BlackBerry App Roundup for January 22, 2016: Games, photo editing, and more!

Howdy CrackBerry nation! Another week has passed so you know what that means? Not only is it time to share with you another batch of applications for your BlackBerry 10 or Priv device, but it's also time to catch up on all the news that transpired since we last met.

Kicking things off was a brand new episode of the (BerryFlow Podcast which discussed the Good Technology announcements, the latest BlackBerry 10.3.2 release and BlackBerry's announcement of DTSec. Also discussed this week was how the Department of Veterans Affairs selected BlackBerry's AtHoc to power its crisis communications and the end of the Built for BlackBerry program.

Now it's time to bring you this week's picks for all you passionate BlackBerry addicts out there. You can find each app and game I've rustled up for you by clicking through the gallery below. If your favorite didn't make the cut this week, remember you can help by offering your suggestions at the end.

ALONE by Laser Dog Games Limited

ALONE is a fast-paced runner for your BlackBerry 10 smartphone that will keep you occupied as you try to survive a solitary journey through space. The object is to navigate your spaceship around caves, rocky debris, comets and other obstacles.

All you have to do is drag up and down on the screen, which is not as easy at it looks as the controls are inverted by default. This means you have to swipe up to go down and vice versa. However, you can adjust this in settings. The ship itself can take a minor hit or two before the shields fail but not if you crash into the rocks themselves.

After a few seconds, the nerves start kicking in as you try to weave through the ever-changing hectic environments.

You can find ALONE in the Amazon Appstore for $1.99 or download for free in the Amazon Underground (US, UK, Germany, and France only).

Learn how to install ALONE from the Amazon Appstore

Flippy Bottlecap by Swavek Zielinksi

Flappy Bird has come and gone but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a similar game to distract us from from our busy lives. Instead of birds and pipes, we have bottles and bottlecaps. The object of the game is to avoid the bottles, collect gold caps, and earn achievements. It's simple, fun, and ad free. Flippy Bottlecap is a native game that is only compatible with all touch BlackBerry 10 handsets.

Learn more / Purchase Flippy Bottlecap from BlackBerry World

Bonza World Puzzle by MiniMega

Bonza is a non-traditional crossword puzzle game. By that I mean it is a mashup of several different types of puzzles (i.e. word search, jigsaw puzzle, and trivia game). The result is this non-traditional and challenging game.

You're presented various puzzles packs that are unlocked as you play or through an in-app purchase. Each pack contains a variety of puzzles, which increase in difficulty as you progress, and are centered around a particular theme. Included with every puzzle is a clue to give players an inkling of what the possible words may be, as Bonza makes things even more challenging by not providing a list of words to fill in or even per-word hints. The board is cluttered with letters as jumbled up jigsaw puzzle pieces. Using the clue(s) as your guide, it is your job to rearrange the pieces back into their correct order and unearth all of the hidden words.

The game comes with several starter packs such as a free puzzle of the day, plus your choice from among the paid packs. Frustrating and fun, you can download Bonza World Puzzle for free in Google Play.

Learn more / Download Bonza World Puzzle from Google Play

Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock by Northcube AB

Getting a good night's sleep is an important part of keeping our mind and bodies healthy. Sleep Cycle is an intelligent alarm clock that analyzes your motion during the night and determines the best possible window of time to wake you up such as when you are in the lightest sleeping phase.

The application works by monitoring your movements while you sleep using your device's accelerometer. This means users will have to place their device exactly where the app instructs them too, which is usually at the corner of the bed adjacent to the pillow. Based on your sleeping habits, it finds the optimal time to wake you up during a 30-minute interval based on the alarm time you've set. This means rather than being jolted out of a deep sleep first thing in the morning, you will be woken up slowly and not in the middle of a dream. This sort of wake-up leads to you rising more refreshed and in a better state to start your day.

Not only does Sleep Cycle track your sleep and act as an alarm clock but it includes detailed sleep statistics and graphs, the ability to use your own music as the alarm, an option to snooze by shaking or tapping the phone lightly, customized wake up windows, a background mode, and sleep notes.

You can download Sleep Alarm Cycle from Google Play for $0.99.

Learn more / Download Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock from Google Play

A Better Camera by Almalence, Inc.

If you are looking to improve upon the capabilities of your camera, A Better Camera offers a range of controls, optimizations, and features when capturing an image. Not only does it make your shots look good but it also records video and comes with time-lapse photography.

This full-featured camera application offers several modes with which to take the perfect shot including burst, HDR Photo/Video, night mode, single shot, panorama, objects removal, sequence shot, self-timer, and smart multishot. The controls are easy to use and it employs gestures to hide or access each of them. I tend to leave the grid on to utilize the Rule of Thirds for my images.

To maximize your BlackBerry's camera, you can download A Better Camera for free from the Amazon Appstore, with optional in-app purchases. A free version, called A Better Camera Unlocked, is also available in the Amazon Underground (US, UK, Germany, and France only) and offers full access to all camera features.

Learn how to install A Better Camera Unlocked from the Amazon Appstore

What You Might Have Missed

Ad Blocker for Default Browser by ShaoSoft

For those who wish to block or remove ads from the BlackBerry 10 default browser, there is Ad Blocker by popular developer ShaoSoft. This browser presents users with the ability to block ads on your device when connected to Wi-Fi. Additional features include blocking ads at the source, improved privacy, automatic ad block updates, does not run in the background, and configuration takes less than two minutes. While it may only support this feature when connected to a Wi-Fi network, the developer is looking into having the service work when running on a cellular network.

You can find this native BlackBerry 10 application in BlackBerry World for $1.99.

Learn more / Purchase Ad Blocker for BlackBerry 10 from BlackBerry World{.cta .large}

Until next week...

That's it for this week folks. For more apps and games, be sure to head on over to the CrackBerry Forums where you will find even more hidden gems to choose from whether it be for BlackBerry 10, BBOS, the BlackBerry PlayBook, or even Android Apps in the Google Play store for the BlackBerry Priv. Of course, you can always find the latest and greatest top editor's picks in the CrackBerry App Gallery. Are there any apps or games you would like to see? Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments.