Traveling through towns of the island of Alamandi you get to try your skills in different mini games ranging from match-3 to favorite board games, at the same time enjoying various features like chat, build-your-own-house, create and customize your avatar, friends lists, team play, different gifts and awards.

In Facebook Alamandi Match 3 you need to remove stones of the same color to rescue turtles.  The more you rescue, the higher you score.  The higher you score the more awards you get to use in your MMO Alamandi profile.  I think what makes it even more challenging and fun is that you can’t target for the best awards unless you have your friends to support you by joining the game as well!

Got an iPad? Download Mahjong Epic HD or Mahjong Epic HD Free now. Don’t have an iPad? There are versions for iPhone too!

We are very proud of being behind the Mac version of Ranch Rush 2, for it is such a great time-management game! Fresh Games and Aliasworlds did a great work on this one, so good in fact that it got a 5-stars review from Gamezebo. Here is an excerpt:

Ranch Rush 2’s rock solid gameplay is practically unchanged from the original, but the completely new setting and the fact there are many additional tasks to take on make this time management adventure a blast to play. Over the course of 10 weeks, you’ll guide Sara’s efforts to lay the groundwork for her new tropical homestead and expand her business more and more each day.

[…]

Each weekday you’ll fulfill orders from customers by planting and harvesting crops, making unique products with special machines, and tending to animals in your care.

[…]

Other features like achievements, trophies, and optional Facebook connectivity further round out this stellar time-management game. Ranch Rush 2 simply looks great, plays great, and is a perfect example of a time management done well.

We are also collaborating with Fresh Games to bring Ranch Rush 2 to iPhone and iPad. Can’t say much about those yet, except that they will not be cheap, straight ports. For the moment however, I recommend you give the PC or Mac versions a try, or become a fan of Ranch Rush on Facebook to be up-to-date of new releases by Fresh Games.

The game should be available on the App Store in a matter of weeks.

Last week we talked at CAMON in Alicante about the advantages and disadvantages of iPhone web applications, as opposed to native development using the iPhone SDK.

We explained how to address the main shortcomings of web apps to offer full-screen experiences that need no permanent internet connection to work.

The slides (Spanish only) are already available:

Update: the video recording of the talk is also available now at the CAMON website.

The project is commissioned by our friends at Reflexive, who recently published these interesting facts about the PC/Mac version in the official forums :

• In the past 30 days the web server’s catalog of user made levels has been accessed by 32,059 unique installations of Ricochet Infinity.
• In the past 30 days there have been 807,877 levelset downloads.
• There were 32,059 people accessing the catalog in that time so those people each downloaded an average of 25.2 levelsets per month.

Ricochet Infinity will hit the App Store in the coming weeks, stay tunned for the official trailer!

The initial hype about the iPad seems to be fading away, but we remain truly excited about this new little device and can’t wait to get our hands on one.

The powerful hardware specs and the high-resolution screen is surely going to drive a new generation of games with new user interfaces and much more detailed graphics overall. And when compared to the iPhone games market, the greater value and increased development costs of iPad games should translate into higher game prices overall too.

In addition to original games, some direct, 1-to-1 ports of casual games will also become very popular among iPad users. We won’t be surprised if many time-management or hidden-object object prove to be more fun —and easier— to play on the 9.7″ touch screen than on a PC or a Mac.

Finally, although Apple has not said how many units they expect to shift in 2010, we guess that the iPad market probably won’t reach a critical mass until the second half of 2011. That said, we are currently assessing several potential iPad projects and we should probably be able to ship something on this platform before summer.

Our latest project for german publisher INTENIUM entered the german App Store’s top 100 last week, at position #70. This action-puzzler is a conversion of the original PC game. The iPhone version does offer two new features, though. First, you can play on both portrait and landscape orientations, and second, you can post your high-scores to your Facebook wall. Oh, and we also added Spanish on top of the original localizations (English, French, Germand and Dutch)!

There is no lite version yet, but it’s coming soon ;). In the meantime, you can download the full version of Diamond Drop at the App Store.

Update: Diamond Drop Lite is now available. Get it here!.

And starting with BioLabs: Outbreak! (App Store link), we are helping Reflexive to do just that by adding a “more games” link in the main menu of the game. Tapping on it opens an embedded browser with Reflexive’s current offer of iPhone games, complete with descriptions and links to full, lite and original (PC, Mac) versions.

For instance, this is the entry for Airport Mania:

Of course, this idea is not new. Other iPhone developers and publishers have been cross-selling their games for a long time. One of the main benefits of Ngmogo’s Plus+ network is the increased exposure that affiliated games gain from other Plus+ enabled games.

Have you got more than one iPhone game already? Then use them to promote each other!

Our team is extremely excited to be working with ex-Blizzard veteran Eric Sexton on this new IP for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

click on the image for a high resolution wallpaper

So what is the game about? Mechanized is a Tactical Strategy game that will pit players against teams of Robots in competition to win the super-duper Robotic Championship.

The player will be able to build their Robots from a variety of parts including Weapons, Armor, and Special Upgrades. With their Robot team constructed, player will enter the arena to fight against other Robot teams in his division.

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, you will need to wait a few months to play it. Until then, you can keep up with the latest news from Mechanized by following GorgonGames at Twitter or Facebook.

Read on for the full press release from Gorgon Interactive

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NOVEMBER 10, 2009

Gorgon Interactive (http://www.gorgoninteractive.com/), a new studio based in San Mateo, CA, has announced its formation as a game development studio focused on the creation of video game and mobile phone applications. Gorgon Interactive was founded by Blizzard North alumni Eric Sexton, whose design and art pedigrees were pivotal to the success of the studio’s critically- and commercially-acclaimed Diablo, Diablo II, and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction computer games.

Gorgon Interactive’s premiere mobile game, Mechanized, is currently in development and targeting a January release date. A squad-based strategy game,Mechanized grants players control of a squad of four mech robots. Players can configure their mechs using dozens of parts and weapons before entering the arena to wage battle against A.I.-controlled squads. Victories can be charted through ngmoco’s Plus+ service.

About Gorgon Interactive and Founder Eric Sexton

GORGON INTERACTIVE is currently developing a number of mobile phone games from conception to completion. The studio’s first project, Mechanized, pits squads of robots against A.I.-controlled squads and posts scores to an online leader board. A single-player edition of Mechanized will precede a multiplayer release.

A designer with over a decade of experience in the video game industry, Eric Sexton has a proven vision for conceptualizing and implementing addictive game mechanics and immersive artwork. While at Blizzard North, Eric was involved in all aspects of Diablo and Diablo II’s development and was responsible for key design elements ranging from quests, skills, monsters and the randomly generated items that made the Diablo series so addictive.

Read the press release at Gorgon Interactive