App of the Month

This is a new type of blog post. It's recurring, at a maximum of once a month, but probably less. I will talk about the iPhone or iPod Touch app that I'm playing or using the most at the moment.

This month's app is: TINY TOWER See fig. 1.

Fig. 1. "The Intro Screen"

It's hard to explain the addicting qualities of Tiny Tower. The best description I can think of is this: You have nearly complete control. That's defiantly the best part, but you are rewarded for making the inhabitants of your tower happy.

Here's how you play:

Fig. 2. "Tower Format"

At the beginning of the game, actually, I can't remember. I have eighteen floors now, seven of which are apartments. It's not as complicated as it sounds: you are the omnipresent owner of a virtual high-rise. Each floor is either an apartment, or a business that falls into five groups. Retail, Creative, Service, Food, and Recreation. As you build floors, (see fig. 2.) you are only given the types of businesses to choose from, oh, you can also choose housing, but that's the only one that you know what you'll get when you  choose. That's right, the actual business is randomly selected for you when you build new floors and choose a category. This I think, allows for the huge selection of businesses you can have. The real game mechanics are very simple. You build an apartment, then control the elevator to get bitizens to the floor they want to go to. When they want to go to a floor that has an open room, they automatically move in. Then you can build businesses and assign the bitizens to work in them. As the businesses are filled with workers, you can ask them to stock the things that they sell. When they finish, you have to tell them to start selling, by pushing the stock button. Selling things makes you money, enough money and you can buy a new floor. Since every residence holds five bitizens, and a store hires three, you'll need a new apartment every two or so businesses.

Fig. 3. "Elevator Controls"

How to win:
I have no idea how to win, I assume that the tower isn't infinite, but it is digital, so it doesn't have a reason not to be. You can buy faster elevators, complete challenges, paint rooms, change the look of each bitizen without permission from them, and best of all, place them in their dream job. Yeah, every bitizen has a birthday, a number of skill points in each type of business and a dream job. So far I've only gotten one bitizen to his dream job, but maybe that's how you win.

Download it on all ipod touches and iPhones, obviously, from iTunes.

Thanks for reading, sorry it's a day late.