Time killers for all-day sits

Yes, you’re out there to enjoy nature. Sitting quietly in your stand, or along a body of water with a fishing pole. Maybe you’re sitting in a hut waiting for a fish to nail a tip-up. Sure, the solitude of nature is calming, but sometimes you need a little distraction, or the peace and quiet might just put you to sleep.

Besides scouring social media with your phone, here’s some other things you can do (with airplane or silent mode active!) on that little piece of technology you take everywhere:

Bubble Spinner: This game is so mindless, you could almost still fall asleep playing it. It’s addicting, yet easy to put down if a deer shows up. The goal? Shoot the bubble from the hopper and hit a bubble in the center that matches the same color. Eliminate as many bubbles as possible from the middle of the screen. This one isn’t too bad of a battery drain, so you should be able to play for a bit and still take a selfie at the end of the day with your trophy.

Solitaire by Mobilityware: Classic solitaire. Simple, easy and free. This version works with the random deal mode with no online connection. If you want the promise of a winning deal, you’ll need cellular data or a wifi connection. There’s also a daily challenge and a multiplayer version that require a connection. It’s got some different background choices so you can stare at something but a bland green screen.

Fruit Ninja: Yep, this is just what it sounds like. You. Your finger. Fruit flying across the screen. Its three strikes and you’re out. AKA, miss three pieces of fruit and the round is over. This one’s fun and addicting though it can chew up battery on your phone if you’re not paying attention. Certain styles of gameplay require a connection online, but not all of them.
Amazon Kindle App: Download the Kindle app to your phone and then head to a website like www.freebooksy.com to find free books to read. Or, browse Amazons massive catalog and weed your way through the paid books to the free ones. From books on hunting and fishing to fast-paced thrillers, a few hours with a book will keep your brain sharp and your battery still in good shape.

Wordscapes: For those of us who like a little more challenge mentally, this game combines the best of word searching and crosswords for tremendous brain-challenging fun. The earlier levels are easy, but once you hit the 100 level mark, you’ll need to put your thinking cap on to get past the challenges. This game isn’t a horrible battery killing app, but it does drain it a bit.

2 for 2: Simple to begin, but hard to master, 2 for 2 is a game that you make lines by connecting as many same numbered dots as you can. The longer the line, the more points you get and the longer you’ll survive. As you connect the same numbers, they add up in multiples of two. Similar to the rash of 2048 games that came out, but a little more fun.

Drag n Merge: Similar to 2 for 2, but completely different. Drag n Merge is a numbers-based puzzle game. The goal is to drag and merge together two blocks with the same number. For example, drag a two-block onto a two-block and they will merge into a three. Do this enough times and the player will create a block with the number 20 on it.

Egg, Inc.: An idle game where you build a barn, hatch chickens and use trucks to haul away the eggs for profits. Add improvements to egg-laying rates, get more chickens, build bigger bards and faster truck, profit and sell your farm to start again with upgrades. The best part is tapping the drones that buzz by over the farm for profit. They drop golden eggs or money for you to use to improve your farm.