Turnabout: free puzzle game app for iphone ipad

Turnabout is a point scoring puzzle app. The object is to tap on one of the gears to turn it. It will then turn other gears until it no longer connects with another gear.

There's not much here in terms of play/thinking. It's very similar, if not identical, to another puzzle game called Fun, which I reviewed ages ago.

Eye Rollers: free puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

Eye Rollers comes from http://puzzlesocial.com/ It is similar to a tilt maze puzzle. (A true tilt maze: all the balls would roll simultaneously in the same direction.) Roll the balls one at a time until they hit an obstacle or go into the side pockets.

There are 20 free levels. I have solved them all, but not by using the minimum number of moves. Therefore, I will have to pay to play the other levels.

Of the 20 free levels: some of them are tough and clevely designed.  They don't include the Red Eyes that destroy walls. I have not play-tested those levels yet.

Akari 3D: puzzle game for iphone, ipad

Guillaume Ortega contacted me recently from France about his new puzzle app: Akari 3D.

Akari is one of my favorite pencil puzzles from Nikoli press in Japan. Describing the puzzle game is not easy. I would recommend that you first download and play Akari Free.

Black squares have numbers, or dots. That number indicates how many light beams to place on each of the adjacent faces. Not the diagonal squares. Those light beams will illuminate all the squares in the horizontal & vertical rows.

The object is to light up all the squares.

Once you've played Akari Free, you'll be ready for Akari 3D. I happen to love it! There are 54 levels: 18 with a small cube, 18 with a medium cube and 18 with a gigantic cube.  I've solved all of them and now feel a bit sad that there are no other levels to play.

Some of the puzzles have multiple solutions which makes solving a bit trickier sometimes. Sometimes easier.

Look for the end of year Best Puzzle Apps of 2012.

Click here.

Red Nova: free puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

The object of Red Nova is to tilt the screen so that the red square will travel until it hits a wall and then eventually go into the black hole.

There are 40 levels. I did the first 20, which were free, in about 20 minutes. 

This Puzzle App Correspondent has seen this type of puzzle at least 25 times.

Ma3e: free puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

Ma3e is a free tilt-maze puzzle game app. The shapes are not necessarily cubic.  I played 2 of these levels, it's not quite my thing. But there is a a definite element of fun.

Bored: puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

Bored comes from Patrick Q. Kelly. Fans of Lunar Lockout and Pike's Peak need no explanation.

The object is to send your man to the center without falling off the board. A man can travel vertically or horizontally, until it hits another object.

Solution for the Nickel: move nickel to the left. Move the top left penny to the right, then down. Then move the nickel to the right.

There are 5 or 6 different backgrounds to choose from. I like the coin one.

There are 520 levels. Seemingly, they are all unique. But that's not exactly the case. #75 & #90 are virtually the same.

 I did the first 100 levels in about 20 minutes. Then I did the last 20 levels.  All of the levels are kind of easy.

I was looking for a serious, fun challenge. Unfortunately, this is really for casual puzzlers.

TetragonoS: free puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

TetragonoS is a free puzzle game app that's similar to sudoku and Latin Squares.  You are given a Latin Square: each row and each column has different numbers. You must color 4 tiles blue making sure that each blue tile gets all 4 numbers.  Basically, you can't have two blue tiles using the number 3.

I think kids will like this.

Maestrosities: Coolest Band Ever

Click here to see the Maestrosities pilot tv show.  About 6 weeks ago I saw the premiere which was about 24 minutes and quite funny.

Rod Kimball, who is a juggler and puzzler friend is in the band. He is also a member of The Flying Karamazov Brothers.

iCube: free puzzle game app for iphone, ipad

iCube is a set of 3D cube mazes from UNNYHOG. They also made Lookout Blizzard, which I happened to love.

There are a series of 3x3, 4x4 and 5x5 cubic mazes. Roll the ball to the end.

Over the years, there have been numerous cubic mazes made in physical form. iCube does an admiral job of showing the ins and outs. In the past,  I decided not to purchase some cubic 3D mazes because it was too difficult to see through so much plexiglass. iCube incorporates a very good shading system for the walls that makes the puzzles quite doable and not frustrating.

The free version has 9 easy puzzles. I've solved them all. The paid version has 81 levels.

Pavel Ignatov is the puzzle designer. No idea if he's related to the famous juggler who first juggled 11 balls.

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. See you on Monday. Also, if you're a regular reader of this blog, please sign up as a follower.

Number Zone Next: free puzzle game app for iphone, ipad, ipod

Number Zone Next comes from Hideaki Hashimoto who created the original Number Zone, which is another good puzzle app.

The object of Number Zone Next: some of the balls have numbers. Tap on one of them and swipe that number of balls to make them disappear.

Number Zone Next has 100 levels. I did the first 20 in about 10 minutes. Then I jumped to the last section of 20 puzzles. I'm stuck on #88.  These are tough, fun, and hey, free!

Number Zone Next quite possibly makes it onto the list of Best Puzzle Apps of 2012.  That list will be released on December 31. The excitement is brewing.

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.