Category: Reviews

Apps, games, accessories, and other iPad-centric reviews.

Zavala – a review

Zavala is an app, available for iPad obviously, but it’s also on iOS and macOS, that helps you create outlines. That is, outlines in terms of a tree of items, with indention to clearly state where an item is in relation to other items. You’ve done plenty of those, I’m sure, using bullet lists. Well, that’s what this is: An app to create bullet lists.

And I like it. I do feel that the best way to tackle this review, is to show you. So, here’s my outline (and review) of Zavala.

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Pro Snooker & Pool 2022+ – a review

I don’t know if you know, but the snooker world championships is happening now. It’s an event I enjoy a lot, for some reason. I also enjoy playing both snooker and pool, in person as well as in digital form, so when Pro Snooker & Pool 2022+ popped up on Apple Arcade, I was all over it.

Most people know what pool is, usually played in 8-ball or 9-ball in sleazy bars, but snooker might not be as known. It’s a tricky billiards game that involves massive tables, small pockets and balls, and quite a bit of strategy. Snooker isn’t as fast as pool, and, I’d say, it’s a lot harder to get into. That’s why I like it. It also makes for pretty good slow TV, if that’s your thing.

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Silent Dot – a review

I’ve been looking for a casual game for my short breaks these past couple of weeks. Something to take my mind off things – work, as it were – but not in such a way that I got too stuck, wasting away hours, like I can do with, say, Slay the Spire.

I picked up Silent Dot, a premium release with a very wallet-friendly price because the look and feel of the game felt like it could be a contender. After having played it on and off for a while, I’m uncertain if this is what I was after.

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Remind Me Faster – a review

I’ve been using Reminders for my to-do lists lately (see Switch to iPad #85). I like to rely on the default options, and while I’ve run into some smaller things with Reminders, I’m happy with it for the time being.

The Reminders app isn’t the best when it comes to adding actual reminders, though. While it does have natural language support, meaning that you can write “Call Helena tomorrow” and get the date set to tomorrow’s date, you have to actually tap the suggestion for it to get added. It misses the point, I think. And don’t get me started on all the things that are several taps away, hidden away behind that information icon – it’s just not as sleek as it could be.

Luckily, there’s an app called Remind Me Faster that sort of solves this.

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Logitech MX Anywhere 3 – a review

Logitech MX Anywhere 3 is, as you can see, a mouse, not a trackpad. That means that things like swipes and gestures are hard, downright impossible, to do. This is limiting in iPadOS, definitely, and also a reason why most people, including me, would recommend Apple’s Magic Trackpad over a traditional mouse.

But what if you want to use a mouse? Or have one for your Mac, maybe, and need it for your iPad at times? That’s where the MX Anywhere 3 comes in.

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Slay the Spire – a review

Slay the Spire is a critically acclaimed rogue-like card game. I think that’s what I’d call it. You draw cards and use them to kill your opponents, thus climbing hour on the three act long ladder. The more you play, the more cards you unlock, and other things too, making progress easier, but also more varied.

I’ll say this right away: This is a brilliant game, and you will either love it or hate it.

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GoodLinks – a review

Let me start by saying this: I’m pretty sure I’m not using GoodLinks to its fullest potential. I bet there are some crazy shortcuts out there, that solves some incredibly complicated problems by integrating GoodLinks with, well, everything or something. I don’t know, I just get that feeling.

Me, I just want to save links sometimes, and I want to avoid filling up my Pocket reading list with references, documentation, and code snippets for future projects. This, together with someplace to store research links for newsletters, felt like something GoodLinks could do well.

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Puzzle Quest 3 – a review

I’m angry with myself because I almost believed that Puzzle Quest 3 would be worth the effort. I mean, it’s a really polished game, easy to get into, and fun too, if you like match-3 puzzle games. There are some interesting mechanics too, like the timer after your first match that lets you build chains and whatnot. Even the simplistic story, where characters in the vanilla fantasy world of Puzzle Quest talk to each other, is somewhat enjoyable.

And yet, for all those good things, Puzzle Quest 3 fails. You must’ve guessed why already, right?

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TaskFox – a review

I’m always interested in trying new productivity systems, to-do list apps, and the like. Last week, I used an app called TaskFox, which is free to try, but you’ll probably want to unlock the pro features for €5.

TaskFox is a to-do list app that puts all your tasks in its calendar. That means that even if it’s just a five-minute task, it goes in the TaskFox calendar. This is taking time blocking to a different level, something I’ve dabbled with before.

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Miyamoto – a review

I’ve been spending the better part of the week recuperating in bed, and what better companion than an iPad mini with some games on it? One of the games I’ve been playing is Miyamoto, a digital strategic board game meets roguelikes, something I think work pretty well on tablets overall.

Miyamoto is easy to get into, if you give it a chance because it sure won’t help you. There are no tutorials or any on-boarding at all, it’s just a title screen with a couple of game modes. Granted, the game asks you to swipe up – open the box, as it were – which throws you into its ladder-style view.

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