WapReview

ArchBattle has released a mobile web client for their massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). The game, which has been around for several years and seems quite popular is entirely browser based. It's ad-supported and is free to play. Their is a paid "supporter" option at $3.95/month that lets you customize your avatar but doesn't confer any competitive advantages in the game world.

To succeed in ArchBattle you need to manage your empire's resources of gold, workers and soldiers wisely to ward off attackers and increase your strength, wealth and population. Once you have a big enough army you can go on the offense and attack other empires to quickly increase your wealth and strength. You can also join guilds to share resources and interact with other users through the forums and ShoutBox.

The mobile version of ArchBattle packages all the features of the desktop one into a compact package. Everything you need to play is available in the mobile edition including registration and online help.

The appearance and responsive game play of mobile ArchBattle is impressive and shows how far mobile browser based games have come from the days of hangman wWAP games. Playing ArchBattle does not require a particularly sophisticated handset either. The game uses JavaScript but is playable without it. Page sizes are under 50 KB, which even many feature phone browsers should be able to handle. Everything works and looks good in the early version of the Nokia WebKit based browser on my Nokia N95. ArchBattle is also usable with Opera Mini 4.2 or 5, although horizontal scrolling is necessary with screen sizes less than 320px wide with the Opera browsers.

Funmin is a new mobile online game site featuring a dozen games.  There are puzzle, math and board games including Sudoku and Samegame (mis-labeled as Bejeweled).

Funmin calls them Android and iPhone games. I tried the so-called Bejeweled in the Android 1.5 and 2.2 browsers and it worked well in both. So then I tried it in the bada and WebOS browsers and with the Symbian Anna and Opera Mobile 11.1 browsers on my Nokia N8 and it looked good and was playable in all.  I suspect most of these games will work  in any browser with reasonably good Javascript and CSS support.

Playing Samegame in all the mobile browsers was fun and shows just how far mobile browsers and mobile web development have progressed in the last few years.

Compared with  native implementations of Samegame that I've tried on these devices, there is a bit more of a delay between when you tap a group of balls and when they disappear in the browser version. The delay varies, the bada browser was the quickest and the Symbian Anna one the slowest. Play was easiest with the browsers that that were either quickest or that, like the Android and WebOS browsers, gave feedback, like a focus rectangle or flash, when a touch was registered. The Symbian Anna browser had no feedback and a long enough delay that I sometimes found my stabbing repeatedly at a ball thinking the first touch hadn't registered when it in fact had.

A mobile webapp that plays chess. Works in most browsers with JavaScript support, including Opera Mini. The site also has articles on chess openings and tactics and a chess glossary.

I just discovered a nice mobile site that lets you play computer chess on just about any phone with a mobile browser.

It's called Caramba! and the URL is m.mountmobile.com. When you vist the site it displays a chessboard and prompts you for your move. Moves are entered using a simplfied form of chess notation where you specify the from: file and row followed by the to: file and row. For example "c2c4" means move the piece on file c, row 2 to file c, row 4. The files and rows are labeled on the screen and the site won't let you make an invalid move.

There are four skill levels to choose from; Beginner, Intermediate, Experienced and Grandmaster.

You can save an unfinished game by bookmarking the page, the URL contains a session ID so that when you return to the bookmarked page the board reloads just as you left it.

Caramba! responded very quickly to moves and consistently trounced me at the beginner level; which isn't surprising since I haven't played chess since my college days. Any chess wizards among my readers who want to try Caramba! and give an opinion?

This site provides a simple explanation of the Elo chess rating system works. It also provides chess puzzles for intermediate players and  chess beginners.

Braineez lets you win virtual trophies, shields, cups, medals, badges etc. by participating in competitions like quizzes or an essay writing contest.

Play Mad Libs online with you phone. Enter random parts of speech as prompted and Mad Libs for Mobile will create a possibly funny, or more likely, nonsensical story.

Mobile social network Itsmy has reinvented itself to emphasize mobile web based games. The first thing you see when you visit the site now is a page promoting the online games which include Celebrity Fame Game, Criminal Pizza, Love Hating Squirrels and The Cowsnatchers Trilogy.  The games all have a social element, some are multi-player and all have online high scores. There are over 80 games in all and they are simple enough in their coding and design to work on virtually any phone with a browser.

Itsmy hasn't given up on social networking either, in addition to games, the site has all the typical mobile social features including profiles, blogs and guestbooks chat rooms, forums and private messaging.

A small collection of web based games including sliding block puzzles and tic tac toe. Although based on the site's name the games are targeted at the iPhone, the games I tried also worked on Android and Bada phones and a Nokia N8. I suspect that at least some should work on any device with Javascript support and a touch screen.

A free mobile web medieval/fantasy role playing game. Perform quests, battle other players and monsters, place bounties, obtain weapons, armor, food, and potions to help advance your level and become stronger! Players can send private messages to one another and post public messages on other players' profiles. Source: Oh! Mobile Directory

Moonbase.mobi is a real-time, online multiplayer strategy game. The goal is to develop a Moonbase and compete with other players to dominate the Moon. You need to manage your Moonbase efficiently and build an army to protect yourself and conquer other bases.

Moonbase.mobi is Facebook app that can also be played on most mobile phones with a browser and an Internet connection. Facebook Connect is used for authentication so a Facebook account is required to play.

 

A basic but surprisingly addictive multiple choice trivia game with relatively easy questions. Source: Oh! Mobile Directory

Holdem Poker site with history of poker, rules, tips and card slang dictionary. There is also a small directory of free Blackberry app downloads, a mobile link directory and a guide to tethering your BlackBerry. Source: Oh! Mobile Directory