Kel Snake, master puzzle box maker.

http://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/5157056-unlocking-kel-snake-s-puzzling-young-s-point-workshop/

Amazing Dot - The Fun Game - not so amazing game for iphone, ipad

            

Amazing Dot - The Fun Game is a vertical jumping game that's very similar to Flappy Bird. I couldn't do that and I can't do this. I got through 3 levels and I'm giving up!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazing-dot-the-fun-game/id912206939?mt=8

Swipe Master - Swipe The Arrows like a Pro!: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

       

Swipe Master - Swipe the Arrows like a Pro! - is a point scoring puzzle app game. The arrows scroll down from the top and you must swipe in the correct direction.


Zebra striped arrows must be swiped in the opposite direction.
This game is not original. It's been done before. Nevertheless, we should all be playing these types of games to keep the brain synapses lightning fast.


https://itunes.apple.com/app/id908219525

Cubecode: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

 

Cubecode comes from Montgomery Guilhaus. It's a point scoring game.  You must swap pairs of cubes in order to get like cubes in a column.  When that happens, you score points and gain time.  I'm not really sure how the scoring system works. But my high score is 120 and that game lasted maybe 1 minute. Think fast and move your finger faster.


Montgomery's description: 'The aim of the game is to swap different cubes by dragging them around the screen and completing a column with the same colour. This has to be done before the timer runs out, but do not worry, the timer will get faster and faster and faster. And just to be nice, the shapes on the screen will also change, becoming more complex as time goes on.'
https://itunes.apple.com/app/cubecode/id887326913?ls=1&mt=8
http://cubecode.weebly.com/

Scribologic: puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

       

From the iTunes store: 'Scribologic is an addictive path-finding puzzle app in which you get a graph paper sheet, partly filled in with pen. Your goal is to scribble in all of the remaining blank squares of paper in a single, continuous line. The path must go through all available ink drops and end on the last one. There is no backtracking, so you must plan your route carefully! As a bonus food for thought, after each level of the app you will reveal an inspiring and witty quote of a famous person.'


Here's the deal: you are the mushroom and must draw 1 continuous path that will cover every square. The last square must land on a water drop. I downloaded the Lite version & solved all 10 levels. They're good! However, I'm in the middle of a similar game: Number Painting, which is more epic/insane with 500 levels.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scribologic-logical-thinking/id927403090?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scribologic-lite-logical-thinking/id929070462?mt=8 This is the Lite version.

Line Rush! - free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

                  

Line Rush is a good reflex game to ward off Alzheimer's. Colored bars scroll down from the top. Tap the match color on the bottom of the screen to knock out the lowest bar.


Here's what I particularly like about Line Rush! - it starts out very slowly and the speed builds up very slowly.  My high score is 365.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/line-rush!/id928270377?mt=8

Twelve - Hardest Puzzle: free puzzle app game

           

Cetin Caglar has created a point scoring game that's a combination of 2048 and Tripevo and Moskeez. The object is to combine pairs of numbers and upgrade them.  Two 7's will combine to make a single 8. After each turn, a new number will randomly appear.


Similar to a lot of other games, the numbers will combine if there's a clear path.


If you cannot make a match, then 2 new numbers will randomly appear. This is bad.


The game ends when you have no more room and cannot make a match.


After every 24 moves, all of your tiles will be rearranged in a new location. Also when that happens, you don't get a new tile. This is critically important.


The highest tile that can be achieved is 12.

Twelve - Hardest Puzzle is a seriously good puzzle app. Quite possibly one of the best of 2014. My only criticism concerns the random tiles that pop up. They are only 1, 2 or 3. This makes the game go  too slowly. At times it feels like solving a Chinese Rings or Tower of Hanoi puzzle.


The game Threes! has a formula: whatever your current high tile is, divide that by 8, and that's the highest random tile that can pop up. My suggestion to Cetin: make the random tiles rise up to 3 less than the highest tile.


My high score is 6539 which places me at #22 out of 29,000 players. That particular game took more than an hour. Not because I took my time. Getting the first 11 can take about 30 minutes.


Addendum: I just found out that this game was updated. I've been playing the 'aggressive' version. There is now a 'normal' and 'hard' option. I'm not sure how they are different.






https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/twelve-hardest-puzzle/id931004233?mt=8


Housecleaning: The List of Best Puzzle Apps of 2014 will be published on December 30 & 31.  Get your party hats ready.

Slide It+ - free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

Kevin Brain is the author of Slide It+. It's the traditional 15 puzzle, just presented differently.  Nothing truly original. Good for young puzzlers.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slide-it+/id887038408?mt=8

Square Lines: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

Square Lines is a free point scoring game that's designed to test your reflexes. Look at the very top of the image.  See the square? From the right, a green line is coming. You must quickly rotate the square so that the green side will catch the green line.


There are 4 levels of difficulty. The easiest: there is only 1 square to deal with.  The hardest: 4 squares at the same time.
We should all be playing games like this every so often to ward off Alzheimer's.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/square-lines/id921566518?mt=8

Yottaminx: giant twisty puzzle

This video is only 5 minutes long. Matt Bahner is in HS and has invented and prototyped a magnificent twisty puzzle.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oFmxMxwKuo

Puzzlations: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

                       

Puzzlation comes from Kevin Brain (Good last name.)  As you can see from the images, it's an edge-matching puzzle app game.  Here's what's particularly good: you can adjust the settings from easy to hard. Kevin makes a distinction between Corner Match & Edge Match, but they're really the same thing.  When he means Corner Match, he's referring to each side having 2 colors.


Tiles can be swapped. On the harder levels, tiles can only be slid. A lot harder.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/puzzlation/id896255285?mt=8

aa: free game app for iphone, ipad

My students recently urged me to give 'aa' a try. No, I am not an alcoholic!  'Aa' is the name of a 'test your reflexes' game.  Look at the image.  The big wheel is turning, sometimes at a constant rate, sometimes at a variable rate.
When there is room, you must shoot the next number so that it does not crash into a spoke.
The Good: 'aa' is fast, fun and very addictive.
The Bad: The game doesn't vary much. Sometimes the wheel will spin clockwise, sometimes counter clockwise. That's basically it.
The Ugly: multiple times, I was very patient, waiting for the wheel to spin and shoot into a gap.....when suddenly, the program thinks that  there's been a collision. This has happened maybe 10 times to me so far.
The miscellaneous: I was stuck on level 26 for at least an hour.  Now I'm stuck on level 49 and I don't think I'll get past it.  Would you believe that there are 525 'entirely unique' levels? Once you've done 48 levels, that's enough.  If you want to play a genuine variation, look for their other apps: ff, au, rr and uu.
https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/aa/id905852173?mt=8

LaserBox: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

           

LaserBox comes from Eugene Dimitriev. Yes, it's another Laser puzzle app game. I've played a couple dozen of these types. However, LaserBox is really well done.


The graphics are very good. There is a good number of easy and medium levels that I solved pretty quickly. There are no ads! However, you can buy hints.


What's different: some crystals have to be activated by more than 1 laser beam.  Some squares must not be hit with a laser.
Many levels have boundaries so that pieces cannot travel just anywhere.


There are 100 levels and I have done them all. Although I admit I used hints for 2 of the problems. When using a hint, the game will show you 2 or 3 regions and you get to choose which region the pieces go. LaserBox offers a few hints for free.


https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/laserbox/id914323144?mt=8

The I of It: free online puzzle game

Yesterday I was giving a math test to my 7th graders and discovered The I of It.  I solved the whole thing in about 1 hour. Loved it! It's cute, delightful and sometimes quite challenging.  One element that I particularly liked is the fact that you must use the arrow buttons on your keyboard. So much fun! I don't know if the program will save your game mid stream. I was afraid it wouldn't, so I kept playing.


http://www.coolmath-games.com/0-the-i-of-it/index.html

Choo Choo Puzzle: free online puzzle game for any computer

Did you like Snake Slider?   How about Wriggle? Or TRUpuzzlE? These are all classified as shunting puzzles. 


Choo Choo Puzzles are essentially the same thing. Except it's played on a hexagonal grid. What's different? The Choo Choo Trains cannot make sharp turns.


There are 24 levels - I solved them all in about 1 hour.  I think I'd like to see this turned into an app; it's a bit awkward manipulating the trains with a mouse.


http://www.notdoppler.com/choochoopuzzles.php

Pordlla: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

                       

I saw the image of the fairy and wondered: is this a puzzle app game? Yes puzzlers, Pordlla is a genuine puzzle. Look at the second image. The object is to slide the rows back and forth until you think that things are lined up properly.  When you've set it up, you click on the red button at the bottom and all the tiles will fall straight down.  If there is a group of 3 or more tiles - of the same color - touching, they will disappear.  The object is to clear the entire board - all at once.
There are 100 levels. I've done about 60 of them. (Stuck on 41). The first 25 are fast and easy. Then they get harder. The last 20 - hard!
I have no idea why Yuichiro Hoshi has chosen to use a fairy or angel. What's with the title?
What I particularly like about this game is that Yuichiro has taken an old concept and added a nice variation.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pordlla/id921623644?mt=8

Arrowed: The Arrow Puzzle - free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

                               

Remember Game About Squares? Arrowed: The Arrow Puzzle is very similar.  The object is to tap on the arrows and move them in their stated direction to the black holes.


An arrow can push 1 other arrow, but not two arrows.  There are 60 levels. That's a perfect number to solve! I've solved 27 of them. I really like this game.


https://itunes.apple.com/app/arrowed-the-arrow-puzzler/id915709204?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Speedy Numbering Chips

Speedy Numbering Chips is a point scoring puzzle app game. You are given 3 poker chips and must tap on them in ascending order within 2 seconds. According to the Leaderboard, there are only 6 people playing this game. 6 people!  It's free! This clearly shows that there are too many games available.
At first I thought Speedy Numbering Chips was awful. Then I played it a second and third time. I do believe that this game has some good brain-speed-action-value for people who are going through Alzheimer's.
We should all be playing these types of games.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/speedy-numbering-chips-pro/id905303073?mt=8

9x9 Puzzle: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

        

Ruan Shilong has created an interesting set of maze-type-roll the ball puzzles. The object is to roll the balls until an obstacle has been reached and then get to an exit.
We've seen this type of puzzle app game many times before. Here's what's interesting: most of the levels have multiple balls to exit. As soon as 1 ball goes through an exit, that exit becomes walled-off. So the real puzzle lies in figuring out which ball should use which exit. Also, you will want to minimize the number of moves.
There are 30 levels in each grid size.  I did 10 in the 6x6 grid and 2 in the 9x9 grid. 
I like this set of puzzles. If you've never played this type of game before, give this a shot.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/9x9-puzzle/id922849980?mt=8

D-Box: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

            

D-Box is a puzzle app game, whose objective is to score points. Your task is to move the squares 1 at a time to form a line of 5. When that happens, you score points and they disappear. After every turn, 3 new squares enter the board randomly.

I played this a few times. My high score is 119 - not so great.

D-Box is similar to a lot of other games. Bee Cells comes to mind.

If you have not played a game like this, you can't go wrong with D-Box.

Number Painting: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

                     

Number Painting is a free puzzle app game that's been done many times before. It's a topology game, which I like. The object is to start at 1 and swipe through all the numbers and all the tiles and end on the largest number. The graphics are fine.






Yu JaeKwang Yu is the author and he has designed some very challenging levels here. His warning: 'Number Painting is not given hint. don't throw your device.'




Random thoughts:
An unfortunate thing is that you cannot go ahead or go back!  I did the first 150 levels in about 90 minutes. Keep in mind, I've done thousands of these before. (Sadly, that's not an exaggeration.)   I've spent over an hour on it.




There are 500 levels.  I'm currently stuck on 338 (for the past few days). Some of my favorite levels: 133, 183, 203, 205, 221, 253, 270, 300, 307, 309, 311, 319

What's particularly interesting: Level 147 is the first level that doesn't use any numbers - just question marks. They are all interchangeable - meaning any of them can be 1 or 2.  In level 156, half the markers are are numbers and the other half are question marks. Interesting variation.




Another interesting feature are the X boxes which cannot be traveled on. Some levels - I see the answer instantly. Others take a little trial and error and can take 20 minutes.. Many of the puzzles have multiple solutions, but not all.
Level 301 is the first level where arrows are used. Land on an arrow and you must go onto the next square indicated.
Level 319 was annoying! I won't tell you why. But if you get stuck on it, I can send you a hint.


Check out Numberic Paranoia and Space Dots which are both similar.


https://itunes.apple.com/app/id928917515


Update 11/4/14: I'm still stuck on level 338. I contacted the developers and they assured me that it was solvable. I'm # 1 on Apple's Game Center Leaderboard. However, somebody on the Android platform has gotten to 414.

Points Catch the Balls - free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

         

I promised to post another negative blurb about a terrible puzzle app.  Points Catch the Balls is beyond bad.  Yes, you must rotate your polygon to catch the ball with the correct side. However, ads pop up on the screen, while the game is in play.  The ads take up the middle of the screen.


Besides this concept not being original, the implementation makes me want to never even try another app from this developer.


Tomorrow I'll post about a good app!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/points-catch-the-balls/id914528015?mt=8

Quench: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

                             

Monday I posted a negative thing about a pretty good puzzle app.
Tuesday I posted my disappointment at a terrific puzzle app that seemed to be a complete copy of another puzzle app.


So today, let me complain about Quench. It's another version of Lights Out. The world does not need another version of Lights Out. We don't need another version of Rush Hour or 2048 either. Or Sudoku. Or the 15 puzzle.


Puzzle App Developers/Publishers: if you can't come up with something original, do not publish your game. It's clogging up the App Store and people can't find the genuine good stuff.
Tomorrow I'll complain about something else. But I promise to be more positive on Friday and all of next week.


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quench-solve-the-enigma/id920329149?mt=8

Very Bad Cube: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

The object of Very Bad Cube is to slide colored cubies left/right and never up/down  until same-colored cubes stick together. The puzzles themselves are terrific: fun, challenging and usually provide an 'Aha' moment. We've seen this concept before with Jelly Blocks and Denki Blocks. Both of those are outstanding.








Some fans of this blog have noticed that I focus on the positive too much. So now for the negative about this puzzle app. Many of the puzzle levels in Very Bad Cube are IDENTICAL to the levels in Jelly Box Puzzle Lite. It might be that all of the levels are identical to the premium version of Jelly Box.


Jelly Box Puzzle Lite came out October 1, 2014 while Very Bad Cube came out September 13, 2014.


The author of Very Bad Cube contacted me and asked me to do a review. I later contacted him and asked him about the plagiarism/theft. Who stole from whom? Or did they both steal from somebody else? No response.  I also contacted the author of Jelly Box - also no response.


What is the ethical thing to do if you want to play these? My opinion: download Very Bad Cube and turn off the wifi so you won't get the annoying ads.


Tomorrow I'll post something negative about another puzzle app. I'm on a roll.






https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/very-bad-cube/id837108086?mt=8

Ichi: puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

  

The object is to capture the yellow circles with the moving yellow dot. When you tap, different things happen, depending on the level.  On some levels, the triangles rotate. On other levels, the blue triangles will turn on/off. The yellow dot will pass through the off triangles. See the spirals? Those are wormholes.


Ichi has 72 levels. I've solved the first 20 or so. There's one thing I don't like about Ichi: on some levels, you must draw a temporary wall. The mechanism for this is annoying. So that's it, I'm abandoning it.


However, the levels I did do - I thought they were well designed and fun.  Interestingly, Ichi allows you to make your own levels.  So if the 72 provided levels are not enough, you can do some 33,690 other levels produced by other players. Of course, you can make your own levels.


About the graphics: I like the simplistic graph paper look. However, I wish things were a bit bigger/darker & more pronounced.
A few days ago Ichi was listed for free for a limited time. It's now back at $1.99.


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ichi/id507985242?mt=8

Tap the Square: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

                                  

Tap the Square is a visual speed game.  Just tap the square that's a different shade. You  can see that the first image is simple but the next one is very difficult to spot.  My ipad has one of those plastic cover shields, so I'd like to think that it makes it more difficult. When I can't spot the different square, I quickly tap every square! We should all be playing speed/reflex games to ward off Alzheimer's. Besides, they're fun.


Next week I'll be reporting on another one of these that is very different and can actually be played by multiple people at the same time - provided you have an ipad.


https://itunes.apple.com/app/id925846077

Threes! Final update on this puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

Puzzle App Fans,


you may have noticed that I've slowed down a bit in my reviews of new puzzle app games for the iphone, ipad. The simple reason is that I've been completely addicted to Threes!  I gave myself a goal: to get a tile of 3072. I achieved the smaller tile 1536 about 10 times.


When I look at the Leaderboard, it seems like everyday people are scoring the 3072 tile - and beyond. Who are these people? Do they have the same genetics as us mortals?


Last night I got my final 1536 tile - with plenty of extra room. I then played it slowly and carefully. I even took a break. Unfortunately I did not get good + tiles, the tiles that are not 1, 2 or 3.


The only way to cure this addiction is to delete it. Already I feel better.

LInes War: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

               

Lines War is a puzzle app game that we've seen before. But not recently. The object is to quickly draw lines to seal off  the grid from the bouncing ball. Once you wall off 75%, you're done!  Level 2 has two bouncing balls - much tougher.  I don't have the patience for that. But it's fun!


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lines-war/id911385506?mt=8

Nexionode Lite: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

     

Dylan from Big Round Eyes recently contacted me about a puzzle app game of his called Nexionode.
Your task is to turn the orange lights blue by making contact with another node. Essentially, it's a topology game. Knowing where to start and where to end is key.


At the beginning, all the circles have orange lights. You must change them to blue by connecting them to another circle.


At first, I thought to myself: just another topology game. However, These can be really challenging. For one thing, there are gray squares that act as obstacles.  Later on, the tiles are in perpetual motion and everything must be connected before intersections take place.  For those levels 3 things must happen: first solve the puzzle in the normal way (only in your head), strategize how to do, then do it lightning quick.


I have not solved all of the levels. I'm not sure how many levels because of the way they're laid out. I'm guessing maybe 125 levels. I was challenged and I had fun; that's the bottom line right? (Notice I used a colon there?)


Behind the puzzles, there is a science fiction story, but I didn't pay attention to it. If you've been following this blog, you know that I always turn off the music & sound effects - to preserve the battery.
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id891845081




Update 10/25/14:
Hi Tom,

I just noticed the review you wrote for Nexionode on your blog, thank you. Thank you for taking the time to test and write about the game, I really appreciate it! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it and find it challenging.

Also, I’d like to mention that there are two versions of the game, Nexionode and Nexionode Lite: The full game Nexionode is available for $2.99 and there is a free demo Lite version with limited levels for those who want to try it out (neither version has any in-app purchases or advertising). I was wondering if it would be possible for you to mention this in your article?

Thank you again and I wish you continued success with your blog.

Dots Color Match - Tap & Connect Puzzle Game

                      

Alan Kong  has come up with an interesting test-your-reflexes game.  As the colored balls fall from the top, you must rotate your polygon by tapping and catch the red balls with the red side etc.


It's a good game. But the speed picks up too quickly for me.  In any case, it's another good game/exercise to ward off Alzheimer's.


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dots-color-match-tap-connect/id919191987?mt=8

Games Magazine Story

In 2002, I hosted the first New York Puzzle Party. One of the attendees was Robin King. I had actually met Robin a year or two before, very briefly, at the New York Toy Fair.  The company that produces the card game SET, had a competition. Using their computer, how many sets could you find in 1 minute. I was in the lead. They told me to come back at 3:00 to claim my prize. So I did. I think I won a brand new deck of SET.  5 minutes later, Robin shows up and beats my record. But it was after 3:00. I saw her name on the badge and was very impressed with the company she worked for: Games Magazine.


After the NYPP in 2002, Robin invited me to play test some games with her husband John McCallion.  On the way there, I thought to myself: my sisters are going to be so envious because I'm entering the Games Magazine office to play test. In fact, we met at the Manhattan Fire Safety office on 32nd street. This, I learned, was John's real job. It's really one of the most boring offices I've ever seen. 20 desks with telephones. Everybody's job: to sell fire extinguishers. I never actually saw anybody except John & Robin in the office, since I would always arrive at 6:00.


Over the next 10 years I would play test with John & Robin, usually on a Wednesday night. Typically, we would play 3 games for about 2 hours. All sorts of games: card games, board games, games with a thousand rules. John would always read the rules. About 90% of the time, Robin would win. During the night, John would lose his temper at me, or at Robin  or another play tester because we had forgotten an obscure rule. It was always amusing to me to see him so frustrated and him cursing - in a genteel way! - with his Irish accent.


I never met the man who owned/ran Manhattan Fire Safety, but I noticed that he left sarcastic memos around the office.











On and off I would tell John & Robin that they should write more about mechanical puzzles. One day, Robin suggested to me that I give it a shot. My first article for Games Magazine appeared in the February 2006 issues. 6 pages called The Puzzling World of Oskar van Deventer. I was off and running and gave myself the title Mechanical Puzzle Correspondent. I wrote 27 articles.


But it's all come to an end. Last year, around Thanksgiving, Robin passed away during a lung transplant. I knew she had been in the hospital for months, and felt guilty about not visiting her. Then I saw John on the 7 train. He told me that she had gotten the transplant and it was a success. According to the hospital officials.  He was overjoyed. Unfortunately, it was not a success and Robin passed away several days later.


My editor at Games Magazine, Wayne Schmittberger, was recently fired. The entire magazine has been downsized. It may even stop publishing. John has quit. What I've learned is that when things fall apart, they do so very rapidly.


Below are some links from Drew Davidson. I play tested with John & Robin and a bunch of others. I don't think I met Drew.  Perhaps I have. Robin & John always had a thank-you dinner at an Indian restaurant at the end of the year for all the play testers.  Drew's 3 part story is better written and more comprehensive than mine.


http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/33983/story-john-robin-sitting-3000-games-pt-1


http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/34290/sitting-3000-games-pt-2


http://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/34626/sid-sackson-auction-sitting-3000-games-series-pt-3

Color Shape Tile Puzzle: free puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

             

Nick Waters has produced a solid puzzle app game called Color Shape Tile Puzzle. The object is to place all the tiles onto the grid by following the rules from the first image. Essentially, either color matches or the shape matches.  It's an interesting variation on the traditional edge-matching tile puzzles. (I have a friend who regularly attends the International Puzzle Party; he has an enormous collection of edge-matching puzzles.)


There are 4 levels of difficulty. The easiest uses a 4x4 grid, while the hardest uses a 7x7 grid. I've solved puzzles at each difficulty level.


The puzzles seem to be randomly generated each time. Which is good and bad. Good, if you want to keep playing this game forever. Bad, if you're the type that wants a set of 50 or 100 levels and solve them all with a sense of accomplishment.


I like this concept. However, there are multiple solutions, which make the expert levels not that hard.


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/color-shape-tile-puzzle/id918895622?mt=8