Tiny Hearts, the Toronto-based studio behind Pocket Zoo, a top 50 iOS app (and one of my kid’s personal favorites), has just released a new title that turns Instagram into a game. The new app is called InstaMatch, and it’s a modernized take on the classic memory matching game. In InstaMatch, instead of using images of duplicate items, the photos users match up come from Instagram.
Using real-world photos of animals, trees, clouds, cities, food and other similar, but not identical, items makes this matching game just a bit more difficult than its traditional counterpart, which is typically aimed at children. While kids will clearly enjoy InstaMatch, too, there’s no need to limit its appeal to that demographic.
In the game, there are three levels of play (Easy, Medium or Hard) depending on how challenged you would like to be. Players can either use the built in themes (nature, food, etc.), play off their own Instagram photos, or search for photos using Instagram hashtags (e.g. “#leaf”). Obviously, the goal with InstaMatch is to match photos – the faster, the better.
But the game is even more fun when you play it in multi-player mode via Game Center integration. Here, InstaMatch supports up to 2 players on the iPhone and up to 4 players on the iPad. On the iPad, it’s even more challenging, thanks to the iPad’s ability to show more cards on the screen – up to 30, including “moving” cards for added difficulty (in Hard mode only). And, if you happen to get bored while playing the game, you can use InstaMatch to browse Instagram and “like” photos via a double-tap.
The game is the first follow up to the uber-popular Pocket Zoo (ask your kids about that one…seriously), and it’s a pretty fun way to waste time while indulging two distractions at once: mobile gaming and Instagram. Plus, the app is really cute with its clever and engaging design.
Prior to founding Tiny Hearts, InstaMatch publisher Robleh Jama co-founded Sneakerplay, the niche social network for sneaker heads, that shut down back in 2008, then saw its assets acquired in 2009.
InstaMatch is currently on sale for 99 cents here in the iTunes App Store. Later on, it will go for $1.99. Even if you think you’re too old for memory match games (um, you’re not), this one is worth your spare change.
Tiny Hearts is an award-winning app studio based in Toronto. Maker of the hit app Pocket Zoo and InstaMatch - The Instagram game.
Robleh Jama is a Toronto based design and entrepreneur. He is the founder Tiny Hearts, an award-winning app studio and maker of the Top 50 iPhone app Pocket Zoo and InstaMatch - The Instagram game. Prior to Tiny Hearts Robleh co-founded Sneakerplay, a niche invite-only social network which was acquired in 2009. Sneakerplay received international attention from a variety of mainstream media outlets including the New York Times, USA Today, Wired as well as leading blogs such as Techcrunch,...
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