Three Free Casual Games for the IPhone and IPad

Donut Games has quickly gained a reputation for making fun casual games for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and now Apple's new iPad. Three of their best titles are available for free at the App Store. All three are a blast to play, and feature elegant implementations of the iPhone's multi-touch interface.

Cows in Space: A Surreal Mashup of Bumper Pool, Bovines, and Outer Space

Cows in Space must be played to be believed. Essentially a bizarre combination of pool, cows and the depths of space, this free strategy game is one of the iPhone's best games.

Gamers try to save cows floating through space while trapped inside air bubble by firing pink jelly balls at magic stars. When one of those stars touch an air bubble, it bursts; teleporting the cow safely to earth.

Essentially the game follows the same angles and strategies of bumper pool, with each new level introducing fiendish game elements like poison balls and black holes. Cows in Space is perfect for a quick iPhone gaming break.

Rat on the Run: A Classic Platformer in the Tradition of Pitfall

Rat on the Run will remind vintage gamers of Activision's venerable classic, Pitfall. The game has three different modes that almost function as three different games.

In the game's Level mode, the gamer doesn't have lives, but needs to keep his rat's belly full by finding the pieces of cheese strewn throughout each level. Running into the various hazards penalize the intrepid rat, and will end its life when touching them on an empty stomach. The goal of this game mode is to finish all 15 levels by eating all the cheese.

The Arcade mode features the same gameplay as Level mode, but plays more like a standard videogame with 3 lives and traditional score-keeping. Finally, there is an insanely fast Rat on a Scooter mode that was so popular, Donut Games released it as a separate game. Rat on a Scooter plays more like a racing game than a platformer, but it is still a blast.

Traffic Rush: Directing Virtual Road Traffic on an iPhone

In Traffic Rush, the gamer plays the role of a virtual traffic cop at a proverbial intersection trying to prevent a collision. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes move by at various speeds, with a crash to happen at any second.

A well-timed finger swipe on the iPhone's screen is sometimes needed to send a slowpoke on its way out of the intersection. The user also can stop traffic by tapping on a vehicle. The only scoring in Traffic Rush is the number of cars through the intersection and the length of time without a collision. As time goes by, the traffic only gets heavier. Traffic Rush is a fun and harrowing time!

These three examples of Donut Games finest work are also three of the best gaming deals on Apple's App Store. The new release of the iPad will only increase the popularity of this excellent Swedish game developer.