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By Steve Benoff Games people play. Games on phones are so popular that when you go to the App Store on your iPhone, games have their own icon at the bottom of the screen. If you press the Games icon, you'll be introduced to a myriad of games. Nineteen categories in fact, including action, card, puzzle, sports, trivia, and word games. Time for an admission. I don't play games on my phone. I play a great numbers game called KenKen that I print out from my computer. But that's it. However, as a public service, I thought I'd explore smartphone games to see what's available. According to a trade group referred to in the New York Times, two-thirds of American households play video games. It seems game playing can be addictive. The World Health Organization is adding "gaming disorder" to its compendium of medical conditions. So, proceed with caution. I've heard the word "blast" associated with the games category. There are many blast game apps. One has a 4.7 rating (out of 5) based on 493,000 reviews. It's called Toon Blast. Can't hurt to give it a try if you're looking for a way to pass the time. Solitaire is a very popular single-player game. It's been available as a computer game for decades. In fact, I became so hooked on a Solitaire variant called Free Cell that the only way to break my habit was to delete it completely from my computer. These days you can find any number of Solitaire apps. If you're into Solitaire, give one of the apps a try. There's even a Free Cell app, which I can assure you I will never load onto my phone. Candy Crush isn't just a game app; it's a whole category. I've seen many people passing the time in waiting rooms playing Candy Crush on their phones. My brother-in-law is a well-educated, highly accomplished guy. Nevertheless, he finds playing Bubble Snap on his phone relaxing. You know what bubble wrap is. Bubble Snap is an app that replicates bubble wrap on your screen. Press a bubble and you hear a pop and the bubble deflates. That's it. It's about as noncompetitive a game as you can play. But it works for him; maybe it will for you. Are you into crosswords? Enter "crossword" in the search bar, and you'll be presented with any number of crossword games and variants. Do you like number games? Enter "number" into the search bar and you'll get dozens of apps. The most popular number game is probably Sudoku, and there's a Sudoku app. I prefer KenKen to Sudoku. If I want to play it on my phone, which I don't, I can download the KenKen app. From what I hear, Madden NFL Football is one of the most popular sports games ever. It has sold over 120 million copies. There's a Madden NFL Football app. Since this is a game you usually have to pay for, I expect you'll have to pay to play the app. But you can download it for free and see for yourself. Fantasy football, baseball, and basketball are all the rage. If you're into fantasy sports, there's an app for you. Just enter "fantasy" in the search bar. Do you use an app you'd like to share with others? Let me know at steve.benoff@verizon. net. 16 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2018 THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT! Games People Play

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