Geek Culture

Scrabble:
I don't think I have ever actually played a real game of Scrabble, but since downloading the game I must admit I've played it several times, and it's kinda fun. You can play the computer, or use what they call Pass n' Play Game Mode for up to 4 players. If you are stuck for a word, there is the Best Word hint cheat, game rules are customizable, and of course there's multiple difficulty levels and statistics tracking.

Tetris:
Tetris® is probably one of the best known and most popular games ever, and if you are a Tetris fan, I think you will be quite pleased by EA's iPhone version. Tetris is made more fun with an iPhone, as you toss and slide the pieces down the screen. You can also shrink or draw game pieces, plus there are four suitably cheezie sound tracks to accompany you as you drop blocks.

I have a couple of nitpicks about Tetris. The first, I wish you could rotate a game piece by spinning it on the screen rather than by tapping the screen. The second was a bit more serious, and was literally a game killer. After a few launches, the app would suddenly no longer launch, crashing after a few seconds. I tried fixing it by deleting the copy on my iPod Touch, updating the app, and re-syncing the game from iTunes, but to no avail. So that was no fun, and if the reviews on the App Store are any indication, many people are having the same problem. (If I hear back from EA as to the fix, I'll update this post.)
UPDATE: it's working fine now, after a restart of the iPod Touch. yay!
UPDATE 2: EA sent in this notice:
EA is aware that some consumers have experienced technical issues with applications downloaded from Apple's new app store. EA is committed to providing top-tier titles, and stands behind every game with a proven consumer update procedure. To that end, EA will be delivering a free update on Friday, July 25th for our current iPhone and iPod Touch games. Consumers will be able to quickly and easily update Scrabble, Tetris and Sudoku for no extra charge simply by following the prompt on each game from their iPhone or iPod Touch. We appreciate feedback and comments and look forward to hearing from our consumers about our games.

Sudoku:
OK, I admit it, I am addicted to Sudoku on my iPod Touch. The game is a joy to play, with satisfying little animations with each grid or line completed. If you are stuck, you can use Cell Hints to solve the easiest cell, based on the givens and your input so far. Or if you are a complete wimp, use the Auto-Fill to fill every empty cell with valid annotations. On more difficult levels, you can use the pen Mode to write annotations on the empty cells, to keep a list of possible numbers.

With over 10,000 grids on five difficulty levels, I doubt you are going to run out of Sudoku, and if you do, you can always use Newspaper Mode to enter any Suduko that you see in a newspaper or magazine, or create your own... very cool.

Long story short...
if you are a fan of any of these games, I think you will love the EA's iPhone/iPod Touch versions. Check 'em out at Apple's App Store, all under 10 bucks. Don't forget, EA is bringing Spore to the iPhone soon, I can't wait for that.

Scrabble and Tetris screen shots...

Sudoku screenshots, and background image... very nice.

The video!