Nomics

Nomics was recommended to me by Loyal Blog Follower Joel.  It's a math game where the only operations are addition & subtraction.


I got to level 26 and found it very interesting. The graphics could be a lot better. But the puzzles get pretty tough.


Sorry about not putting up images, which would vastly help in explaining the rules.  I have not been able to access the link below. Maybe this game is only available in Europe?  This is definitely the type of game that's actually pretty good but will never be popular.


https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/nomics/id957189600?l=en&mt=8

Strand by von Beachfront Media LLC Free

 

 

Loyal Blog Follower Joel told me about Strand. It's similar to a series of puzzle books from Japan. The concept is called Hashi.  If a circle has 6 in it, that means there are 6 bridges emanating from it. There have been numerous puzzle apps that duplicate the concept.


What's cool with Strand:
1. Bridges can bend around the black points.
2. Portals
3. Different colored circles. Blue circles must match up. However, some circles have 2 colors.


The first 2 sections have 50 free levels or so. I did them all. After that, they cost $.99 for each group of 25.
https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/strand/id709721963?mt=8

Dot Square By #App Free

 

Dot Square is an interesting puzzle app game.  The object is to fill the empty circles with the correct colored ball.

 

Two reds will crash into each other to form a single yellow.  Two yellows become a blue. Two blues become a purple. 2 purples become.....see for yourself.  All moves are swipes where everything travels until they hit an object.

There are 100 levels and each one must be completed within a given number of moves. I've noticed on multiple plays that certain levels were not possible only because the random reds that pop up after every move never appeared in certain corners.  Level 41 is one example.  But given enough replays, they're very do-able. Level 90 took me about 25 tries. Maybe even 50.




I've solved all 100 levels which is an indication of the addictive element and fun. But this is not a pure puzzle.


Definitely try this game.  If you know somebody who's hopelessly addicted to Candy Crush, this could help.

http://sharpapp.com/?ckattempt=1
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dot-square/id1104300777?mt=8

Logic Traces by Kongregate Free

 

Logic Traces comes from the prestigious Kongregate. The object is to fill the grid completely. 


Look at the second image.  See the 4 in the upper left corner? That means it can stretch to the right or down or a combination of the two directions to fill up 4 squares.


This concept is not new at all. It was first done in an old Rubik CD-ROM game and it was called Cover-Up.  On that game, the graphics were so much better than this game.


Beam Puzzle from 5 years ago was better than this.


Why don't I like this game? Because there are too many puzzles with multiple solutions. I should say, I solved all 30 of the 6x6 grids. I'd rather dig out the old Rubik CD-ROM and replay that, than this game.  Sorry guys.
Oh yes, thanks to Loyal Blog Follower Joel for pointing this game out. He also told me about another game Wall Logic that is very similar. I'm also not a fan of that. Oh well.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/logic-traces/id1081609724?mt=8

Squares: A Game about Matching Colors: by Simple Machine, LLC Free

 

Squares: A Game about Matching Colors is a point scoring puzzle app.


Look at the second image.  At the top are 3 little squares: Yellow, Orange, Yellow. You must place them in the grid as a connected string so that there will be a group of 3 matching colors. They disappear and you score points.


The game ends when you cannot fit a new string.


Why this game is good
1. It starts out very easy with just 3 colors.
2. Gradually, more and more colors are added.
3. Combos: if you manage to get a cluster of 2 colors at the same time, you get more points. This leads to a bit of gambling. Should you take the easy points or go for combos?
4. The game takes no more than 15 minutes to play.


At the moment, my top score is 2100.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/squares-game-about-matching/id1126104973?mt=8

Teeter Slope by Miroslaw Zielinski Free

 

The objective in Teeter Slope is to tilt the balls until they hit a wall and hopefully get the white balls into the black square.  It's very very similar to Tip & Tumble by some friends of mine at Clickmazes.com.


There are 45 levels which I solved pretty quickly.
This is a great concept. However, the graphics really should be better.  Also, I found that some of the 'hardest' levels to be actually quite simple.
https://itunes.apple.com/US/app/id975874035

Not a puzzle today.

I posted this a couple of months ago: on the last day of school, I chopped off my very long beard at a school assembly.  Watch it here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyyIDW9Pj90



Last week Nancy Ray Taylor, artist extraordinaire, (also my partner!) painted my profile before the chopping. I am honored and humbled by her talent.  She does everything: murals, portraits, and art classes.
http://www.nancyraytaylor.com/