Rubik's Cube and Tap-a-Brick 3D for iPhone

With all the recent news concerning native iPhone games headed for debut at the launch of the iTunes App Store in June, let's not forget that web-based games written for the iPhone can be great fun, as well.  And what's more, they're here right now.  Two such titles, recently released by Balazs Vagvolgyi of Maryland, exemplify this point perfectly.

 

The first is Rubik's Cube.  (You remember the Rubik's Cube, right?)  The game presents you with a 3D rendered, on-screen cube with rotational control arrows arrayed about it.  Once you click the randomize button, your goal is to rotate portions of the cube such that each side is a solid color (in case you actually don't remember the Rubik's Cube).  The interface is intuitive and it's a fun, new way to fiddle with your iPhone or iPod touch.
As the author reports on his blog,

I've finished the Rubik's Cube game for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. It runs pretty fast in Safari. There will be updates coming later. Any feedbacks are welcome. This is the first JavaScript application I've ever written but I still could finish it in about 10 nights.
I'm particulary proud of the 3D engine built on JavaScript and HTML CANVAS that features ambient+directional lighting and backface culling. This version is specialized for the Rubik's Cube here but I have a more generic version as well.

 

The second title is Tap-a-Brick 3D.  It's basically a remake of California Dreams' Blockout (1989), which is a top-down, 3D slant on Tetris.  As I've enjoyed Blockout on a variety of platforms over the years, this title comes as a particular treat.  Like Rubik's Cube, the interface is great and doesn't get in the way — a well done iPhone game.