BRICKIES
Break old bricks a new way
Brickies is a take on the classic brick-breaker game and provides familiar fun without getting boring. Phone (or even calculator) gamers should recognise the basics: You have a ball. There are some bricks. You bounce the ball off the bricks. Simple.
In a bit of a twist, however, Brickies pits you against the clock rather than gravity – missing the platform doesn't kill you outright, it only disables the ball's powers until you get a successful bounce again. You also have a second platform on the top of the screen, which makes the game pretty forgiving. That's always a good trait in a smartphone diversion.
Players can also collect power-ups that let them do things such as fracture the ball into several bouncy pieces or destroy tougher blocks more easily. Brickies doesn't exactly redefine its genre, but it's still a fun update on a classic. Free, for iOS devices.
SKYSCANNER
Find the perfect spot to stay the night
Planning a summer getaway but don't know where to stay? Skyscanner's hotel app is a handy way to sniff out the best deal easily across multiple search sites. Simply enter a date, location and some relevant guest information to start the search.
One nice Skyscanner feature is the ability to display certain landmarks in a city to get a better idea of a hotel's location. You can fairly easy map your hotel in Google Maps or Apple Maps — if, for example, proximity to a convention centre is important.
You can view search results by text, photo or on a map, which provides a few easy yet useful ways to comparison shop. Searching doesn't require an account, though you need one to save listings for later. Booking is a different story; you may have to sign up for accounts with various search sites to make your reservations. Free, for iOS and Android devices. (It goes by Skyscanner Hotel Search on iOS.)
Washington Post/Bloomberg