Videos

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HcRW3FMuttY

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x1zJoU6Luss

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Or0uWM9bT5w

Memory Line. by Daichi Nagahamaya FREE

Memory Line. comes from Daichi Nagahamaya. The object is to quickly memorize the line path and retrace it.

Simple idea, good execution Kind of fun too.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/memory-line/id1350505955?mt=8

Rusty Lake Hotel by Rusty Lake $1.99

 I'm not a big fan of Room Escape apps. But the series produced by the good puzzlers at Rusty Lake keep producing good fun games.

 The theme in Rusty Lake Hotel: you must visit each of the 5 guests in their rooms, solve some puzzles and kill the guests so that dinner can be served the next night. Yum.

This is the first of their games where stars are awarded for solving each level.  I didn't get all the stars so I could not play the bonus room. Rather than replaying the whole thing, I'll watch the bonus room on youtube.

The puzzles themselves still run from simple to weird. None is hard.
Examples:
The simple: finding things behind a picture frame.
The medium: solving an algebraic systems of equations with 4 variables.
The odd: give the rolling pin to one of the puppets so he can beat the other puppet.
The disgusting: taking care of the boar. You'll see.
The boring: seems like every Rusty Lake game has a dresser with a box of matches inside 1 drawer and a knife in another. Another theme that gets repeated is getting a seed, planting it, watering it, watching it grow, then harvesting it to obtain something that has little to do with the plant.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rusty-lake-hotel/id1059911569?mt=8

Other Rusty Lake Games I've played/reviewed:

Cube Escape: Birthday
Cube Escape: Case 23
Cube Escape: The Mill
Cube Escape: Harvey's Room
Cube Escape: The Lake
Cube Escape: Arles
Cube Escape: Seasons
Cube Escape: Theater
Cube Escape: The Cave

cohex by Adem KAYIRCI FREE

 cohex comes from Adem KAYIRCI.  The object is to get the colors in the grid to match the pattern on top.  There's a Lights-Out component which makes things very tricky.

I solved the first batch of levels pretty quickly.  Then the 3 and 4 color problems showed up.  That's when I realized how interesting and complicated this game is. In cohex if you've lost your last green tile, you can never get it back. This game is really for serious puzzlers only.

There are 77 levels and I've done about 20.

Update: I had to do them all!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cohex/id1331937139?mt=8

Rotopath Classic by Michael Woodard FREE

 Rotopath Classic comes from Michael Woodard.  The object is to swap the colored discs and rotate them so that the path from start to end matches the color sequence at the top of the screen. The only thing that is obvious is the start color and end color.

The 'Easiest' level is not so easy.  The numbers on the right are powerups. If you wish to be given some hints, it'll lower your score by that number. The first hint taken would be knowing which color is in that specific spot. The second hint would rotate the disc to the correct orientation.

There's a lot to like about this game. Good concept & good graphics. However, starting with 7 discs is a bit too complicated.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rotopath-classic/id1341499849?mt=8

Cubor by Jan Rigerl FREE

  

Cubor comes from Jan Rigerl.  The object is to get the colored cubes to their respective targets.

  

All of the features in this game have been done before. But that's okay. This a very solid game.
The features:
1. Rolling Cubes
2. Cubes are sometimes connected to others.
3. A specific face must sometimes land on the target.

There are 30 levels and they go pretty fast.  There are 'daily' levels.  I tried yesterday's and they were too easy.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cubor/id1330051577?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devm.cubor
http://devmgames.com/cubor/

Tiles² by Andrew Abosh FREE

Tiles² comes from Andrew Abosh. The object is to quickly memorize where the numbers are and then tap their locations.

It's a fun game. My only criticism is that the numbers always go down. The 1 tile would never be at the bottom.
Andrew's description: 
Tiles² is a memory game.

You have three (3) seconds to memorize a numbered sequence of tiles.
When ready, tap the tiles in the correct order to complete a round.
The difficulty will increase as the rounds progress.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tiles/id1097012706?mt=8

Unicycle Hero by Unept FREE

Unicycle Hero has been classified by the Apple Itunes  People under 'New Games We Love.' It's a dexterity puzzle where the object is to get Your Man to throw a projectile as far as possible.

First, Your Man must rock forward and back and get to the line with good speed & momentum.

This game is terrible.  The graphics are 'old school'. I did the first 10 tutorial levels and then a couple of the regular levels. It's just annoying.

However, according to the leaderboard, this game has become hugely popular.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/unicycle-hero/id1241960943?mt=8

A Hollow Doorway by Kenny Sun FREE

  

Kenny Sun has made some interesting games recently.  A Hollow Doorway is a dexterity game. The object is to rotate the center door so that it aligns with the next doorway as it shrinks down in size.  Keep doing this over and over.

  

The graphics are excellent.

Even better: in the control panel, the sensitivity of your thumb movement can be adjusted.  Calibrating this to your needs is essential.

I felt very proud when I solved all of the levels. Then I realized that those 100 doorways was just level 1.  I've since done 4 levels and am quite proud.  Those other guys on the leaderboard who've done 60 & 70 levels? They're like gods.

Kenny must be a philosopher/poet.  His description:
A Hollow Doorway is a meditation on the meaningless. A love letter to nothingness and an introspective look at the heart of purposeless infinity. Desperately swipe and spin your doorway in a futile attempt to match the rotation of rapidly approaching concentric walls as sweat pours from your armpits and your soul pours into your trembling thumb. It's fun!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-hollow-doorway/id1265660005?mt=8

Kenny Sun also made YANKAI'S PEAK.

Scale Sticks - Hardest Game! by Jan Brelje FREE

Scale Sticks - Hardest Game!  comes from Jan Brelje.  It's a dexterity game.  The object is to tap the bar that is shrinking as fast as possible and then move on to the next bar that is shrinking.   The game ends when any single bar gets to zero.

Interesting idea. I've only played it a few times.  Too fast for me.  Also, the bars should be separated more.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/scale-sticks-hardest-game/id1342592954?mt=8

Only 3 Words by Blue Boat FREE

Only 3 Words is described as 'one of the best word games for kids.'  Before I saw that, I thought to myself, hey this is really good. I'm semi embarrassed.  I like this game. In particular, I like the wording of the clues.

For example: 'Low digit' was not 'one' or 'two'. The answer was 'toe.'

7 Little Words is similar, but tougher.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/only-3-words/id1322894061?mt=8

Video & Book

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc43PXe1T7w  Greg has been making some fantastic custom twisty puzzles.

https://www.amazon.com/Farm-Tom-Rob-Smith/dp/1455551066/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8  The Farm by Tom Rob Smith is the perfect book when you're trapped on an airplane.

The Room by Fireproof Games $.99

The folks at Fireproof Games recently came out with their fourth game The Room: Old Sins.  I figured it was high time that I go back and finish playing their first game The Room.

A lot of my mechanical puzzle friends loved this game because it's essentially a secret opening box with a million components.

This past week I restarted the game from the beginning and finished it in about 3-4 hours spread over 3 days. Good quality entertainment for only $.99!

The art work is fantastic.

The puzzles themselves were okay. But not outstanding. When a puzzle solution gets repeated later on - that's a big no-no for this type of game.  For example: certain keys have to be manipulated/spun to match a key slot. That was done 3 times.  Another: 2 dials had to be spun at the same time. This puzzle concept was later repeated. Yet another example: spinning 5 dials to spell out a specific word that was revealed only by using the special goggles.

The individual puzzles all had to be solved in a specific sequence. This made the experience more like a movie. But without a plot.

There are 7 letters from your long lost uncle or cousin. All of them talked about his finding some mystical power. None had any relevance to the actual puzzles.

I'm glad I finally played this game because everybody's been raving about it for so long. But I wasn't so enthralled that I'm going to play their 3 other games right away. But I will play them.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-room/id552039496?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.FireproofStudios.TheRoom
http://www.fireproofgames.com/games/the-room

Check out Mystery Lighthouse. It's the same idea, though much simpler. The artwork is totally different and much brighter. It also has a certain charm to it that The Room is missing.

Sweet Drmzzz by Bart Bonte $.99

 All of Bart Bonte's games are fun.  Sweet Drmzzz came out in 2014 but was updated last year.

50 puzzles include a little bit of everything.  Rockets have to be steered to collect the yellow stars while avoiding the red stars and red rockets.

Sand has to be funneled to containers.  (Zen Sand from 2013 is only this type of puzzle and also very good.) Very interesting: in Bart's game, the sand can flow upward and downward.

I think I've played Bart's other games for free. So I was happy to shoot him a buck.

At the moment I'm stuck on level 26.




There's a lot of charm to these puzzles.


http://www.pocketgamer.biz/interview/67883/indie-spotlight-bonte-games-bart-bonte/  Good interview/article about Bart.




https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sweet-drmzzz/id924000453?mt=8

http://www.bontegames.com/

Other Bart Puzzles:

What's Inside the Box?

Factory Balls - excellent

Boo! - a mini sequel to Factory Balls

Blocky XMAS - fun and at times hard

Yellow (game) 
red (game)