Crushing your buddy's Ms. Pac-Man score on the 7-Eleven coin-op used to be the height of rivalry. And you never knew if someone had topped your score until you stopped in again for a Jolt Cola. But in today's global thunderdome of always-on, networked gameplay, the battle never ends. Luckily, a slew of new tools now bring high-score boards to your iPhone, letting you know with a simple screen tap when it's time to reassert your dominance. Here's how to stay on top of your daily punishment regimen.
- 7:00 Wake up, grab your iPhone, and launch the Game Center app, which tracks your standings across multiple games. Did a friend best your score on Cut the Rope while you snoozed? If so, it's time to get busy.
- 7:01 Switch over to Need for Speed Autolog, which tracks performance in the console racing game Shift 2 Unleashed. It'll tell you if a rival has shaved a few seconds off your track record.
- 7:03 Tap the 360 Live app, which syncs your phone with your Xbox 360 account, to see whether anyone has earned the FIFA 11 Virtual Legend achievement before you or beaten your progress in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
- 7:05 Scan your Facebook wall. Is a buddy crowing about the badge he just unlocked in Bejeweled Blitz? You'll need to get two of them to show him up.
- 7:06 Any new alerts from the Scrabble knockoff Words With Friends? It'd be agonizing to see your foe take that triple-word space.
- 7:08 Fire up the World of Warcraft Mobile Armory app and check the auction house to see if one of your guildmates has outbid you for the Breeches of Mended Nightmares. That would be unforgivable!
- 7:10 Call in sick. Really sick. It's going to take at least a week to reestablish your supremacy over all of your so-called friends.
