Gamezebo Rating:

The idea of taking a board game with you but without all the bits and pieces is definitely appealing for families. Table Twister makes its best attempt to give you this, but only at the level of Hungry Hungry Hippos. The games are fun, if not short-lived and repetitive. But whether you’re actually able to play them depends entirely on the device you’re using.

It was only a matter of time. Reportedly making billions of dollars a year and having spurned a rumored $6 billion acquisition offer from Google, GroupOn’s group buying model is being copied and adopted to every market and every corner of the world.

OpenFeint, among the most forward-thinking companies in the mobile game app space have announced the launch of Game Channel and a new feature called Fire Sale, in an attempt to bring Groupon mechanics to the Apple iTunes Store and Google’s Android Marketplace.But, with a few twists since Groupon does not control the commerce portion of Apple’s and Google’s Store.

Apple confirmed this morning that the Mac App Store will open for business on Jan. 6, allowing people to download and run apps on their Mac OS X computers. It's an announcement that could potentially revolutionize desktop gaming in the same way that the App Store revolutionized mobile gaming on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

All of our misguided labeling of people as “casual” and “core” gamers has become a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The folks who played Pac Man in bars in the 70s didn’t consider themselves casual gamers, because no one was telling them to. These days, even the most infrequent gamer is inundated with messages online and in the world around them about games. They find “casual games portals” and see ads for “hardcore games on the iPhone!” These terms aren’t unheard of anymore, but they are unclear, and as a result we’ve all internalized our own meanings for them. What’s more, we’ve all labeled ourselves. The prominence of gaming in recent years has made our gaming habits part of our personal “Identity” – it is impossible to avoid.

If you were a doubter that 2011 will be the year of social mobile, two announcements today should relieve you of any doubt.

First of all, Pocket Gems, makers of the Tap series of social games on the iPhone announced they have raised $5 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital. Pocket Gems games include Tap Zoo, Tap Farm, Tap Jungle and have been downloaded more than 15 million times. $5 million and 15 million downloads…those are big numbers!

Earlier this year, gamers were treated to a delightful fairy tale adventure about a magically-challenged princess. Awakening: The Dreamless Castle reached the #1 spot on BFG in its first week of release. Gamezebo sat down with Ran Wong and Christopher Natsuume of Boomzap to chat about the game’s sequel, Awakening: Moonfell Wood, whose launch is rumored to be right around the corner.

Gamezebo Rating:

Coming off the heels of a few cut-and-paste rehashes of earlier releases, we were starting to worry that iPhone games developer TeamLava might have lost their muse. Treasure Story has put those concerns to rest, as the team has gone back to doing what they do best: tackling popular Facebook formulas that have yet to make a successful transition to the iPhone.

A teaser for Maestro: Music of Death has appeared on the website of ERS Game Studios. We can't tell you much about this upcoming hidden object adventure so far, except that you're an inspector called to investigate a mysterious illness affecting one of the districts of 19th century Paris. Keep reading for a look at some screenshots.