catapults

I look through the new iOS releases and popular apps several times a day to find hidden gems to talk about here at the end of the week. Usually I try to come up with a theme to tie them all together, but I've been tracking some games over the past couple of weeks that are all good, but can't be wrapped up neatly in a nice little package.

Still, though the games are from different genres, each one has something unique to offer and I hope you'll be able to pick a game from the genre you like best -- I promise you won't be disappointed.… Read more

Catapult Madness is an artillery-based casual arcade game in which you try to fire peasants from a catapult as far as possible.

The side-scrolling interface has three parts: a workshop screen (where you buy upgrades to make your peasants fly further), the catapult screen (where you carefully time your button taps to determine the speed and angle of the catapult shots), and the battlefield that your peasants fly over (according to the game's thin backstory, you're trying to reach a neighboring castle 50,000 feet away to ask for help in a battle). The catapult itself won't … Read more

Crush the Castle is the iPhone adaptation of a popular Flash game, a physics-based, medieval-themed artillery shooter with clever levels and quite a few extras.

You control a trebuchet--a powerful and accurate catapult--which you use to topple nearly a hundred different castles, one by one. Aiming takes practice, but the interface is easy: you tap once to set the trebuchet in motion, then again to release your payload. You can also tap to switch ammo, as you earn new types of projectiles such as clusters of stones and even bombs. Your goal on each level is to kill everyone in … Read more

Rudolph's Kick n Fly is the iPhone and iPod Touch adaptation--and expansion--of another 2D Flash game from developer Donut Games, a classic catapult game in which you launch a wee Santa into the air to see how many Christmas decorations (candy canes, gingerbread men, snowflakes, etc.) he can grab.

The interface (and gameplay) of this app is pretty limited: you touch and drag to determine Santa's trajectory (timing your release with a fluctuating power meter), and then once your elf is airborne you can tap the screen to get two separate, flatulent "bursts" for more altitude. … Read more

Crazy Penguin Catapult Lite is a free game with cartoony graphics and sound effects in which you pilot catapulted penguins onto their cruel polar bear overlords. In the Lite version, you only get access to a few levels from the full version of Crazy Penguin Catapult, but that's enough to get a good idea of the gameplay, in which you navigate a map (by tilting your iPhone or iPod Touch, or by using your touch screen) and face off against the hated polar bears in progressively tougher battles. Each battle is essentially divided into two parts, with a simple … Read more

Crazy Penguin Catapult Lite is a free game with cartoony graphics and sound effects in which you pilot catapulted penguins onto their cruel polar bear overlords. In the Lite version, you only get access to a few levels from the full version of Crazy Penguin Catapult, but that's enough to get a good idea of the gameplay, in which you navigate a map (by tilting your iPhone or iPod Touch, or by using your touchscreen) and face off against the hated polar bears in progressively tougher battles. Each battle is essentially divided into two parts, with a simple one-tap … Read more

PORTLAND, Ore.--Not all do-it-yourselfers were at the Maker Faire in Austin, Texas, this last week. About 2,000 miles away in the Pacific Northwest, a few makers were staying put to celebrate the autumnal festivities as only they can do--by flinging, shooting and catapulting pumpkins out of their homemade inventions.

At the Plumper Pumpkin Patch on Old Cornelius Road Pass, children observe the usual rites of fall with corn mazes, hay rides and pony caravans. But every 20 minutes or so, a boom can be heard around the grounds when a large, makeshift air cannon fires a medium-sized squash … Read more