Continuing in what is apparently a produce-themed gaming spree (I wonder if my subconscious trying to tell me something about the nutritional value of my coffee, bagel and burrito-dominated average daily diet), I’d like to take you to the tropics, where, besides drug cartel wars amid the tourist shop lined streets of cruise ship ports, I turn your attention to Thirsty Parrot, a colorful fruit match & smash game involving a particular parched and loquacious parrot (you have to hear his Vanilla Ice impression) in need of a never-ending, not to mention increasingly frustrating, supply of fruit juice.

Now, under normal circumstances, I consider myself a moral, honest person with no logical reason to ever subvert the ethical guidelines to which I hold myself. But, never have I wanted to cheat, steal and lie so much as when berated by this maliciously thirsty parrot. Parrots, whose previously-believed sole worth centered around the entertainment value derived from the inappropriate mimicry of behind-the-back criticisms of friend’s mother-in-laws in full earshot of critiqued mother-in-law, appear to have extended their repertoire of whiny, annoyance-inducing tools to include competitive-level juice consumption. And, Thirsty Parrot openly endorses cheating to subdue this particular avian pest. In fact, Thirsty Parrot introduces a new strategy in match games: repetitive failure breeds success through cheating (similar to modern baseball). After each challenging game (aka, loss) of "fill Polly's sippy cup before Polly downs it faster than a freshman at Orientation", your points are totaled up with previous games in an effort to reach the next Power Up level providing additional cheats (also available for purchase for those who lack enough patience).

This fast-paced, colorful, and, despite the needy, whiney overstuffed cockatoo, extremely humorous tropical match game is fun, challenging and difficult to put down. In fact, I think I hear Polly calling for another whooping (of my rear, that is, I still can’t get past the second PowerUp)!