, dreamy music and deviously hard but inventive gamplay, Qblox may not provide instant gratification but will give those with a logical bent a good challenge. 

Tower Bloxx Deluxe 3D

Infants have a fascination with stacking plastic building blocks. It’s this deep seeded human urge that Digital Chocolate seeks to get at with Tower Bloxx Deluxe. You play an architect trying to build a new city by dropping swinging floors onto swaying buildings while collecting residents for your city. Although somewhat limited in scope, the super-sharp cartoon graphics and fitting music along with the moving 3D camera make for a light-hearted pleasantly fun title.

Midnight Hold Em 3D

I’d put Gameloft’s Midnight Hold Em 3D into the category of a must-have quick play as you can jump in for a few hands at any time, enjoy one-thumb uncomplicated game play and receive some instant gratification all in under 5 minutes. You can play instant, tournament or free mode in either a top-down or a revolving first-person 3D view and try your luck at Hold Em, Omaha or Omaha Hi-Lo. One of the beauties of a poker game is that it’s never the same, the cards and your luck are always different. This gives this game staying power. Midnight Hold Em contains terrific sound with voiceovers from all the players providing perhaps the best characterizations ever seen on a mobile device. It’s a game with a lot of style and gets a permanent spot on my memory card.

Reviewed by goyami - Nokia N95 8gb