Flappy Bird clones flood App Store, now with in-app purchases

This weekend's removal of mobile hit Flappy Bird has already been capitalised on by app store developers looking to fill the game's void - and by people who downloaded the original when it was still available.

Flappy Bird's disappearance has only encouraged the rise of copycat games, with one clone now having risen to second place in the UK free app charts.

But while Fly Birdie - Flappy Bird Flyer bears a striking resemblance to its predecessor, the game will charge you £0.69 for every three lives. The original Flappy Bird was entirely free.

Another clone, Fluffy vs. Flappy Birds will charge you £1.49 to remove ads, or up to £6.99 for lumps of in-game coins.

Other Flappy Bird alternatives currently available include Flappy Plane, Flappy Bee and Flying Flappy Unicorn Bird: The Frozen Sky Fall.

And, if you're an Android user, you can download Happy Poo Flap.

Meanwhile, phones which have Flappy Bird installed are currently being placed on eBay for substantial amounts. In the UK, a 16B iPhone 3GS is being sold for £1000, an iPhone 5S for £650 and an HTC One for £525. Many other options are available, all "with rare Flappy Bird game installed!".

Flappy Bird developer Dong Nguyen decided to remove his hugely popular app over the weekend after saying he did not want the fame it had brought him - despite it raking in $50,000 a day in ad revenue.

"I am sorry Flappy Bird users, 22 hours from now, I will take Flappy Bird down. I cannot take this anymore," he wrote on Twitter. "I can call Flappy Bird is a success of mine. But it also ruins my simple life. So now I hate it."