The free iPhone game Trawler Report: the cute and the horrific go head to head with Balloon Headed Boy and Zombie Attack! Bridge Defense

In the UK at least, the big news recently has been all about one thing - snow. Maybe it’s just because we’re getting a bit old, but it doesn’t seem quite as great a thing as when we were kids. Snow now means travel hell, falling over in public and the possibility of not being able to get home. Possibly ever.

If you’re stuck at home, there are few things better than a free iPhone game. Forget the fact that if it wasn’t snowing, you’d probably be doing something more productive and interesting, just sit back in a nice cosy chair and download some of this week’s suggestions.

We’ve even got two full freebies on offer this week, so cast aside the freezing conditions outside, turn up the central heating, and give way to some iPhone gaming goodness. Sadly, we’ll still be working.

The best free iPhone games on the App Store

Zombie Attack! Bridge Defense
By IUGO
Type Demo

Although the title doesn’t give it away, this is actually the free version of Zombie Attack! Second Wave, rather than the original. Still, the zombie-bashing action is still pretty similar. It’s a tower defence game with a difference, in that you actually walk around the battlefield rather than just placing towers.

Placing those towers is still the key part of the game. You’re protecting a caravan from the onslaught of the undead, and have to build the towers strategically to take care of them.

If things get a bit hairy, you can also get in there yourself with a machete. You can’t take on the undead single-handedly, though, as a few swipes from a gang of zombies and you’ll be a goner.

Frankenstein: The Dismembered Bride
By Ludiagames
Type Demo This is actually one of three free hidden object games just released by Ludiagames, but with a title that includes the word ‘dismembered’, how could this not be the one to pick? You start off the game at the gate of a creepy mansion. Your wife has gone missing and you’ve traced her whereabouts to this creepy location. We’d guess that the naming of you and your wife, Brad and Janet, is anything but a coincidence - they’re the characters from The Rocky Horror Picture Show film -

but we don’t think it’ll get Ludiagames in trouble. The free version lets you explore the first few scenes from the full game.

Bridge Odyssey Free
By Gameloft
Type Demo Gameloft isn’t exactly known for its small, casual games. It's basically the Michael Bay of the App Store, apart from the fact that the things it makes aren’t rubbish. Bridge Odyssey bucks the publisher’s normal trend by being a simple bridge building game.

You have to build the bridge in order to get some creatures across a big ‘ole crevasse. Some are small, but bigger animals like the elephant will break your bridge if you’re not careful.

It’s not quite as refined as the excellent Tiki Towers, but demo of this taster of one of Gameloft’s few casual titles is worth exploring.

Sailboat Championship
By Infinite Dreams
Type Full There are so many reasons not to start sailing, it’s a wonder that anyone actually does it. For starters, it’s horribly expensive to buy a boat, then there’s the fact that - at least from a distance - it looks horribly dull. Judging the wind isn’t exactly as exciting as fighting aliens on your Xbox, is it? Sailboat Championship takes this wind judging pastime and makes it into a fun little casual game. You alter the direction of the sail to get your yacht gliding along quickly rather than actually controlling the direction of your craft.

At first it seems a bit too simple, but there’s an art to pre-empting the ways of the wind. Just like the real thing. Perhaps.

Like we said, it’s an expensive hobby.

Pick of the week Balloon Headed Boy Free
By Zattika Limited
Type Full Balloon Headed Boy was a hero of mobile gaming long before the iPhone entered the smartphone race, back in the days when milk was delivered in bottles and the world made sense. He hasn’t made quite as much of an impact on the App Store, but now you can check out what all the fuss was about for free.

You’re the eponymous balloon boy and have to collect balloons and flowers throughout each platforming level. You can glide upwards by inflating the little chap’s head, but doing so uses up your wind power, which can be topped up with collectibles.

Balloon Headed Boy doesn’t feel quite as fresh as it did back in 2005, but it’s still a charming little game.

iBrew
By Wolop
Type Full We had to tolerate the many beer-spilling apps that became a must-have download in the first few months of the App Store. They were generally the first thing all your idiot friends would download, and they were sure to point it in your direction, confident that it was of course much better than Zen Bound and Rolando put together.

iBrew takes the pint app to the next level, letting you brew your very own ale. Brewing your own beer is pretty boring at the best of times, but doing so virtually - so you don’t even end up with a pint at the end of your labours - seems bonkers. Next!