Kill Time in Those Crazy-Long Voting Lines With These 10 Apps
If you're voting today (and you should!) here's how to cope with the long, long wait.
ALEXANDRIA, VA - NOVEMBER 08: Voters wait in-line for casting their ballots outside a polling place on Election Day November 8, 2016 in Alexandria, Virginia. Americans across the nation are picking their choice for the next president of the United States. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)Getty Images
Reigns
In the card-based game *Reigns*, you rule an ancient kingdom by swiping right or left on a series of choices, from simple scenarios (strike a trade deal) to the absurd (werewolves!). Your only goal is to make sure to maintain a healthy balance of church, citizenry, army, and money. Let any grow too strong or too weak, and your reign ends. Each round only takes a few minutes, contains plenty of silly surprises, and feels fitting for tonight's main event.
Prune
It's been a long 18 months. Time to find your zen. Prune lets you do that in game form: Your objective is simply to grow and trim a tree so that it grows out of the shadow and into the sun. More importantly, it's gorgeous, with a meditative palette and pace to help keep inner peace at a time when, let's face it, we're all in desperate need for some.
Headspace
Speaking of meditation! If games aren't your thing, try Headspace, one of the most popular meditation and mindfulness apps in the App Store. Founded by Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk, Headspace offers no shortage of short-burst guided sessions. You have to pay for most of them, but the free starter pack should last you several blocks at least.
PinOut!
We've written about *PinOut!* recently, but it's worth another mention here. You know that feeling, when you're playing pinball, of the ball falling past your flippers, and your whole world sinks a little? With *PinOut!*, you get to experience the opposite: One hard tap, and the ball keeps on soaring up to another level altogether. Progress! Mobility! Pinball! That's truly a platform with universal appeal.
Hard as it is to believe, election day is finally upon us. Unfortunately, so are reports of obscenely long lines and their attendant hours-long waits. Should you find yourself queued up long enough to exhaust your go-to time-wasters—there's only so much Twitter one can take, especially today—check out this buffet of apps, games, and more to pass the time before you pull the lever.
Devolver DigitalReigns
In the card-based game *Reigns*, you rule an ancient kingdom by swiping right or left on a series of choices, from simple scenarios (strike a trade deal) to the absurd (werewolves!). Your only goal is to make sure to maintain a healthy balance of church, citizenry, army, and money. Let any grow too strong or too weak, and your reign ends. Each round only takes a few minutes, contains plenty of silly surprises, and feels fitting for tonight's main event.
Joel McDonaldPrune
It's been a long 18 months. Time to find your zen. Prune lets you do that in game form: Your objective is simply to grow and trim a tree so that it grows out of the shadow and into the sun. More importantly, it's gorgeous, with a meditative palette and pace to help keep inner peace at a time when, let's face it, we're all in desperate need for some.
Headspace Meditation Ltd.Headspace
Speaking of meditation! If games aren't your thing, try Headspace, one of the most popular meditation and mindfulness apps in the App Store. Founded by Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk, Headspace offers no shortage of short-burst guided sessions. You have to pay for most of them, but the free starter pack should last you several blocks at least.
PinoutPinOut!
We've written about *PinOut!* recently, but it's worth another mention here. You know that feeling, when you're playing pinball, of the ball falling past your flippers, and your whole world sinks a little? With *PinOut!*, you get to experience the opposite: One hard tap, and the ball keeps on soaring up to another level altogether. Progress! Mobility! Pinball! That's truly a platform with universal appeal.
HowlHowl
Staring at a screen for four hours isn't ideal, no matter how fun or relaxing (or both) the experience. You probably already have a favorite podcast, but this is a time for new adventures. For that, try Howl, home to the Earwolf family of podcasts. It features exclusive content from big-time titles like WTF with Mark Maron, SuperEgo, and Comedy Bang Bang, access to over 100 comedy albums, and some of the sharpest voices in comedy today. And while it requires a monthly subscription, the free trial will almost certainly last longer than your time in line.
Captain GamesDesert Golfing
*Desert Golfing* places you on a golf course with infinite holes, no mulligans, and nothing but sand traps. Which, OK, yes, sounds a bit too much like a metaphor for our political process. And yet! Once you give into the futility, you can't help but enjoy the simple joy of putting ball into hole. You can never win, but you can't lose either.
SnapchatSnapchat
You were probably ephemerally messaging anyway, but I very specifically mean today's Snapchat update. As of now, you can add lenses to your snaps that don't alter your face, but the entire world around you. You can add augmented-reality hearts, or snow, or a flashlight, or clouds vomiting rainbows to your wait, proving once again that everything's better with rainbow-vomit.
Miniclip.comFlip Diving
If there was ever a day you felt like throwing a dude in a penguin costume off a tree limb and into a lake far below, it's today. You can make a range of characters execute perfect layouts and pikes, but most of the fun will come from the simple joy of a big splash. *Flip Diving* isn't meditative or engaging or any kind of electoral metaphor. It's just plain old goofy, and more than a little cathartic.
Niantic Inc.Pokémon Go
Time to dust off those Poké Balls. Even if you haven't played in a while, it's still a fun way to kill time, and there's a high correlation between polling places and Poké Stops. Drop a few lures, catch a few Doduos, and make a few friends across party lines.
The Canadian Real Estate AssociationRealtor.ca
You know that contingency plan you keep talking about if the election goes the other way? Canada's premier real estate app should help. I hear it's nice in Manitoba this time of year (just kidding, it's freezing).
Brian Barrett is the executive editor of news at WIRED, overseeing day to day coverage across the site. Prior to WIRED he was the editor in chief of the tech and culture site Gizmodo and was a business reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest daily newspaper. ... Read more
