Let's talk our favorite free apps! One of my all time favorites is an iOS application called “Original Farkle”, created by Scott Slocum of Amuseware.com. The application is a game, and it’s available as a free download for iOS in the Apple App Store, and it’s suggested for users ages 4 and up. The application is a standalone download. Original Farkle provides users a simulation of a popular dice game called Farkle. The following is a review of my favorite game app, broken down into the following categories: User Interface (UI), Design, Accessibility, and Security & Updates.
User Interface (UI): When you first open the Original Farkle app, you are prompted to enter the name of your player. Then, you are immediately brought into a live game against one computer player. If the app user is familiar with the game Farkle already, then the game options should be familiar. This can be very confusing if the user has never played the game Farkle before, because there are no instructions or game rules provided on this screen. At the top of the game, area is where the application Sponsors advertise, and this graphic will vary. At the bottom of the game area are navigation buttons. When you select the Menu button, you are brought to all the other app menu options, such as Rules, Standings, Players, Help, and About, just to name a few. I found the UI easy to navigate if your technical skills are beginner or above.
Design: The Original Farkle app consists of basic graphic imagery showing when the dice are “thrown”, or when a player “selects” a dice to play hold. Within the app Options, the user can modify the game speed, sound and turn hints off or on. The app also allows the user to customize their game experience having control over the player names and score settings. The game background color and menu button color contrast, and they can still be seen when a device brightness is turned down.
Accessibility: The Original Farkle app is only available for iOS in the Apple App Store. The app is only offered in one language, English. Within the game options you can control the sound volume levels, but hearing game sounds is not necessary to play the game. For full-game functionality, you do not need to have Wi-fi, active cellular data, or even GPS turned on.
Security & Updates: You are not required to enter any personal data to use the application. Original Farkle is free for download in the Apple App Store, and there are no in-app purchases offered. There is no opportunity to create a personal account associated with a personal email, and you can reset your game data within the app options. Within your iOS device settings, you can also choose to limit or restrict Siri's access to the application. The current app version is 2.1, and a history of the previous updates can be found in the Version History on the Apple App Store listing.
Application Recommendations:
- Users should be provided more instructions when
they first open the application. It would be nice if the developer offered
the option to show or hide “hints”. These could be small information
buttons that, when selected, would offer some direction to the user. If
the user did not need the “hints” they could then turn that feature off.
- The ability to modify and add game players is nice, but the functionality is not easily integrated with a device keyboard. After you select a player's name, the keyboard is immediately called, making the other menu options inaccessible.
- Continue NOT to have advertisement popups. This seems like an unusual recommendation. Still, considering how frustrating advertisement popups are in other game apps, I think it’s worth recommending that they continue to be excluded from this app. In my opinion, less interruptions equals more app game play.
Reference:
- Link to the Original Farkle application download in the Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/original-farkle/id1576253551
- Application found in the Appl App Store
- View from in-game play.
- Menu options.
- Game Options
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