App reviews: Spaceteam mobile game; a Reddit-like reader

Spaceteam

Spaceteam is an unusual mobile game, because it requires you to play with other people - people who are actually in the same room with you. The idea is that you're all members of a spaceship crew, trying to keep it from crashing. So you have to man your own control panel while following instructions that pop up on your phone. The catch is that the instructions you get don't always relate to the panel in front of you. So you have to work together - yelling out the instructions on your phone, and hoping that one of your compatriots, connected via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, can fix the problem before the timer runs out.

The game is fun mainly because you get to yell out technobabble instructions such as, "Set Sigmaclapper to zero!" at your friends. (Though it's not great for playing at work, say.) There also are events that require everyone to do something three-dimensional with their phones. If you hit a wormhole, you have to tip your devices upside down. To avoid asteroids, you have to all shake your devices, ideally without flinging them across the room. As the game goes on, the tasks get harder. Sometimes you may find your instruments mislabeled, for example. But when you finally fail, at least you're not alone. Free, for iOS and Android devices.

Alien Blue

For those who love Reddit, the online news aggregation site that declares itself the "front page of the Internet," here's some welcome news: It has an official app. The site recently bought and revamped an existing app called Alien Blue, which lets you do pretty much everything you'd want to do with Reddit, including lending your approval to articles by "upvoting," and commenting on interesting stories you find. You can also easily find and subscribe to parts of the site with articles that interest you, called subreddits.

For power users, the app offers a premium membership for $1.99, which gets you access to features such as being able to switch easily between multiple accounts and browse the site in gallery form. It also makes it easier to navigate through the site and interact with other commenters.

The app currently has iPhone and iPad versions, although a single app that will work on both screen sizes is on the way. Free, for iOS devices.