The free iPhone game Trawler report: LightBike2, Doodle Grub, and Nimp Dash

We cover all sorts of mobile games here at Pocket Gamer. You don't need to be a big brand to get through the door - you just have something interesting enough about you to attract our attention. And we're always on the look out for the new iPhone hotness.

This week's Trawler Report is full of mini gems – games without huge marketing budgets to assure them a place in the App Store's Top 100 list. Searching for the good guys within the crowds of iPhone games released every day is no small task, though. For every fun casual title, there's a dozen that aren't worth downloading.

This week we've opted for a few quick and easy slices of fun. No great big RPGs or mammoth adventures, just a handful of casual numbers to brighten up your day.

The best free iPhone games on the App Store

Nimp Dash
By Neowiz Entertainment
Type Full

Ecco is the most famous dolphin in video gaming, but the little chap doesn't have all that many rivals to his underwater flipper supremacy. Cute casual game Nimp Dash isn't going to challenge this icon in the character stakes, but it does feature a dolphin.

You are Nimp, dolphin rider, and have to direct your aquatic steed through hoops, over coral, and away from anything that looks spiky or dangerous. Your dolphin swims along automatically – you just have to hit boost and jump buttons at the right moments. Your sole aim is to keep him in the water for as long as possible.

Nimp Dash won't be free forever, so grab it now before the price goes up.

LightBike2
By Pankaku
Type Full

The original LightBike was a huge success, trading on the nostalgia of the 1980s film Tron and matching it with that golden 0p price point (although a paid-for version is also available). LightBike2 is just like its predecessor, but features improved visuals and game mechanics.

In each light bike battle, you have to try and block out your opponents before they do the same to you. Your bike leaves a solid trail, like a wall, behind it, so winning is a case of out-pacing and out-witting your rivals.

Tapping either side of the screen turns your bike sharply in 90-degree movements, while you can also boost and jump to get the upper hand. LightBike2 has already started rocketing up the top 100 free apps chart.

Kovoclak lite
By Clement Cordier
Type Demo

Kovoclak's platforming gameplay is wrapped up in a story about cleaning up the acts of big polluting companies, but its green message has virtually no bearing on the game itself.

It's a platformer where you have to clear a path for your character Kovoclak by moving small sections of the level up and down, with swipes across the touchscreen. Not all sections can be moved in all directions, though, making Kovoclak as much a puzzler as a platformer.

The lite version features the first slew of levels, as Kovoclak ambles his way around a factory.

Pick of the week

Doodle Grub
By Adrian Duermael
Type Full

Snake is a one-game genre all of its own, and Doodle Grub puts an iPhone spin on the classic formula. You control a caterpillar creature with the accelerometer, collecting apples to add segments to its body while avoiding hedgehogs that slope around the screen.

Hedgehogs that bump into your body will take out any segments they touch, and if they hit your caterpillar's head, it's Game Over. Doodle Grub is very simple, relying on your compulsion to beat your own scores, but tight controls and cute visuals make it this week's top freebie pick.

This introductory free offer is only on until next week, while the game's iTunes page says that lots of updates are on the way, including new enemies and power-ups.

Crap apps Box of Shame award

iBlood Test Free
By Michael-John Wolfe
Type Full

There are a lot of dumb apps on the App Store, but iBlood Test free is both dumb and irresponsible. And not funny.

It's a virtual STD tester that makes you pull back a virtual syringe, then tells you what STDs you have – including syphilis and herpes. We get that iBlood Test wants to be funny, but when the results are entirely random, with your actions seemingly having no effect on the outcome, it simply isn't.

There's even a paid-for version, but exactly what else it offers over this free version is a mystery to us. If you're willing to pay for this crap, you need some more serious tests doing than this app can offer.