Anti Virus: free puzzle game for all computer users!

Raf Peters contacted me recently about Smart Games' new set of on-line puzzles based on their board-game puzzles. Raf designed the concepts and challenges for most of them. 

This weekend, I play-tested Anti-Virus. It was designed by my puzzle friend Oskar van Deventer. The object is to slide the pieces around, along the grid lines to get the red piece out at the top left corner. The concept is similar to Rush Hour. But the pieces are weirder.

There are 120 levels. Of the 30 Expert levels, I've done 27 of them. The image here is one of the ones that has me stumped - temporarily. See the white dots? Those pieces cannot be moved.

Raf tells me that all of the puzzle games have been designed using HTML5, which means that you can play them on any computer. Even on ipads. I'm hoping they appear as apps later on.

You can play all of these puzzle games for free! But you have to register. So, get on the bus, Gus: http://www.smartgameslive.com

One more thing: about 6 months ago, somebody actually published an exact copy of Anti-Virus on the App Store. Naturally, I alerted the Smart Games people and their legal department took care of it.

Dominosa Free: puzzle game app for iphone, ipad Review

Years ago I used to buy Dell's Math & Logic Problems. It came out sporadically, maybe every 2 months. They had a domino puzzle just like Dominosa Free.

The object is to put the dominos to match the grid.  In the diagram, notice the 3 red tiles? They're red because only one of them can be 3 - 0.

Dominosa Free can generate an infinite number of these puzzle at much harder levels than the one pictured.

Does this make it onto the list of Best Puzzle Apps of 2012? No. But it's still good.

Starcoaster: free puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

Ryan Gorer has developed a most interesting series of puzzles.  You are given a pipe with a star on it. You must slide the pipe and bend it so that the star lines up perfectly on the blank star. That's the easiest level.

On the harder levels, your pipe will have multiple stars.

There are 100 levels. I've done 33 of them. Some of them are quite tricky.

One qualm I have with this puzzle: suppose you tap on the pipe to bend it. It may bend to the right instead of to the left. If that happens, double tap on the joint and hopefully it will unbend and then bend in the direction you really want. That part is clumsy.

Starcoaster is a novel type of puzzle that could make it onto the list of Best Puzzle Apps of 2012.

Cross Caps: puzzle game app for iphone, ipad Review

Cross Caps is a hexagonal peg-jumping solitaire puzzle.  The free version has 20 levels. Not hard at all. What's a little weird is that all the jumps are taking place on an imaginary hexagonal grid. And yet, the background is a square grid.

The full version has 35 levels.

Unites: free puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

Unites is a shunting puzzle. The object is to move the red 1 into the red square and the green 2 into the green square, etc. 

At the bottom of the screen you are given a limited number of arrow moves to go up, down, right & left.

Squares that have a white X: no piece can go inside.

Unites comes from Japan: when you solve a level this message pops up: "Clear. Next, does it progress?" Click okay.

The puzzles are supposed to get progressively harder, but that's not exactly the case. # 29 & 30 were easy.

Another problem:  you cannot clear a level unless you've used all of the arrows. I solved a bunch by using fewer. Then I had to use the rest up to 'clear'.

This could be a really challenging set of puzzles. I'm hoping the next version will be better.

There are 30 puzzle levels. I've done 25 of them.

Boats: the latest ripoff of Rush Hour

Seems like every week there's another ripoff of Rush Hour.  Magma Mobile is responsible for this one. They have another ripoff called Car Valet.

Update on Woodhead: puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

Matthew Klundt contacted me yesterday about his puzzle game app Woodhead.  I reviewed it 2 or 3 months ago. Scroll down through this blog to read about this 'Terrible Game.'

 

The Lite version contains all new puzzles, and the full version is also getting an update which includes those new levels.

 

 

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUD123y2zK8

iTunes Link (Lite version): http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/woodhead-lite/id573949594

iTunes Link (Full version): http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/woodhead/id533889859

CitiBlox: puzzle game app for iphone, ipad ipod: Review

CitiBlox comes from AdAir Mobile. The game is virtually the same as Dots and Boxes. The object is to complete more squares than the computer. Completing a square means that you have tapped on the 4th side. It doesn't matter if your opponent tapped on the other 3 sides. Completing a square gets you that point.

Before you move, the computer is already blinking his next move. That's a little weird. Notice the different colored dots at the intersections? I have no idea why they exist at all and if there is any significance to them being various colors.

If you win the game, the hidden image is revealed.

I've played the game a few times. It's okay.

Tilt Ball Free: puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

When I was a kid, my mother bought us several dexterity maze puzzles. Challenging and fun.

Recently, the developers at http://tiltball.com/ sent me a promo code to play test their game.

Tilt Ball Free has 100 levels. I've done about 75 of them, including the last 25.  I did them on the easy settings where the ball doesn't roll too quickly. 

Tilt Ball is definitely fun. I think it's geared more for younger puzzlers.

http://tiltball.com/

Magnets Puzzle Free: puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

Magnets Puzzle Free is the name of this free puzzle app game from Wiseguy Sharp LLC.

The object is to place magnets into the slots and orient them correctly. A + can never be next to a +. Also, the numbers on the sides indicate how many +'s and -'s exist in that row or column.

Tricky: some rectangular tiles will have no magnets at all.

I've played this game only on the easy level to get the hang of it. It's interesting.

I'm not sure, but this type of puzzle may have been originally published in Japan.

Hey, it's free!

Swisch: puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

Swisch is a series of 80 tilt maze puzzles. You are the red circle and your object is to get inside the green U.  I have done so many Tilt-maze puzzle apps, that I've completely lost track.

Swisch has lots of extra features, most of which I've seen before: wormholes, arrows that force your direction, unlocking doors, etc. Interesting feature: the wooden blocks need to be hammered twice before disintegrating. I don't think I've seen that feature before. This is quite interesting.

The 80 levels: 11 training levels. Puzzle Pack #1 has 25 levels - kind of easy. Puzzle pack #2 has 33 levels. Puzzle pack #3 has 11 levels - they are tough! I have solved them all.

Does Swisch make it onto the list of Best Puzzle App Games of 2012? Quite possibly.

www.rostsolutions.com

Chocolate Fix: logic puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

The smart kind people at ThinkFun sent me a promo code to play Chocolate Fix.  Like many of their puzzle games, there are easy, medium, hard & expert levels. 

You are given clues about the arrangement of the chocolates: brown, pink, white combined with circle, square, triangle.

These puzzles have to be solved with a little trial and error.

So far, I've done all 100 medium levels. That was to get my feet wet on this concept.  I've done 12 of the hard levels and 10 of the expert levels, including. For good measure, I did the last 5 of the expert levels.

Bottom Line: Chocolate Fix is fun, challenging and quite unique.

There's no way I'm going to finish all these by the end of the year. The hard and expert puzzles are time consuming.

Check out the image of the physical version of this puzzle. You get 40 puzzles. I believe these 40 puzzles are completely different from the ones on the app store.

http://www.thinkfun.com/content/thinkfun%E2%80%99s-chocolate-fix-app-available-now-itunes-0

Other ThinkFun puzzle apps to play: Solitaire Chess & Rush Hour.

Connect!: puzzle game app for ipod, iphone, ipad

Connect! is a topology type puzzle app. The object is to connect a path from A to the furthest level. Your path may go horizontally, vertically, diagonally. You will probably have to zigzag.

The first 40 levels are free. And they're easy. But the next 120 levels are harder and cost $1.99.

Right now I've solved about 130 levels.  The puzzles are not very difficuly. But they're fun and perfect to play when 'watching' tv news shows.

I'm saving the rest of the levels for the Tuesday night's election.

Sidenote: recently I was called on the telephone to ask my opinion about the election. However, I was automatically disqualified from answering because, as a blogger, I influence other people.

Woollyman Block Buster Game: puzzle app game for ipad, iphone, ipod

Brad Hutcheson recently contacted me about his new puzzle app game Woollyman Block Buster Game.  It's another tilt-maze. The object is to slide your caveman over the frozen ice until he hits a wall, and then hopefully, the exit.

Along the way, you might need to pick up some vittles - in the form of bones. Wormholes appear too.

The most interesting feature: some parts of the ice can only be traversed twice, after that, it thins out and the caveman will drown. I'd like to see more puzzle levels that incorporate this.

Of the 60 puzzles, I've done all of them.

They're fun and somewhat challenging.  Definitely good for younger puzzlers.

www.WoollyMan.com

I forgot to mention: the caveman is named Ug and his programmer, Brad, can be reached at grunt@woollyman.com - really!

Pulma 3D: puzzle app game for iphone, ipad

When I scroll through the 250 new puzzle apps each week, I usually skip the ones with cute animal icons.

Recently Miikka Lyytikainen from Helsinki contacted me about his new puzzle app Pulma 3D Puzzle. (Finland is the home of many very good puzzle inventors.)

Pulma is the name of the owl. He's a time traveler and all of his equipment has been cut up into 3D jigsaw puzzles.

The sequence of assembling these puzzles is critical. In the past I've done a few dozen of these.
They're fun. I was skeptical that this type of puzzle could be made  for the ipad because these puzzles beg to be held with your hands and scrutinized.  Pulma 3D Puzzle does a very good job of this. The graphics are excellent.

A tutorial is given which explains how to rotate pieces and then slide them together.  Miikka has obviously spent an enormous amount of time developing this.

http://pulmagames.com/pulma3dpuzzle/

LinePuzzle: free puzzle app for iphone, ipad Review

LinePuzzle (one word) comes from a Korean company called Welcome. The idea is to start at a point, and then trace a path over all the lines without retracing your path.

There are 300 levels.  I've done about a third of them. A few weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night and decided to crank these out.

It's basic topology.  The key: start at a point that has an odd number of lines. Then end at a point that also has an odd number of lines.  If the figure has more than 2 odd numbererd points, then it's impossible.

Crazy Marbles: puzzle game app

The object of Crazy Marbles is to fill each circle with 4 marbles of the same color. When that happens, the wheel explodes. To complete a level, all the wheels must explode.

Marles roll along the top. You must slide them down to a wheel, then rotate that wheel to transfer it to the bottom wheels.

In terms of action, Crazy Marbles has got plenty of it. However, I strictly go for the pure puzzles.

Daniel Rost is the creator of this game.  I'm more interested in his other puzzle: Swisch. More about that later.  www.rostsolutions.com

Liquid Sketch

My puzzle friend Derrick Schneider recently emailed me about LiquidSketch. LiquidSketch may be this year's most original and uique puzzle app game of the year.

The object is to transfer liquid from one area into another. Mixing colors is sometimes necessary.

This is done by: tilting, using your finger to splash water up, using a pump, using blocks so the liquid does not spill.

There are 90 levels. Right now, I've done about 55 of them. There are some levels that I think are impossible. But hey, that adds to the appeal.

Does LiquidSktech make it onto the List of Best Puzzle App Games of 2012? Quite possibly.  That list will be published 12/31.

Subway Exits HD: free puzzle app for iphone, ipad

Subway Exits HD is very similar to 100 Floors. The object is to somehow solve each level in a clever way.

There are some other clones of 100 Floors. Let me know which ones to check out.

L-Game: free puzzle app for iphone, ipad

The L-Game was invented by Edward de Bono many years ago. The object: move your red L to another loccation. Then move one of the tokens to a new location in order to prevent the blue L to move.

Simple rules. This game can take 45 minutes. I bought a copy of this and played my brother during Thanksgiving. Very hard to master.

When you search for this game: the real title is LQ.

Andrew Yudin designed this app version. It took me about 25 minutes to beat the computer at the easy level.

Genius Block: free puzzle app for iphone, ipad

Genius Block is a puzzle app for kids. There are 45 levels to remove the big red block down the hole.

I've done 12 of them. Strictly for kids. But that's okay.

ComboFlame: puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

ComboFlame comes from Jerome Lulling. The object is to set all the wooden tiles on fire.

To start, tap on any wooden tile to ignite it. Then choose the next one that is connected either verically, horizontally or diagonally. Note: the flame cannot cross over empty spaces.

I have played 1 set of 20 puzzles. After that, a new, randomly generated set of 20 puzzles is created that matches the same difficulty level.

I play-tested this on the ipad. The top level is a bit cut off. I'm guessing this problem does not exist for the iphone or ipod.

The Maestosities: The Coolest Band Ever

http://www.maestrosities.com/

This past Saturday night, I attended the premiere showing of a tv pilot starring the band The Maestrosities. My friend Rod Kimball is in it. He's the nerdy one playing the trumpet.

About 2 months ago, The Maestrosities sent me an email via Kickstarter. I kicked in $25 which got me a t-shirt of the band and the VIP screening.

The 25 minute tv show was FABULOUS. After the screening, the band performed for about 30 minutes.

See this band!

Enneaglyphs: sudoku variation puzzle app for iphone, ipad

Enneaglyphs is a version of sudoku. As the line zigzags, the numbers 1 - 9 follow in the correct sequence. However, you can't tell which is the head & which is the tail.  Of course the middle # must be 5.

I've gotten tired of sudoku - even the variations. But maybe you have not.

Enneaglyphs is a free puzzle app. Try it.

Lookout Blizzard: iphone, ipad puzzle game

Danielle Cervantes recently contacted me from The App Company to tell me about their puzzle game app Lookout Blizzard. Lookout Blizzard is a dexterity maze puzzle game.  The object is to tilt the snowball to the exit, while picking up snowflakes. On some levels, the object is just to not get hit for 30 seconds or 60 seconds.

Seems easy and typical. It's not! First, you must avoid the barnfires - obviously bad for a snowball. Then you have to avoid the shooting comets that can come from any direction. Water balls also fly across the screen; they slow you down temporarily if they hit you. Same for the flying dirtballs. 

There are 60 levels. At the moment I've done the first 47 levels. This is surprisingly fun. My only qualm is when you die: the screen image shakes violently.

Yesterday, when I woke up, the first thing I did was play this game. High praise indeed.

Lookout Blizzard quite possibly makes it onto the list of Best Puzzle Apps of 2012. That list will be revealed on New Year's Eve.

 

 

Shift 2: free puzzle app for iphone, ipad

Shift 2 is an inversion maze puzzle. There are 120 levels. It came out July of last year, and somehow I missed it. Shift 2 has been downloaded over 1,000,000 times.

I've spent about 45 minutes and got through levels 1 - 8. Considering the price, it's pretty good value.

This game/puzzle may not be free forever, so download it soon.

Slant Puzzle Free

Slant Puzzle Free comes from WiseGuy Sharp LLC. He/they has/have come out with 6 or 7 new puzzle apps all at once.

Tap on every square to make one diagonal line - either a positive or a negative slope. Each circled number must have that many diagonals touching it.

Simple concept, fun stuff. I've done a whole bunch of these at the 5x5 Easy & Hard levels. The 12x10 feels  like the squares are  bit too small even on the ipad. I have not experimented with the custom levels.

This game needs a timer and a leaderboard. I particularly like doing the 5x5 easy & hard levels as quickly as possible.

Super Numbers: puzzle app for iphone ipad

The Object of Super Numbers is to tap on some tiles that add up to the number on top.  Keep doing this until the board is empty.

My first impression: too simple and easy. My second impression: the game gets harder and the time seems to go faster.

Right now my high score is 75,100 which places me in 11th place. LaurenSSD is in first place with 286,200.

I have a feeling that I'll be playing this again.

Everybody: this game is surprisingly fun. And it's free. So download it.

Qallamath: free puzzle app for iphone, ipad

Quallamath is a math puzzle that will appeal to younger puzzlers. I'm thinking middle & high school students.

The object is to get the answer quickly.  Nothing terribly hard.

The hardest part is finding the next number in a sequence.

Hey, it's free. So give it a shot.