Personal Preference
Why not long press?
Cause I don't like it, and I'm the dude with the compiler!
*grin*
Seriously, when I play a casual game like this, I get into a rhythm. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
A long tap breaks the rhythm: Tap, tap, tap, looooong tap, tap, tap.
See what I mean? Breaks the rhythm. It's a bit like chewing bubble gum and walking down the road at the same time: it just feels wrong.
-Ken
P.S. Still hoping someone can point me towards the source code for the gesture library...