Today in our Google Android series, we are going to take a look at some of the games you should be installing on your phone.  The Android Market is full of different apps to download, some of them gems and most of them total duds.  This applies just as much to the games section.

After getting over the disappointment of finding out that Pac-Man is not free, I went in search of some other cool free games that will hold my attention and entertain me.

Here's the 5 I am still playing.   To find them and install them, just navigate to the Android Market on your phone and search for them.

Labyrinth Lite

labyrinth-lite

This game is so addictive that it stopped a family party last week with my partner's parents, aunt & uncle and grandfather playing it for literally hours!   You have to get the little ball from one end of the screen to the hole at the other end (the one with the black and white chequered pattern) by tilting your phone backwards and forwards.   The only problem is that there are lots of black holes ready and waiting to swallow up your ball and send you back to the start again.

This is the kind of game where you will keep falling into one of the black holes, be sent back to the start and you will start loudly cursing "I HATE this game!"    But nevetheless, several hours later, you'll still be sitting there muttering "just one more turn, one more!"  Extremely addictive.

Jewels

jewels_shot1

It's Bejewelled on the Android!   Yay!    For those of you already familiar with this classic game, no explanation or introduction is necessary.   For those of you who have been hibernating the past few years, this game is where you have to get three or more identically coloured jewels in a row.   When you do, they POW! off the board.

This is another game which I have spent hours playing.   But one little annoyance with this game is that it is sometimes difficult to touch the right jewel on the screen (especially if you have slightly big fingers like me).   The game can also sometimes be a little slow to respond.

Nevertheless, this is still a great game and once you have started, you'll find it difficult to stop.

Poke A Mole

pokeamole

I promise this isn't as bad as it sounds!   The premise of this game is that you have nine mole holes and when a mole sticks his cute furry head out of one of them, you have to hit him on the head.   You do this by pressing the screen with your finger.   He makes a screwed up "he got me!" face, disappears back down the hole and you get your points.

It's easy at first but obviously as the game goes on, the moles start coming thick and fast.   Can you poke them all with your finger in time before they duck back down their holes again?

No moles were harmed during the playing of this game.  I promise.

ConnectFour

Connect4

Now this one really takes me back to my childhood.   I had the board game version of ConnectFour and my brother used to beat me senseless every time.   Fast forward twenty years and now I am being beaten senseless by an Android phone!

In the unlikely event you don't know ConnectFour, you have to get four identical coloured circles in a straight line.  Considering the limited number of boxes, this is a lot more difficult than it looks and the phone, who plays against you, is a lot smarter than you may think.

Pinball

pinball2

This one takes a bit of getting used to, but when you finally get a hang of the controls, it isn't such a bad game.

Everyone knows what pinball is so I won't waste time describing what you have to do.   You can choose between several different styles of pinball tables and you can customise the controls.   So if you don't like pressing the screen all the time, you can change them.

So those are my five favourite games.   I don't like Sudoku very much so I ignored all of them and I couldn't find a decent chess game so if anyone knows of a good chess game on Android, please let me know the title of it in the comments below.

What do you think of these games?   Are they enjoyable or are they useless?   Let us know your opinions and preferred equivalents in the comments and I will check them out.