Welcome back to the weekend everybody! It’s time for another Apps of the Week roundup! This week we have some fantastic picks for you including a basic retro calculator app, a curated Unicode and system font library, and a quiz app for learning flags. And as always, we’ve selected a fun new game for you to check out.
Calculator 1984
Here is a fun little app that is not only a throwback to the early years of Apple and the Mac, but also to the early years of the App Store. Remember before AI or iCloud came around? Apps were much simpler then, and they actually had character—now they all have similar flat, minimal designs. That’s what makes Calculator 1984 so fun. It’s just a basic calculator app—there is no AI or complex algorithms here. It just does your basic calculations, and you can decorate the empty space with fun pixel stickers. There’s also a Mac app, for those who want to go all-in with the retro theme.
CharMap — Unicode Characters
Here’s one for all of you Unicode nerds out there. CharMap allows you to discover, organize, and type various Unicode characters. The app features a collection of curated characters across a variety of categories including arrows, bullets and stars, currency symbols, math symbols, Latin and much more. It also has a keyboard extension, so you can pull up your favorite characters and use them whenever, and it even lets you browse and preview system fonts. Again, this won’t be for everyone. But for those that like to really nerd out about the details of fonts and symbols—you won’t be disappointed.
Guess World Flags: Quiz Games
I was hoping to round out today’s list with a banger of a productivity app, but as you can see that is just not the case. Instead we went with what I guess is technically a game, called Guess World Flags. I’ll give you three guesses what your goal is. Yep! In GWF you’ll explore flags from every corner of the globe as you challenge yourself to learn flags from every country. There’s support for 15 languages, diverse game modes, and continuous updates with new flags. This seems like a fun and educational way to spend your free time, and I think I know an awkward Caltech physicist that would love this app.
Pocket Kickball
You know, I was just telling a friend that someone should make like a backyard-style kickball video game, so I was obviously super excited to come across this title. It’s Pocket Kickball, by SnowDay Software, and it features all the kickball action you can handle. You can choose to play the game straight up, with playground rules, or participate in various mini games. There are tons of fields, both indoor and outdoor, game modes, balls, character skins and accessories to unlock. You can even customize your room with cabinets and shelves full of trophies. Super wow!