InstaGamer for iPhone and iPad review: the classic matching game with photos from Instagram

InstaGamer is a great companion to Instagram that lets you play the traditional matching game with photos from Instagram

InstaGamer is a fun iPhone and iPad game that's just like the classic matching game, only the things being matched are instagram photos. You can play with photos from the popular feed, specific tags, your own feed or photos, or photos you've liked.

Before you play a game, you must select which photo set you want to play from. The popular and featured sets come with InstaGamer for free. The featured set lets you choose from a list of popular tags.

In exchange for $0.99 as an in-app purchase, you can play with photos from your feed (the people you follow), your photos, photos you liked, or search for a specific tag.

After you've chosen your set, InstaGamer to choose 20 random photos from that set. Once it's done, you can scroll through all the photos before tapping play. This is probably a good idea so that you're familiar with the photos before starting the game. It might be helpful to know if there's any similar looking photos. Not to mention, it's a great way to look at Instagram photos!

Each game is a four by five grid with two copies of each of the 10 photos and you simply tap the squares to flip over the photos. You choose photos in groups of two, and if they don't match, both of them flip back over. When a match is made, those photos permanently stay facing up. Once all the photos are matched up, you've won!

At the end of each game, you are given a score somewhere between 0 and 1. Specifically, this number is 10 (the number of pairs) divided by the number of tries it took you to win. So the closer you are to 1, the better you did. As you play more games, you'll see your scores charted on a graph so you can see if you're improving. You'll also be given a quote that is somehow related to you score. For example: "What's got nothing on you!", "Nice Work!", and "A honeybee can fly at 15 mph" are all quotes that I've seen.

The Good

• Very fun
• Neat sounds
• Can access popular and featured sets for free
• Looks amazing
• Full version is only $0.99

The Bad

• Doesn't support landscape orientation

The bottom line

InstaGamer is a great twist to the classic matching game. Using you and your friend's photos makes the game much more interesting and the little words of encouragement make you want to play over and over again. Although you have to spend $1 play with photos from your feed, it's worth that $1.

Free - Download Now