Remember when phones only had snake on a tiny, grainy screen? Back then phones were only used for communication, calling and maybe texting people. The smart phone industry has changed all of that; now phones are more than communication devices, they are integral parts of our lives.

Smart phones act as our daily secretaries, alerting us to events and daily tasks, keeping notes for us, storing music, taking pictures, keeping track of contacts, and much, much more. With all of the different kinds of smart phones out there – like the Apple iPhone and Google Android – almost everyone has one or wants one.

Smart phones don’t only record and maintain our lives, they also provide us with the essential service of entertainment. Whether one is waiting in a doctor’s office, traveling, bored waiting for someone, looking for something to do in between the slew of commercials, or really just bored for any reason, smart phones can help.

Most of the best smart phone games out there fall into two categories: destruction or classic. The destruction games are almost the opposite of most of the popular Facebook games like CityVille and FarmVille that rely on the user to build and care for something. The classic games are those that have been around since simple games were first introduced to phones and the internet that everyone loves and has played at some point. In both cases, phone games have to be simple and easy to return to, since most people will be playing these games while waiting for something that will eventually interrupt their game.

The number one smart phone game is – not surprisingly – Angry Birds. According to the Guardian, Angry Birds saw over 200 million downloads in 2011. This destructive and classic game has had more than a billion downloads since its creation and has led to several spin-offs including Angry Birds: Seasons, Angry Birds: Rio, and Angry Birds: Space.

The original game made the player use some of his or her physics skills while shooting angry birds at the fortresses of green pigs. The narrative behind the game is that these green pigs have stolen the birds’ eggs and the birds are trying to get them back. The game gets progressively harder, and with 270 levels, can become very difficult.

On a related note, last year The Guardian’s Game Blog listed Bird Zapper as one of the best phone games of 2011. In this game the player matches colored birds to then electrify those birds and get them off the phone wire – supposedly the plot of a vengeful squirrel. Apparently smart phone users have some kind of fascination with killing or harming those of the avian species.

The second place winner in best phone games is one of the newest, Fruit Ninja. According to Joystiq there have been over 20 million downloads across all platforms. There are several different modes to play Fruit Ninja in, but all of them share the same concept where fruits fly up and the player is supposed to destroy them by swiping his or her finger across the screen. If the player destroys a lot of fruit he can get bonuses, but the player also has to avoid fruit bombs.

In the Classic mode the fruit begins to fly a little faster and has more obstacles over time, so there are different difficulty levels. However, if a player prefers to zone out and play a simple game he can play in Zen mode that lets the fruit fly for a certain amount of time but at a fairly constant rate. It is a simple, mindless game that is extremely addicting.

In third place is the latest sensation since Words With Friends, Draw Something. Draw Something is a digital version of another classic game, Pictionary, but now the players get to use their own fingers as the paintbrush/pencil. The game became an overnight sensation that supplanted Words With Friends as the most popular game in 2012. The Telegraph reported that only about a month after its release in February of 2012 the game was averaging about 3,000 drawings a second by players of the game.

In fourth place on the list of best phone games is Words With Friends. A digital spin off the classic game of Scrabble, Words With Friends has quickly become one of the most popular phone and Facebook games. The game is played virtually with a friend as the players go back and forth placing words on the board.

There is also a chat function, a little pointless on a phone (that part was more made for Facebook), that allows players to leave messages for each other when the other player returns. One of the greatest parts of Words With Friends is that anyone can play whenever they want, meaning the players can think for as long as necessary.

One of the best features of Words With Friends and Draw Something is that the difficulty level varies depending on who the user is playing and the luck of the ‘draw’ whether the ‘draw’ is letter tiles or what he or she is assigned to draw.

In fifth place for best smart phone games is the long-lasting Tap-Tap Revenge. Although not necessarily one of the most downloaded games, it is definitely one of the most addicting and fun. In Tap-Tap Revenge, now in its fourth version, the player listens to a song and taps a pattern at just the right time; essentially the game is Dance-Dance Revolution for fingers.

For even more of the best smart phone games see ‘Even More of the Best Smart Phone Games of 2012.’

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In ‘The Best Smart Phone Games of 2012′ we listed the first five of the best games to keep you entertained and occupied; this article continues that list. So far the list stands:

1. Angry Birds

2. Fruit Ninja

3. Draw Something

4. Words With Friends

5. Tap-Tap Revenge

In sixth place is the incredibly fun Temple Run. In the game the player is a character who is running from a mob of monsters. The character continuously runs and the player must swipe to the left, right, down, and up to make the character dodge obstacles and jump gaps. The player can collect coins for bonus points and speed/invincibility boosts, while the game gets progressively harder.

In seventh place is the simple, yet seriously addicting game, Flood-It. In Flood-It the player begins on the far left, top corner of a board of colored squares. The player then chooses colors of neighboring squares to expand his or her control of a board. The catch is that there are a limited number of moves before the game is over and the player has to start on a new board. The game is easy on the smallest board setting, but the medium and hard settings are nearly impossible and require a significant amount of strategy.

In eighth place is the Android original, Alchemy. Alchemy has players start with four basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water. The player then combines the elements to make new things. For example, if the player combines earth and water it makes swamp. The combinations are endless since the new creations can be added to other elements to make new things, and the combinations get stranger and stranger – which also means they get harder and harder. Eventually the player will be able to create anything from worms to aliens.

In ninth place is Tetris, the Nintendo classic. Just like the original, the player rearranges blocks to get rid of rows and stop them from filling up the screen. In the smart phone version the player taps the shapes to rotate them and fit them into place. Ultimately, this has been a favorite of many for years and it should be of no surprise that it made the list.

The last game to make our list of the top ten smart phone games is Bejeweled 2. Also a favorite of Facebook users, Bejeweled 2 has the player match up gems in a row to destroy them and bring in new gems. The player must race against a ticking clock to destroy as many as possible. This game is yet another classic that many people have been playing for years; now everyone can play it on their phones.

Ultimately, what smart phone users seem to like in their games are destructive, mindless games that will keep them entertained while they are sitting around waiting for a friend or while traveling. These games are not only the best for that but some of them, like Words With Friends or Draw Something, are also a great one to stay in touch with friends.

Imag Courtesy of    Fruit Ninja

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This article is a continuation of the Best Facebook Games of 2012, exploring the most exciting and popular games on the social media site.

Fifth on the list of most popular games in 2012 is the Sims Social. Similar to the classic Sims game, users control the life of an individual and are responsible for everything he or she does. There are only nine traits that the characters in the game can have, but unlike the previous Sim games these traits can be leveled. The game also has virtual celebrities lake Lady Gaga and Elvis Presley.

Although Sims Social only had 15.7 million users in the month of June and has 2.8 million daily users, it has been an important feature of Facebook since games were released. Prior to Sims there was Yoville, a version of Sims that Facebook created before it partnered with the Sims franchise. In YoVille, the top game of 2009, users would control a character, his home, his job, and could play minigames.

In sixth place is the well-known Words With Friends. One of the most popular daily games is Words With Friends. Although it does not reach as wide a base as other games, with only 17.1 million users in the month of June, it is one of the most popular that is used daily with 7 million users; it has also been listed as one of the best Facebook games of all time by Kotaku. Words With Friends is similar to Scrabble but is online with a chat feature that allows players to leave messages for their friends.

In seventh place is the extremely popular Bubble Witch Saga that had 20.7 million users in June 2012 alone and has 6.2 million daily users. Similar to Peggle or Bubble Island the user must destroy colored bubbles by matching bubbles of the same color. Bubble Witch Saga was also listed as one of the best Facebook games of all time on Kotaku.

In eighth place is the Hidden Chronicles. In this game the user searches for a list of hidden objects in different rooms in order to solve a mystery. It has 5.1 million daily users and had 20.4 million users in the month of June.

In ninth place is the very well-known Angry Birds. Made popular through a phone app, the user throws angry birds at green pigs who have stolen the birds’ eggs. The game has been gaining in popularity and had 19.9 million users in June 2012 and has an average of 3 million users a day. Angry Birds was also on Kotaku’s top nine Facebook games of all time.

In tenth place is are two classic games that are very similar in game play: Bejeweled Blitz and Diamond Dash. Diamond Dash had 18.4 million users in June and has 4.3 million daily users. Bejeweled Blitz has an average of 3.4 million users a month and is very similar in game play. In both games the player rearranges gems to get rid of sets within a time limit.

Although these are the most popular games of 2012 the nature of the Facebook social network means that what is popular is constantly changing. Facebook has released a new Marvel: Avengers Alliance game that is a 2D fighter. It has been listed as one of the best Facebook games by Kotaku and has been climbing in Facebook popularity. Currently the game has 9.4 million users a month and has had the fourth highest gain in June with 2.1 million users.

Ultimately what is popular this year and what is popular next year may change drastically in regards to which games are being played, but it seems clear that Facebook users prefer the classics and city-building more than any other types.

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