What do you do when you need to be advised on what to do in a complex situation? Do you ask your father, your mom,  your wife or  your rabbi?  Why not ask Uncle Fred?

Uncle Fred is a new app of  Moshe Berman.  Initially the app was supposed to be similar to Magic 8 ball – a toy used for seeking advice or fortune telling, which was the idea of  Albert Carter,  then remade by Abe  Bookman to become the “goose that lays the golden eggs”  (sell soaring over a million copies a year).

Now for those who have never heard of  Magic 8 Ball:  it is something like a huge pool ball with a clear area on the bottom. A liquid fills the inside of the ball. In that liquid there is a twenty-sided die. On each side of the die there is an emboss print with a particular message. The message is revealed when you turn the Magic 8 Ball over to see the conspicuous side. The die floats to the see-through side of the Ball.

And now let’s go back to Uncle Fred.

Uncle Fred tells jokes about eyes.  He is an eyeball after all and sees the world in a funny light.  Shake Uncle Fred to see his latest thoughts.  Don’t poke his eye though, he doesn’t like that.

I think that a true charm of this app is that you can customize what Uncle Fred says.  Presetting below phrases we can change Uncle Fred into Magic 8 Ball:

a – As I see it, yes
a – It is certain
a – It is decidedly so
a – Most likely
a – Outlook good
a – Signs point to yes
a – Without a doubt
a – Yes
a – Yes – definitely
a – You may rely on it

b – Reply hazy, try again
b – Ask again later
b – Better not tell you now
b – Cannot predict now
b – Concentrate and ask again

c – Don’t count on it
c – My reply is no
c – My sources say no
c – Outlook not so good
c – Very doubtful

As you can see 10 of the possible answers are affirmative (a), 5 are negative (b), and 5 are maybe (c). Thanks to probability theory, it can be shown that it takes an average of  72 questions of  the Magic 8 Ball for all 20 of its answers to appear at least once.

You can open a “business advice center” or you can opt for less risky task of entertaining guests on one of your parties. If you are a fresh mom or dad you can use the authority of  Uncle Fred to convince your offspring that the necessity of brushing the teeth is not only your idea.  Or else that going to school has actually a bit of sense in it. You can add even something Jewish.

Uncle Fred is more than just shaking.  Give it your full attention and you will figure it all out.

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Developer’s Notes: Uncle Fred is a whimsical and magical creation.  He is absolutely unique. You see, Uncle Fred is an eyeball.  Somehow,  he sustains himself without food or water.  It’s an absolute miracle.

Uncle Fred has one ambition in life.  He wishes that his two eyebrows would become one.  Unfortunately,  it doesn’t look like that is going to happen any time soon.  He’s been waiting for the gap on his head to grow together for decades. It’s like watching grass grow, except he’s watching it NOT grow.  Yea, it’s only been about two hundred years.

Uncle Fred passes the time by thinking.  He thinks about himself.  He thinks about his wife,  Auntie Iris.  He thinks about the Eyeball Workers’ Union, “Local 2020″.   He thinks about many things and sometimes he can get a little distracted.

To see what Uncle Fred is thinking about,  shake your iPhone, iPad or  iPod touch. You can try to help Uncle Fred‘s cause by tapping his eyebrows, but I’m not convinced that you are going to help things. If you’re feeling mean you can…  Well,  I won’t give it away, but what would YOU do if you had a vulnerable eyeball at your disposal?

Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Category: Kids, Simulation, Role Playing
Released: June 15, 2010
Publisher: Moshe Berman
Price: $0.99 (buy app)

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