Stranded Without a Phone is a pretty cool desert island survival RPG game. The premise of the game is that you are the only survivor of a spaceship crash on a planet that is almost completely covered by ocean. You must develop survival skills and build shelter, find food and drink, and collect salvageable parts from the wreckage that washes ashore. The short-term goal of the game is to find enough food and water to survive past Day 3; the long-term goal is to use the parts that you find to build a radio and call for a rescue team (which wins the game).

The game play of Stranded Without a Phone should be very familiar to PC gamers. You move your character around the island by tapping the screen in the direction that you would like to go as you search for food, water and items that can help rescue you. Berry bushes are of immediate assistance as they can ward off hunger and you also need to search for items that can be used to construct more complex tools (rope, nets, radio parts, etc.) that can help with your rescue. There are over 70 potential inventory items and the game provides details on which items/parts you need to construct other, more complex tools. One of the challenges is that you can only carry six items in inventory unless you create the means to carry additional items.

The game has a day and night cycle so you need to manage your hydration, nutrition, injuries and health on a "daily" basis (see the right-hand corner of the screen for the health monitor). You also need to manage your sleep cycle and one of the challenges is that you can't get sufficient sleep if you aren't healthy.

Stranded Without a Phone takes a few tries to make your way through the game but it is addictive so you can easily spend a couple of hours with this game. Each time that you play the game, the island map is regenerated so the game (and its inherent challenges) don't get old quickly.

Stranded Without a Phone is $1.99 in the iTunes Store.

Links:
Gilligames