th a large chunk of the country being inundated by snow right now, what better time to cozy up for the weekend enjoy some new Android apps games? Kickstarter’s official app leads our latest Five to Try column, finally offering an elegant way to browse contribute to crowdfunding campaigns, while the updated CBS Sports app is showing the NFs AFC Championship game this weekend—on tablets, at least.

The week also brought us a couple of intriguing games to savor, including craft–survive role-player Crashls, as well as The stport Independent, a game about making tough journalistic choices under a fascist regime. And then when the weekend is over, Microsoft’s new Mimicker arm might be just the thing you need to wake up on time on Monday.

Kickstarter

ez, what took so long? Kickstarter, the service that added crowdfunding to our everyday lexicon, has finally launched an Android app for browsing campaigns, tossing money at exciting things, managing your account. And it’s definitely an upgrade over using the web version, as our ione friends discovered when they got the app three years ago.

For the unaware, Kickstarter lets you peruse a wide array of ideas—across gadgets, media, many other categories— put your own cash behind intriguing campaigns, usually in return for some sort of reward. The app makes browsing categories editor’s picks a pleasurable experience as you look for the next exciting idea to help bring to life, plus you can get alerts when friends back projects read messages updates on the go.

Mimicker arm

Imagine being startled awake immediately given a task—sounds horrible, right? Maybe, but if you’re struggling to wake up in the morning, it could be the difference between making it to work on time slamming snooze until you’re scrambling. It’s the premise behind Mimicker arm, the latest project from Microsoft’s Garage initiative. Essentially, once you’re pulled out of slumber by the pleasant tune, the app gives you a game to play to prove you’re awake.

You might be asked to speak out a tongue twister, snap a photo of an indicated color in the world around you, or even take a selfie with a certain expression. It can pick a game at rom or stick with one that works best for you, Mimicker arm seems to find the fine line between being effective being overly annoying. 

Crashls

Tired of the daily grind? Here’s a more colorful one to consider: Crashls is a crafting-centric action role-player in which your purple-suited space trucker must try to survive after smashing onto an uncharted planet. You’ll do so by surveying the surroundings, using raw materials to build a base tools, generating armor weapons to help create a new existence on this odd planet. And then the storyline takes over, potentially powering dozens of hours of action. 

Crashls is similar in ways to the popular Don’t Starve on , may scratch the crafting itch of Minecraft Terraria fans, but it sts alone in large part due to its zany tone. ke studio Butterscotch Shenanigans’ previous game, Quadropus Rampage, the characters here are silly the dialogue is frequently hilarious, giving the game a really distinctive hook.

CBS Sports

The end of the NFseason is near, that means the biggest games will take place over the next couple weeks. This Sunday’s AFC NFC Championship games will decide who plays in the Super Bowl, come February 7, we’ll have a new overall champ. If you’re eager to watch the games but won’t have a TV nearby when the action is going down, just grab the CBS Sports app—it’ll have the AFC Championship Super Bowl streaming live free.

There’s a catch, unfortunately: it’s limited to tablets, as Verizon has phone streaming rights sewn up ( held behind a paywall). But if you’ve got an Android tablet, grab the updated app get ready for Sunday’s big showdown between the triots Broncos. It even has Chromecast support, in case you do want to fling the game onto a larger screen. 

The stport Independent

As a writer editor, I’m predisposed to think a game that dramatizes my job is interesting—but The stport Independent seems potentially intriguing to more than just me. It’s all about managing the tone content of a newspaper under a fascist regime, which gradually applies pressure threats as you try to balance censorship with personal professional survival.

Each news brief that crosses your desk must be looked over: do you remove the sensitive info to keep the government hounds at bay, or serve your readers the resistance by publishing what’s really happening? There are many moving parts, including the opinions concerns of your writers plus reader interest levels, it seems like a game that can be played multiple times as you explore varying paths moral approaches. It resembles the excellent pers, ease (sadly not on Android) in concept, but has its own compelling slant.