Back from the International Puzzle Party

Hello Fellow Puzzlers,

this past week I was unable to update my blog because of the annual International Puzzle Party, held in Ottawa. These are just a few of the puzzles I examined/played with.  The last is a metal 3D printed model of the Ghost Cube, I think.  There were a bunch of Twisty Inventors present and each had numerous mutants for sale. It's impossible to keep track of the mutants since there are approximately 300 new ones each year.

 

 

Manowar: physics puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

 

Lachlan Nuttall recently contacted me about his new physics puzzle app game Manowar.
First of all, I should confess, I'm not a fan of physics puzzle apps. Too much trial and error.


However, Manowar is really outstanding.  The objective is to fire all the cannon balls. Any colored ball can use any cannon. However, if the red cannon is used, then all the red balls will jump up to the next level if the floor is shaded with triangles.


I almost had to write Lachlan to declare that some levels were impossible. However, a lot of levels have AHA moments.


There is a negative: certain levels require very precise nudging. But that's not too bad.


At the moment, I've done 30 levels.
Manowar costs $1.99. Trust me, this game is fun.
Manowar is in the running for a PAGY Award. Nomination revealed on December 30th.
manowargame.com
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id965680122

Divide By Sheep: puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

A lot of people have been telling me about Divide By Sheep. It's a math puzzle that requires very creative adding & subtracting. The object is to divide the sheep into 3 rafts, with specific numbers for each raft.  The dark humor comes into play with wolves that eat the sheep and electric grids that literally, divide the sheep into halves.
Each green island has either sheep, wolves or is empty. You must have them jump from island to island and then to the raft. The easy levels are straight forward. The harder levels require some very creative AHA thinking.

There are 120 levels and I've done about  40 levels. Perhaps my analysis is not fair. But I don't like this game.  Divide By Sheep has gotten rave reviews. But I'm not feeling it. To be fair, I can see why some folks love this.

Watch the video and see for yourself. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEgWtGMJsys&feature=player_embedded

http://tinybuild.com/dividebysheep
https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/id953946902


Big Puzzle News: the International Puzzle Party is this week. Please hold your correspondence to me until next week.  Thanks.

Sokoban Evolution: puzzle app for iphone, ipad

      

My friend and Loyal Blog Follower  David Cole recently contacted me about Sokoban Evolution which he insists is quite good. Having solved thousands of sokoban levels, I was not itching to try it. But I trust David!


There's good and bad in this puzzle app game.


The Positives:
I like the submarine, helicopter and lunar rover pushing the blocks. Good graphics. Playful.
Something new: I think this is the first sokoban puzzle which has some targets hidden by blocks. In particular, I thought level 30 was quite challenging because there were only 2 targets and finding them was a preliminary challenge. I doubt whether anyone could solve that on a first attempt. Unless by pure luck.
The more interesting of the 54 levels have specific targets for specific tiles.


I downloaded the free version which offers 36 puzzles. Solved them all then paid $.99 or $1.99 for the next 18 levels. 


The Negative:
The author, Grettel Monteagudo Garc'ia, has taken some liberties. As I said at the top, I've solved countless sokoban levels in other games over the years. It's impossible to remember each one. However, Grettel has copied levels 37, 44, and 51. Howe do I know? Because I struggled on those mightily and had to truly study them. I believe those came from BoxWorld.


Level 54, I'm fairly certain, is original and good for Grettel. Grettel, don't be lazy! Remove those that aren't original and add new ones.


https://itunes.apple.com/US/app/id957129990?mt=8


Other Sokoban Games:
Go to Gold - superb
Pepe Porcupine
Sokoban Cargo
Push Box Sokoban
Push Around
Boxed In - loved this.
Pengu Push
BoxWorld - awesome. I still remember struggling through levels 26 and 35 for days.
Fireman Arcade
Paper & Light
Square Push Square
Jewel Keeper - the only puzzle app that needlessly inserted a beautiful woman.
Professor Max
Puzzling Cubes
DJ Mole

Update on Value Maximum from Loyal Blog Follower Joel

I have something to add to your new blog entry about Value Maximum. 

This is a quite interesting game with unique rules. I haven't figured it out to 100%, but I think I understand the most of it. 

Here are some screenshots of the tutorial. 

You have to paste numbers from 1 to 4 on the grid. If there are two equal numbers in the same row or column, the numbers (and stars) between them will be added to one number, which appears at the place you have pasted your number before. The other part of the pair of numbers becomes a star. And if there are two stars in a row/column the numbers between them will be added in the same way as before (like the pair of numbers). 

After pasting a number on the grid, you are allowed to move one number to a star next to it. 

The game ends, when the score gets higher than the sum of the numbers (on the whole grid). 

I hope, you can understand my explanation. ;-) With this I reached a score of 73, which places me on rank 4 on the leaderboard.

By the way: I have send you a friend request on Gamecenter. I would be happy to have you on my contact list. :-)

 

 

Bye,

Joel

(http://genuss-gedaddel.tumblr.com/)


Addendum from Tom: I tried to copy those images from Joel, but could not succeed.  Sorry.