Note: Today’s post is dedicated to mindless fun. If you came here looking for practical tools and tips to guide you in your leadership efforts…come back tomorrow.
When I’m perusing the App Store on my iPhone, I’m typically looking for two things: an app that will assist with my productivity and an app that will entertain me.
Tiny Wings is my new favorite. It does a horrible job in the area of productivity. Yet the tradeoff in entertainment value is well worth it.
Tiny Wings is a very, very simple game. The only controls you have to worry about is touching the screen. You can touch the screen anywhere. But you can’t touch it anytime. When…not where is the key to this game. It’s simple…and addicting…and very fun.
The premise is easy enough: You are guiding a small bird with limited flying ability (because of it’s tiny wings). Since this bird is flight-challenged, you must help it gain momentum over the rolling landscape. This is accomplished by touching the screen to land the bird on a downhill slope (creating the effect of gravity) and releasing while the bird propels off the upward slope. This action is called “slides.” It takes a bit of practice and timing to get the bird jettisoning off hillsides into the clouds.
Along the way, you receive points for good slides, distance traveled, coins collected, multiple slides in a row, and objectives reached. The game is timed by the overhead course of the sun. A round consists of one day. At the start, you press the screen to wake up the bird and the sun rises. As you progress, the sun begins to set. Once the sun goes down, darkness overtakes the bird and it goes to sleep. End of round.
Tiny Wings costs 99 cents in the App Store. Well worth it.
Once you put this game on your device, there are certain strategies and tips that I’d suggest. This will help you reach more islands and achieve the objectives.
1. The clock starts the moment you tap the screen and wake up the bird, so get some momentum right out of the nest.
2. Work to accomplish the objectives, this will increase your nest and multiplier level. That means more points for each move.
3. The higher you jump, the slower the sun moves. If you stay close to the ground, the sun will go down on you a lot faster.
4. One of the objectives is to play the game upside down and get to the 5th island. You can lean forward and simply tilt your iPhone forward and the iPhone will think it’s upside down.
5. “Fever mode” is obtained by making and sustaining multiple “good slides” in a row. The best time to be in fever mode is at the end of an island. That way you’ll be on the fever mode clock for more time (more points!) as you transition to the next island.
6. I’ve found that it’s easier to steer your bird in the air by tapping on the screen versus holding my finger on the screen. This creates small, directional changes and is easier to control.
7. Memorize the first slide entry point for each island. Island #2 and #3 are easier. Island #4 requires you to anticipate and press down hard to hit it just right (I’ve found it easier to land in the 2nd valley rather than the 3rd).
So there you have it. Tiny Wings won’t help you to be a better leader. It won’t help your productivity. And it won’t help you make better decisions. But it sure is fun and entertaining for a small investment.
And if you’ve read this far, you probably have some thoughts of your own about Tiny Wings. Leave a Tiny Wings shout-out with your tips or experience in the comments!
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