TUAW's Daily iPhone App: Parking Dash

I've posted about the "Dash" time management games before -- traditionally, they're just basically tap-and-wait titles that have you managing a diner or a spa. But Parking Dash, out today on iPhone, is the most involved one I've seen. The app still has a plucky female heroine (these apps tend to appeal to women, a fresh moneymaking audience on the App Store) working for more and more pay. This time, some parking-style puzzles make things more fun for hardcore players.

You're still just tapping and waiting, but now you're also tasked with parking colored cars, and combo-ing colors in various spaces can earn you lots of points, lending a little bit of strategy to the mix. I like it -- like the other Dash games, the gameplay is colorful and ramps well, and pulling cars in and out of their spots is a lot of fun.

I like the direction of these time management games -- originally, they were basically cheap repeats of popular PC titles (and there are certainly still plenty of those to go around -- Parking Dash itself originally started on the PC). But more and more, the games are being designed for the App Store and the iPhone's audience and UI, and I think the genre as a whole is improving because of it. Parking Dash is available now for US$2.99.