Playing to the powerful pull of both puzzle solving and card playing, Chip Chain mashes up match-three puzzles with poker aesthetics in an inventive way that's highly addictive, yet accessible to folks who have no clue what a royal flush is. While the gameplay itself has very little to do with the actual game of poker, it scratches a different kind of itch that carves out common ground between card sharks and casual players alike.

In its past life as My Xbox Live, Microsoft's companion app allowed Xbox 360 users to lightly interact with friends, view their created Avatars and Achievements, and have a mobile way to stay looped in on the home console gaming service. Following a radical transformation, the new Xbox SmartGlass goes beyond mere surface-level synergy to become both a touchscreen input device for the console and a second screen for expanded game and media experiences.

My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic shines right out of the gate, but it loses its gleam when you hit the inevitable paywall. The core of the game -- building and expanding a town -- is fun and compulsive, while the repetitive mini-games are short enough to be only slightly annoying after prolonged play time, plus Gameloft pulled out all the stops in presentation. But your progress gets heavily stilted if you don’t shell out for in-app purchases, and it appears impossible to finish the story without spending big money.

Nearly everyone likes roller coasters, so you can hardly blame Nutty Fluffies’ carnival-prize stuffed animals for wanting to ride when their theme park is closed. Of course, this being an iOS game -- one made by the studio behind the Xbox 360’s physics-defying Trials series -- it's more than a breezy day in the park for the animals. You must guide them safely through each track by swiping to move the train and collect hearts, but the safety regulations seem nil, so coaster cars can (and will) go flying off the track if you hit a bank too hard or put a little too much speed behind a jump.