Grow - Expand & Conquer

   

Grow - Expand & Conquer is a topology game that's really quite excellent.

 

The objective is to fill the board. Look at the second image.  See the 2?  Its value is 2 because its square is colored and 1 of its neighbors is also colored. Therefore, it should be swiped right to fill those 2 white squares.


Look at the third image. The 4 is too big to swipe down. Same for both 3's and the 2.


Look at the last image. Those are wormholes.


Other elements include - directional arrows and +/- tiles, which I'm not crazy about.


Grow - Expand & Conquer is one of those games where I want to solve every level.  Unfortunately, there's been a slew of other good games that I have to play. But I have solved about 75% of them.
https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/grow-expand-conquer/id893169232?mt=8

Slide Tetromino By ECO Pawel Jarosz

         

Slide Tetromino is to move the key (trapped in ice) next to the burning flame.


There are 100 levels. I solved the first 10 pretty quickly, then jumped to the last 10. I found those just as easy. 


This is a good game for novice puzzlers.  The graphics are nice.
What's lacking is a 'moves counter' for purists who want to do each level using the minimum number of moves


Related: I regularly check 'Apps Gone Free'. They had this game listed as being free about a week ago,, but now it's not. If you find a good puzzle that's temporarily free, send me note or leave a comment & I'll spread the word.


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slide-tetromino-premium/id978983113?mt=8

Kyoob by Sebastian Latocha

     

Sebastian Latocha recently contacted me about his new puzzle app game Kyoob.


His Description:
Some might say it is like Rubik's cube, others might say it is like Tetris... but the truth is Kyoob has the best of both!

Think, shift blocks, have fun... go play!


Kyoob is a block connecting puzzle game.

+ Shift rows and columns to connect like colored blocks of four in line, diagonally or squared.
+ Use PowerUps like Bombs or Eraser to be able to make even more connections in time.
+ Collect as much Score as you can to increase your Score Bank to be able to buy PowerUps.
+ Achieve in game Goals to raise your Kyoob Bank even more.
+ Compete with your friends in Game Center.
+ Choose between Day and Night color mode.


Now have fun and tickle your brain in this minimalistic puzzle! ;o)

     

Tom's Notes: I have played Kyoob only a handful of times. It's tough! It's FREE.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kyoob/id939499657?mt=8

Quantum Moves from Aarhus University in Denmark

Loyal Blog Follower Robert Dancer alerted me about Quantum Moves.  It's from the Physics Dept at Aarhus University.

Here's their description:
Ready to push the boundaries of science?

• Contribute to cutting-edge scientific research!
• Play with real atoms and solve complex problems without ever seeing an equation!

Your skills will help physicists at Aarhus University, Denmark, in the epic task of building a real quantum computer. Quantum Moves draws on your intuition and creativity, rather than a textbook knowledge of physics.

Find clever ways of manipulating and moving atoms. Your gameplay will be used to control the movement of actual laser-beams and atoms in our lab!

Join the community of thousands of players and shape the future of 21st century science!

We can’t wait to see the smart solutions you come up with.
Bring on the scientific revolution!




Tom's thoughts: It took me a while to figure out what the objective was.  There is a pool of purple liquid that must somehow be transported to the rectangle.  When you move the big circle, it causes another dip.  Use gravity and momentum and keep trying.


There are 21 levels and I could not get past level 14.
This game reminds me of Liquid Sketch. But it's not as fun.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/quantum-moves/id1078236406?mt=8

Clever Frog Puzzle By Parves Miah

Clever Frog Puzzle comes from Parves Miah. The frog must land on every lily pad just once.  The frog can only travel forward, left and right.  The frog may not jump over any lily pad.  This is NOT a peg jumping game. The frog may leap over any amount of water though.

There is another version of this puzzle by Hien Le. His game is called Clever Frog! Identical puzzles.

The version by Hien Le stopped working at level 27.  The lily pads on 27 happen to be in the shape of the reversed image of the Nazi logo. Not exactly Kosher.


On Parves Miah's version that Nazi shape was level 25. His game bombards you with ads.


The puzzles are small, at a good level of difficulty.  But neither game is worth keeping.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clever-frog-puzzle/id886790374?mt=8

Block Obox by An Nguyen Doan

 

An Nguyen Doan's Block Obox is a maze puzzle app game. The objective is to swipe Your Man, the Obox, until it hits a wall.  Capture all the stars.


We've seen this type of maze puzzle app numerous times.  Block Obox has about 50 levels, of which I solved about 15.


Good game for novice puzzlers.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/block-obox/id1097371729?mt=8


Other Maze Puzzle Apps
Monster Swipe
Exodus Free
Zuki's Quest
Squarescape - very polished
Woodhead - love the humor

SPL-T by Simogo AB

 

Loyal Blog Follower David Cole told me about SPL-T.  It's a point scoring puzzle app game without a Leaderboard.

 

I've only played it 5 or 6 times and don't fully understand everything. It's intriguing - at the very least. Nothing like any other point scoring puzzle game.


Here's an enticing review from the App Store:
Lot of Depth Here         by Nick Kinney

When I first opened this game it was not immediately apparent how great it is. Reading the instructions is fairly necessary though you can figure out the general mechanics without doing so.

I've been playing for a few days now and I've already changed my strategy completely several times. There is a lot of hidden depth to this game. Very fun, no time pressure at all. Doesn't look ridiculous in public. Definitely worth a buy.

Love that phrase 'changed my strategy completely several times.' Sign of a great game.  Simogo AB is the name of the company and all of their games have much praise.  If you have played any of their other games, do let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

http://simogo.com/work/spl-t/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spl-t/id1021971213

I hate Candy Crush Part I

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/02/candy-crush-addictive-game-incredible-business-horrible-investment/283891/


For a while, about 2 or 3 years ago, I played Candy Crush.  There, I've said it.  Forgive me.  I'll even admit to getting to level 150 or so. I actually felt some degree of addiction as I hesitated when deleting it once and for all.


(My Significant Other is still going strong at it - somewhere around Level 650.)


Candy Crush is really just another rip-off of Bejeweled, which was probably a rip-off of something else.


Looking at the article above, it's a Crying Shame that it earns any money at all considering how many great, innovative, artistic puzzles out there make nothing at all.

Cadmia

Cadmia is a point scoring puzzle app game.  The object is to slide - all the men at the same time - to form clusters of 4 or more of the same color.


After each move, a new colored circle appears somewhere on the board, randomly.


4 reds will yield 8 points.  5 reds give 16 points.  If you are able to get 4 reds at the same time as 4 blues, I think that's 700 points.  Or something like that.


I like this game.  It reminds me of 4 Straight Lines .  In that game, all the tiles slide until they hit a wall., unlike this game.


If I play just for single clusters, the game can go on and on, almost forever.  Going for the double clusters  gives the most points, but of course, there's the danger of running out of space and the game ending.


I should add: the graphics are very good. An idea for a future game: extend the grid to 5x5 and use 4 colors.
According to Max Franz, the next version will support a Leaderboard.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cadmia/id1089022722?mt=8




Addendum:


I recently got a new ipad.  Woo hoo! This one will be used exclusively for puzzles.  No photos, no music, no apps that give weather forecasts or newsbreaks. What to do with the old ipad? I'd like to pass it on, but it has puzzles that are no longer available on the App Store.  And my old ipod touch? It's got an even older game which I loved called Up! Unfortunately, I think it's lost in the deep corners of the couch. Still, I look forward to paying my good fortune to others soon.

Tower Maze by Ionut Cristea

 

Tower Maze by Ionut Cristea is a semi-hidden maze tube puzzle. The object is to slide the silver peg along the green path and get to the end.


Each day, there are 2 new mazes and you can compare your time with everybody else.


When physical puzzles are made into apps, there's a tactile element that is unfortunately lost. Hitting a dead end is an example.  Another: sliding horizontally while pushing down - seeking that hidden path - is also lost.


Still, Tower Maze is pretty cool.


If you want a physical version of this puzzle: look for Doolorinth on Ebay.  Doolorinth has also been released under the title Groove Tube. Screw This is very similar - it's fairly large. The Cooksey Maze is yet another cylinder maze - but it's the rarest. I was fortunate to play/solve one while visiting the largest mechanical puzzle collection in England 2 years ago.


Should you decide that you just have to do more Cylinder Mazes, look for Revomaze.  Unquestionably the best made. Very expensive.


No matter what, you should definitely do Oskar's Cube: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazing-cube-maze/id343941176?mt=8


Tower Maze: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1095044817

Slide 123 from SANG MOON JOO 제작

      

SANG MOON JOO 제작 keeps creating interesting puzzle games.  Slide 123 is a combination of Lines 123 and 4 Way Puzzle (links below).


The object is to score points by shooting numbers into the grid, in turn from the bottom first, then the left, top and right.


I really like this game for a variety of reasons.  Chief among them: the game plays fast.


This game has a Leaderboard!  Also, I just downloaded the update for Lines 123 and it now has a leaderboard too. On both games, I'm not near the top.


If anybody speaks Korean, please send SANG MOON JOO a note about this blog.
http://blog.naver.com/wntkdans123
https://itunes.apple.com/kr/app/slide-123/id1098153934?mt=8


Some of Sang Moon Joo's other games
Lines 123
Maze 11
Number Escape
N16
4 Way Puzzle
Loop 101

Nevergrid

Nevergrid comes from Benzi Ahamed.

The objective is to move your man 1 square at a time to collect the stars.

However, the red square is going to try and capture you.

This game reminds me of a few other games (I forgot the titles, but they involved minotaurs.)






What's different: this game has some interesting new elements. For example: the red circles. If the evil red squares land on them - poof! 


There are 50 levels and I've done about 15 of them.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nevergrid/id917628367?ls=1&mt=8

Trees of Life HD

 

Trees of Life HD by Kevin Bertman is one of the most intriguing puzzle app games of 2016.

 

The objective is to place your red circles in a strategic way so that when the tree grows - in a fractal pattern - it captures the blue dots.


In terms of strategy, I haven't come up with something that is foolproof.  If there are 15 dots scattered around - where do we aim?  My high score is 404, which I'm quite proud of. But I haven't come close since.  Which means luck's a big factor.


I'm also usually a bit impatient when puzzle game have slow mechanics.  This one is intentionally slow and is quite calming. 


Thanks to Loyal Blog Follower Joel from Germany for pointing this game out.


Trees of Life HD is free and there are no ads.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/trees-of-life-hd/id523498258?mt=8

Merged! Another Update: Big Surprise

Last month I reported on the 2 before/after images here. Merging three 4's, 5's, 6's and M's yielded 1588 points.  At the time I assumed that would be the highest possible point combination.  I was very wrong.


A few days ago something new turned up.  It didn't even occur that this could happen, or I would have taken before/after screen shots. I had another combo lined up: two 1's, two 2's, two 3's, and two 4's. An empty space would connect them all. I got a single 1 and placed it in the center. As expected, it made the other 1's a set of three and they morphed into a single 2, which merged with the other 2's....you get the idea.


Here's what's unexpected. Below everything were two 5's. The 4's turned into a 5 and then merged with the 5's underneath to form a single 6.  That 5-plex combo yielded over 5000 points.  Which makes me wonder what would have happened had there been two other 6's nearby.