My Video Game Side Quest: Apps and Ads

    When I first got a computer, one of the things I couldn't wait for was solitaire. I knew from experience that many PCs had their own solitaire programs. I played it a lot in the 90s, since I didn't need anyone else to play. Well, I quickly found out by checking my MacBook, as well as a third-party manual, that Apple doesn't include a solitaire app with its Macs. They have Chess instead. Now, I played chess quite a bit when I was young, but I wasn't that big of a fan.  Since it took a few weeks after I got my MacBook for the installation of the internet at home, chess was the only game I had. Sure, I could customize a little, but I still didn't like playing it. At least there was also a sliding tile game widget hidden within a file. That I really liked. Too bad it got dropped in a later update.

    At least I had internet access at work to download a few games until I got hooked up at home. The first solitaire app I tried was technically free, but you had to buy extra layouts after the limited ones included. The first tableau was impossible for me to solve. I think I accidentally skipped a few layouts, preventing me from ever trying to solve them. I stopped playing it fast. I also got Epic Solitaire, at least I think that was the name. It had different modes to play, customizable card designs and tabletop, and a daily challenge. I played the challenge almost first thing everyday when I turned on my MacBook, usually playing a second game, or more, as well. Every day until my first MacBook died. Of course, I got the game again three days later with my new computer, but it wasn't the same. I couldn't get the game to look the same. I wound up not playing the game ever again. (Like a dunce, I didn't realize that the original game was still on my iCloud. I could have just retrieved it. Oh, well.)  I also got two pool games. One had basic graphics, but an easy mechanics system. The other had much better graphics, but some of the mechanics weren't as intuitive. I played the former way more. I stopped with the pool games after I got the internet installed and I could play my Facebook games instead.

    The only other game I have on my MacBook is Songpop Classic, and I only have that one due to the fact that it got dropped my Facebook gaming. It didn't get a Mac version for months after that, but that is for a later post. I have yet to activate any of the free trials to Apple Arcade on any of my devices. Strangely enough, the Songpop app appeared on my iPhone the same time I got it on my MacBook, without me having to download it.

    I only got an iPhone because I needed it for SFA for my grad school.  I wasn't planing to use it for games and such, but that's what happened. Not only do I have Songpop Classic on my phone, but I have Golf Clash as well. I had to migrate it from Facebook after the game makers had some difficulties with them. At least I had a phone by then to make it work. (More on this it a later post.)

    One thing I noticed on each game is the huge amount of ads on the phone versions, many of them for other games. When on my Mac, there were few ads, and they were usually just there when a special offer was given or when switching between modes. On the phone, Songpop has an ad after every single match it seems, not just occasionally. It's why I try to stick to my MacBook. Golf Clash also had ads, and they can be more intrusive. At first, many of these ads were interactive. You could play a level to try out the game. Sometimes, the playing would stop just before you could beat the level, though. Instead of continuing, the ad would take you to the game's site so you could purchase it. Very infuriating.

    So far, the only game I've actually gotten was one of those fruit merging games, that I keep on my second phone, the one without a SIM. I've also tried different merging games on Bing and YouTube. No other type of game that I've looked at was enjoyable enough to download to my phones. I don't think that I'll get the chance to do it again. Recently, I've not been getting ads for games on Golf Clash. Instead, I'm getting ads for AppleTV, wild salmon, TEMU, and chair tai chi for seniors. I guess that I've aged out of the game demographics, although Clash seems to have a new ad partner as well. The number of possible ads has decreased a lot as well. 

     I just want another test run ad. I want to try out something else. Especially since I don't eat salmon and don't need to sit in a chair for exercise.