Sparcade attempts to bring a clever twist to standard mobile gaming. Its included versions of Pac-Man, Tetris, Wheel of Fortune, Scrabble, and Solitaire are hardly original, but what separates their Sparcade versions from a million other mobile games is that Sparcade is built as an Xbox Live Arcade-like platform from which you can bet real-world money against other players.

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You create a profile in Sparcade and, when you play, you have the option to wager in-app tokens (earned for simply playing the games) or actual money. The amounts range from $1 on up. Players – matched anonymously by a behind-the-scenes algorithm that attempts to pair up equally skilled users – then play the same exact round of each game asynchronously. For instance, the same puzzles in Wheel of Fortune, the same blocks in the same order in Tetris, etc. On a $1 bet, the winner takes the $2, minus a small cut for Sparcade.“We know players will enjoy playing competitively for free or for real money in some of the biggest and most popular game franchises of all time,” said Sparcade’s Greg Canessa. “And we can’t wait for them to experience the rich social layer, community features and additional games that we have in the works.”If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Canessa spent years working at Microsoft on Xbox as the creator and head of Xbox Live Arcade. When you launch Sparcade, you’ll see a number of Xbox Live-esque features, such as a friends list, leaderboards, and achievements.“We’re excited to give players a chance to compete and build their skills in the first wave of games while we add even more iconic franchises and new features in the coming months,” Canessa added.The Sparcade is app is available now for iOS devices as a free download with in-app purchases (such as the real-world money you’ll need should you want to participate in real-money competitions). More games will be added in the coming months, and we’re told that the games themselves will be free.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews and Xbox Guru-in-Chief. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan , catch him on Podcast Unlocked , and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.