Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and fifty in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x/10 in the past seven days.
Lots of games this week again and only a few applications. It should not be surprising considering that the games category is by far the most popular in terms of downloads and activity.
As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email instead.
Discounts This Week
Red Stripe Deals are back. Microsoft added them to the new Windows 10 Store. You find them listed under Collections when you open the store.
- Doodle Tanks, a popular puzzle game for free
- Wolfram Alpha, scientific-app for $1.49
- Farming Simulator, a farming simulation game for $0.99
- Green Jelly, a puzzle game for $0.99
- Skateboard Party 2, an action game for $0.99
- Clock Tile Pro, custom clock tiles for Windows for $3.99
Best app of the week
None this week
Other apps
The Windows 10 Messaging application requires a Skype account. It enables you to chat, call or video call contacts using the application.
It feels like an unfinished product currently as it lacks features such as sending files to contacts or interface elements that better explain what is going on and how to use the app.
The Tribez & Castles is the successor of the popular The Tribez game.
You manage your kingdom in the game by completing quests, building new structures, taking care of the population and exploring the surrounding areas.
There is only so much you can do at any given point in time as you are limited by the number of workers and resources that you have at your disposal.
The game is free to play and it shows in several regards. First, it takes time to build structures and complete other tasks in the game. Second, it displays offers throughout the game to purchase diamonds, the premium currency in the game, and third, it will bombard you with requests to connect to Facebook and share your progress on the site once you have done that.
Math Masters is a challenging math game in which you need to select the correct result of equations as fast as possible.
The game displays three possible results for you to click on and will reward you with up to three stars based on your performance. It features more than 130 levels of increasing difficulty.
The Beta version provides you with options to track TV shows and movies by connecting to a tract.tv account.
Tracking is without doubt the dominating feature of the app but you can use it to browse popular movies or shows as well, or use the search to find TV shows or movies of interest.
The app features an episode guide for TV shows, descriptions, information about actors and galleries, plus links to popular destinations such as IMDB or TMDB.
The Dreamatorium of Dr. Magnus
You are asked to research the kidnapping of a girl in a world filled with supernatural powers and paranormal events.
It is a point and click adventure game for the most part that uses "find in picture" and puzzle elements to spice things up.
Graphics are excellent and if you like paranormal events, you will probably enjoy the story as well.
The free version is feature-limited which means that you need to purchase the full game if you want to know how it ends.
Disney's Dream Treats - Match Sweets
Dream Treats is a simple matching game in which you visit Disney Park restaurants and serve customers with treats.
Complete objectives such as giving treats to customers by linking treats of the same kind that are adjacent to each other together.
You meet popular Disney characters along the way and may unlock powers that help you complete difficult tasks.
IQ Mission 2 is an interesting puzzle game which offers three types of challenges based on location.
In Tikal, you try to move a coin to a certain location on the board. Some tiles rotate when you move the coin on them which makes it quite challenging.
In Tokyo, you try to move stones in designated areas on the board while you try to arrange mosaics in Barcelona.
Pinball FX 2 Windows 10 Edition
Pinball FX2 is an excellent pinball game for Windows 10 featuring dozens of tables featuring characters and scenes from Star Wars or the Marvel universe.
Most tables need to be purchased for $2.99 each however, while at least one is also available as an ad-supported version.
The game supports keyboard and mouse, Xbox One controller and Touch control input, and seems well designed all in all. There is also a local hotseat mode for up to four players.