While at the BBM Hackathon event I took some time with the developers to sit down, get to know them a bit, and figure out what their experience with BlackBerry has been thus far, and why they continue to support it like they do. Earlier we posted a behind the scenes view of what takes place in BlackBerry developement, but this time we sat down with Michael Barnes of Nickel Buddy LLC and got to ask him some more questions and see his own take on it all. Hit the jump with me as we ask Michael some questions and get a little more into his mindset on a daily basis.

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Blackjack! It's fun to play at the casino, with friends, and even on your BlackBerry! Nickel Buddy makes some awesome games, one of which is Blackjack Buddy Gold. This version is all new, with many details you can customize such as dealer behavior, display options, statistics, sound effects, and more. Beyond the regular game of Blackjack, Nickel Buddy has included two mini games for extra practice on basic skills.

• Mini 21: With 20 seconds on the clock, you are shown 4 hands at a time, only one of which adds up to 21. Select the 21-value hands from each new set of 4 as many times as you can before time runs out.
• Mini Sum It: With 20 seconds on the clock, you are shown a Blackjack hand and 4 values, only one of which is the correct value for the hand. Select the correct value for each shown hand and complete as many hands as you can before time runs out.

The graphics on Blackjack Buddy Gold are awesome, with bright colors and an all new interface ensuring that not only will you enjoy playing this game, but looking at it won't hurt your brain. You can pick up Blackjack Buddy Gold for your BlackBerry for $2.99 from the CrackBerry store or BlackBerry App World. It runs on most devices with OS 4.5 or newer, touchscreen and trackpad.

For more information and to purchase Blackjack Buddy Gold from the CB store
For more information and to purchase Blackjack Buddy Gold from App World

One of my all-time favorite BlackBerry games Fierce Towers has just been updated to version 1.8. The new release brings some great new features that truly help make it one of the great tower defense games on BlackBerry. Back in May I did a mini-review and pointed out the finer points as well as what the game lacked, and I have to say the new version does not disappoint. Updates include:

• Damage bonus for fully upgrading tower.
  
• Assorted bug fixes.
  
• New scoring system.
  
• Displays tower range when tower is highlighted.
  
• Points are displayed when enemy is killed.
  
• Optional tower level indicator to see how many times a tower has been upgraded.
  
• Upcoming waves are displayed.
  
• Tower info is now available to display tower damage, range, and cost for each upgrade.
  

To celebrate the release, both Fierce Towers and Candy Defense are on sale for 50% off until August 2nd. So you have no excuse not to check out these sweet games - hit the links below for more.

• More information/download of Fierce Towers >>
• More information/download of Candy Defense >>

If you mastered the routine in Nickel Buddy's original Anywhere Abs fitness application for BlackBerry you'll want to check out their newly-released next installment, Anywhere Abs 2: Core Edition. This edition features six now exercises focused on building up your core, which are broken out step by step. At any time you can pull up a detailed explanation of each exercise and the app features a countdown time and three different levels of difficulty.

As I said in my post to the original Anywhere Abs, just having it installed on your device is a good thing... never mind actually it, but just seeing the icon on the homescreen everytime you check your email forces you to sit or stand a little straighter and flex those abs. It sells for $2.99 and you can grab it at the link below.

• Learn More / Download Anywhere Abs 2: Core Edition >>

We just got word that our friends at Nickel Buddy (makers of Fierce Towers) have just released their newest creation Candy Defense. If you remember during WES 2010, we got a quick preview of the upcoming game and it looked sweet :-). Candy Defense takes on classic tower defense strategies and has you defending Candy Island from the invading pirates. There are 4 difficulties on 4 different maps and the game automatically saves on exit (very cool for playing in short spurts). This one is a great time killer that is sure to provide hours of entertainment. You'll never have the same game twice and it is definitely worth checking out. Candy Defense is available now for all devices (OS 4.6+) in the CrackBerry App Store for $4.99.

• More information/download of Candy Defense >>

After my brief stint rocking Fieldrunners on Kevin's iPad during WES, I've become a big fan of tower defense games. I have a few that I'll play on my Mac when at home, but on the go I was feeling some withdrawal. There aren't very many available for BlackBerry, but the best I've found so far has to be Fierce Towers by Nickel Buddy. The game is easy to get up and running, and doesn't have any overwhelming options to bog things down. While some may be upset at the lack of features (mainly that there is no sound), others will find the simplicity to be a great thing.

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Solitaire Buddy Gold by Nickel Buddy is one of the best solitaire games out there, including much more than just your simple solitaire game. The application comes with Klondike, Freecell, Pyramid, Pyramid Golf, Spider Golf, Will o Wisp Poker, 3-Peaks Black Widow, Canfield, Beetle and Spiderette They have recently updated this game, improving upon many aspects of it such as better compression for graphics (reducing file size) and more readable/better looking font for the cards. Overall Solitaire Buddy Gold is a very nice game to have, ensuring entertainment at those boring times in your life. You can pick it up for $2.99 (40% off) until this Sunday, February 14. It is compatible with all BlackBerry's running OS 4.2 and up.

• More information and download of Solitaire Buddy Gold>>

Nickel Buddy Studios recently released a new version of their Solitaire game for BlackBerry. Solitaire Buddy Gold is actually more than a single game; it is a collection of 13 different Solitaire games. I’m pretty plain vanilla when it comes to Solitaire, and normally just play good old fashioned Klondike. But after playing with the different games in Solitaire Buddy Gold, I’m expanding my horizons!

When you first start the game, you are presented with the game lobby. Here you can see your game stats, like the number of times you’ve won each game and the number you’ve played, so you can see how good (or bad) you really are. This is where you choose which game you want to play.