Winners – Readers’ App Awards 2014!

Welcome to our third annual Readers’ Apps Awards, where we recognize some of the best apps made by raywenderlich.com readers in the past year.

You guys submitted over 500 apps this year, so I needed some help to choose the winners. We put together a team judges including Ray Wenderlich, Erik Kerber, Pierre Rochon, Chris Lowe, Nick Lockwood, and myself. We voted on the best apps for 7 categories:

• Most Addicting: The game we couldn’t put down.
• Most Hilarious Idea: The app that had us rolling.
• Most Surprisingly Good: The app we never expected to steal our heart.
• Most Technically Impressive: The app that made our inner programmer jealous.
• Most Visually Impressive: The app that dropped our jaws.

We also chose 2 grand prize winners:

• Best Reader’s Game: The overall best game of the year from a reader like you.
• Best Reader’s App: The overall best app (non-game) of the year from a reader like you.

Its finally time – keep reading to see the best reader’s apps of 2014!

Most Addicting

Dash Up!
Dash Up is easy to play, but not easy to put down. Bounce as high as you can, but you’ll have to avoid those pesky blocks. Plus, With some new game modes, even mastering the blocks isn’t the end.

Its blissfully simple. Its certainly addictive. Give it a shot and tell me when you beat my new high score: 16! ;]

“A fresh twist on the Flappy Bird concept – just as addicting and challenging. Just… one… more… try!” – Ray Wenderlich

“Easy to learn, hard to master. Or, in this case utterly infuriating to master, but addictive enough to make you keep trying. If you’re bored of Flappy Bird already, this could just be your next fix.” – Nick Lockwood

• Author: Johan K @DashUpGame
• Most useful tutorial: Space Game Starter Kit
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Most Hilarious Idea

OMG LOL
Time to put your thumbs to the test. OMG LOL is a game for texters. Your phone gets blasted with texts and you’ve got to respond with the perfect emotion for each one.

Keep an eye out for the BRB bomb, everyone needs a quick break.

OMG this app is awesome, BRB after I play some more ;]

“This is the most unique and smart idea for an app I’ve seen in a long time. Very funny and the type that will make you want to show it off to your friends – well done!” – Ray Wenderlich

“Avoid social suicide with this text-tacular training tool! LOL, OMG and K your way through a conversation with your besties, but be careful not to say the wrong thing!” – Nick Lockwood

“This was a knockout good-for-a-quick-laugh app. It taught me ‘lol’ was not a proper response to ‘omg, I didn’t make the team!'” – Erik Kerber

• Author: Drew Mayer
• Most useful tutorial: How To Make A Simple iPhone Game with Cocos2D
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Most Surprisingly Good

Music4Kids
Teaching kids to read and write music has never been so fun. There are over 140 musical challenges to keep em busy and learning.

The controls are simple, just tap the notes in order to hear a fun song. But the fun doesn’t stop there, there is a composing section too where you can make your own music. Just tap on the bar where you’d like a note, and drag them around until you’ve created your masterpiece.

“Not only is Music4Kids fun to play around with, but it also has a surprising amount of educational depth to it – I learned a lot about music from it myself!” – Ray Wenderlich

“A cutesy and intuitive music-making tool: Fine tune your ear with the challenges, or satisfy your creative urges by composing your own tunes. Fun for kids and big kids alike.” – Nick Lockwood

• Author: Olivier Romanetti @music4kidsapp
• Most useful tutorial: Sprite Kit Tutorial for Beginners
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Most Technically Impressive

Chiptunes Pro
Chiptunes lets you make music like the old days. Not with complicated instruments, but with universal circuits!

You can drag and drop any number of circuits to create an awesome tune. You’ve got tuners, filters, splitters, multipliers, and more. Everything you need to make awesome digital music.

“I never knew how Chiptunes actually worked before playing around with this app. Very cool and definitely got me in a retro vibe!” – Ray Wenderlich

“A crazy mashup of circuit design and music making: Wire together circuits to lay down some cool jams.” – Nick Lockwood

“SPICE meets garage band.” – Erik Kerber

• Author: Simon Booth @chiptunesapp
• Most useful tutorial: How to Import and Export App Data via Email in your iOS App
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Most Visually Impressive

Snowboard Party
Snowboard Party puts snowboarding in the palms of your hands. Its got 75 levels, on 15 courses, with 15 achievements, and over 50 unique tricks to learn. You can customize your outfit and snowboard to give you an edge.

Play online with friends using GameCenter. Use an Apple certified GameController to get in some pro play.

This 3D high definition game will look great on your iPad or iPhone.

“Great looking app with a ton of polish and fun – just in time for snowboarding season!” – Ray Wenderlich

“If you’re looking for console-quality, AAA 3D gaming, look no further! Freestyle your way down the slopes, pulling tricks as you enjoy the stunning visuals and banging tunes.” – Nick Lockwood

“Beautiful, especially on the 6 Plus. Its really exciting to see “last gen” graphics on my iPhone.” – Erik Kerber

“Reminded me of SSX on the Wii. Was one of my favorite Wii games” – Pierre Rochon

• Author: Samantha Som @ratrodstudio
• Most useful tutorial: Image Processing in iOS Part 2: Core Graphics, Core Image, and GPUImage
• App Store Link: Check it out!

Grand Prize Winners

Drum roll please… it’s time to announce our two Grand Prize winners!

Best Reader’s Game

Fruit Dating
Dating in the world of fruit is equally hard as it is for us. But you can help!

Fruit Dating is a sliding puzzle game where you’re a matchmaker, finding each piece of fruit find their soul mate.

It has adorable graphics and more than 60 well designed levels. Obstacles and tile types introduced in later levels bring the challenge.

Controls are simple, just a swipe is all it takes to bring fruit together. We all want one thing, more levels!

“A beautifully illustrated game that is simple to learn, and has some challenging and fun puzzles! A great example of how polish makes such a huge difference.” – Ray Wenderlich

“Not Tinder For Vegetables, as you might imagine, but a cutesy puzzle game where the aim is to match up fruit in series of challenging, tile-based levels.” – Nick Lockwood

“Very addictive, kept me coming back and wanting more.” – Pierre Rochon

• Author: Tomas Rychnovsky
• Most useful tutorial: Unity 4.3 2D Tutorial: Getting Started
• App Store Link: Check it out!