Kindle Fire HD: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

Chapter 10. Playing Games

YOU DON’T HAVE TO be a Doritos-munching, Red Bull–chugging teenager to cheer the news: The Fire is one wicked fun gaming machine. Whether you’re into angry avians or just like your morning Sudoku, the Fire is ready to frolic. Especially for owners of the 7-inch models, their easily graspable size is a big factor here. You can pull ’em out of a shoulder sling or pocketbook any time the mood strikes. And thanks to the hard work of developers worldwide, the range of titles in Amazon’s Appstore for Android is quite plentiful. Dozens and dozens of choices await (yes, including Angry Birds) in categories like arcade, educational, racing, and sports. In fact, selection overload is precisely the problem that stumps some fans eager to get their game on. Where to start? That’s what this chapter is designed to help you with. Consider it your own guided tour of the Appstore’s recreational aisles.

Note

A handful of the app profiles in this and the following two chapters are based on reviews written by yours truly in another book, Best iPad Apps (O’Reilly). All apps in these chapters have been re-tested on the Fire, and operational descriptions have been tweaked accordingly, but if you’ve perused that earlier work, you may recognize some highlights and shout-outs.

Making Shapes

Touchscreens mean you no longer have to mess with menus and mice to indicate what you want to put ...