Sun or Moon by Yuki Fujimoto Free

  

Yuki Fujimoto has produced a lot of pencil puzzle apps recently.  Sun or Moon is also known as 月か太陽. 

  

1. The object is to create a single loop that will pass through every country. The yellow lines are the borders of those countries.

2.  Within each country, the line/loop can only pass through a Sun or Moon.  When going from country to country, the sun & moon must alternate.  Also, within a single country, you can pass through multiple suns or multiple moons, but not both.

I like this game a lot.  I did all the 5x5 grids quickly, then jumped to the 10x10 levels.  And that's when I noticed a bug in the program.  No matter what loop I draw, the program says I've solved it.  Oh well.  It's still a good game and you know when you've solved it or when you're stuck.
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/yueka-tai-yang/id1175901385?mt=8

Mystery Lighthouse 2 HD by PHB Media Ltd $.99

Last week I reviewed Blackthorn Castle which was really long.  So I decided to redo Mystery Lighthouse (the original) and Mystery Lighthouse 2, which I never played. In the original, the puzzle of the alarm clock was amusing.

The story is thin, but still satisfying.  You have landed on a moon of Saturn. Your task is to find Uncle Augustus.

The graphics are charming.

One puzzle was difficult, the rest - kind of easy.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mystery-lighthouse-2-hd/id592727906?mt=8

Happy Friday!  The PAGY Awards are coming up: Nominations December 30,  Awards December 31.

2 Great videos

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XP6UrBHwPC4 I've also been to Oskar's house.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KyxP0VvQgOs  Tim is a regular attendee of the NY Puzzle Party. I have an amusing story to tell about his toy collection. Come to the next NY Puzzle Party, and I'll tell it.

Tomb of the Brain by Miroslaw Zielinski $.99

  

Tomb of the Brain comes from Miroslaw Zielinski.  It's one of those topology puzzle app games.  The objective is to pass Your Man over every square once.  If a square has two dots on it, then it must be traversed twice.

  

Features:

Each puzzle has a distinct start and endpoint.
Arrows force the direction of Your Man.
Wormholes must be used.  I found one level without using the wormholes and was perplexed as to why I didn't solve the level.
There are 90 levels and I have no idea how many I did. The menu does not allow me to go back to any previous level or even determine what level I'm on.

The title Tomb of the Brain  I'm not sure what that means.  Maybe it implies that you need to dig deep into your brain to solve these.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tomb-of-the-brain/id1116417458?mt=8

Link - Mind Bending Puzzler by Akshay Kapoor Free!

This Blog is getting its one-millionth hit today.  Woo!

  

If you've been following this blog since its inception in 2009, you know well that I like good topology type puzzle apps.

Link - Mind Bending Puzzler from Akshay Kapoor is nothing new. The object is to start at 1, pass through all the numbers and then end on the highest number.  No need to cross over every single square in the grid.

The most similar puzzle apps include Numeric Paranoia and Number Painting (see links below).

There are 200 levels and I'm somewhere around 120.  Level 100 was the hardest so far.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/link-mind-bending-puzzler/id1061486666?mt=8

Try these other Topology puzzle apps. 
Lines Numeric Fun
Space Dots
Just Routes
Dedale
SEQ
Square Time
Numeric Paranoia- Fantastic
Number Painting - Love this
Filling
Water Colors
Stroke!  - Genius
Pathle
Colors the Addictive Game
Chemin - Terrific
Patchmania 
Number Escape
Flow Draw A Line
YK Puzzle

Color Labyrinth - A Smart Puzzle Like Sokoban 激ムズ完全思考型パズル：カラーラビリンス

 

Color Labyrinth - A Smart Puzzle Like Sokoban  adds some very good elements to the old concept of sokoban. The goal in each is to move/push the blocks and get to the exit.

 

1. Blocks that are the same color will merge. Sometimes that's a good thing, other times not.
2.  The grid is white. Black squares will sometime have to be filled. If a square is marked with a green +, that means that if a green square is pushed onto it, it will be locked in place.

There's a lot more to say about this game, but I'll let you see for yourself.  It's got everything: 'aha' moments, lots of levels etc.  I have not solved all the levels.

I'm not crazy about the graphics. But that's okay. The content is what's important. New elements are presented with easy levels and then things get gradually harder.
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/color-labyrinth-cang-ku-fan/id451036454?mt=8

http://minimalie.com/


Other Good Sokoban Puzzles
A Good Snowman is Hard to Build Charming
Go to Gold - superb
Go to Gold 2 - I hope a third version comes out.
Pepe Porcupine
Sokoban Cargo
Push Box Sokoban
Push Around
Boxed In - loved this. First in a series of 4.
Pengu Push
BoxWorld - awesome. I still remember struggling through levels 26 and 35 for days.
Fireman Arcade
Paper & Light
Square Push Square
Professor Max
Puzzling Cubes
DJ Mole
Sokoban Evolution
Test Chamber - brilliant
Duck Roll surprisingly very good

Leonard Cohen died yesterday. My favorite version of his song Sisters of Mercy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNlfvO_1V5w

Blackthorn Castle by Lone Wolf Games, LLC $1.99

Recently Blackthorn Castle was listed as free.  It's similar to the famous Myst.

Your task to to wander around, pick up things, utilize them in other places and solve random puzzles.

There didn't seem to be much of a plot.  And the puzzles themselves weren't too hard.  No need to consult a walkthrough.

Interesting: there are about 65 different scenes.  At any time, you can ask for a clue and it will reveal which scene to go to.  The map on the bottom right lists the location for each scene which is very helpful.  If you pick up a horseshoe, you could wander around and around and try to remember exactly where you might use it. Or you could save all that time with a clue to the location. The game still takes at least 2 or 3 hours to play.

The artwork is good. Navigation is a bit awkward in some locations: tap on the bottom center to reverse.

At the very end, I was surprised because solving a certain puzzle and getting the object inside was no different from 20 other puzzles.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blackthorn-castle/id966038711?mt=8

Mystery Lighthouse is very similar. There is a bit more plot. The ending is wonderful.

Pinout! by Mediocre AB Free!

Puzzlers: obviously the election in the USA has upset many of you. Perhaps some of you are pleased.  Either way: it's time to veg out on a game that will hopefully calm you down.

  

Pinout is a very fun pinball challenge.  The object is to constantly shoot the ball up ramps to the next level.  There is a time limit.  Ramps that have the glowing dots will add to your time.

  

When your ball goes straight down the middle - you're in serious trouble because it may fall through multiple levels and you will lose major time.

(Within this game there are 3 classic video games.  Since they neither add nor subtract time to my score, I try to lose at them as quickly as possible because my objective is to play pinball.)

The overall graphics remind me of the ones from the film Tron. My high score is 7300 and that took a solid 15 to 20 minutes.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pinout!/id1108417718?mt=8

Pinball Sniper is another great game. Very different.

Miscellaneous Puzzling

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=tLksISrKtO8&app=desktop A new world record for solving Rubik's Cube.  Why doesn't the New York Times Report this?
2. This Puzzle App Blog is about to get its 1 millionth hit soon.  If you're The One, please take a screen shot and send it to me for a prize.  The hit counter does not show up on mobile devices.
3. The 2016 PAGY Awards will be awarded on December 31.  The Nominees - December 30.  If you would like to be on the Committee, just let me know.  The only qualification: you have to have played a lot of puzzle apps this year. Or some.  Even just 1 that you really like.
4. Hocus, great puzzle app, is temporarily free, again.
5. It's election night in America.  In the spirit of this historic day, do 'watch' the returns while playing puzzle apps. No need to look at the tv screen.

Sevens Up by Lisa Burns Free!

   

Do you remember the game Merged!? It's a great point scoring game.

Sevens Up by Lisa Burns is essentially the same thing, but with an addition.

But let's go over the objectives first.  Score points by getting 3 of the same number together.  Three 4's will merge to form a single 5.  When three 7's merge, all the surrounding tiles disappear.

In the original Merged! playing 1 game could take an hour or more.  Sevens Up offers the opportunity to extend the game practically forever.  Look at the third image. In the bottom right corner is a tile with 2 arrows.  Placing this on the board will eliminate the tiles in that column.  How do you get those tiles? By merging three 7's.

I played this game for about 30 minutes without using any of these special tiles.  After 45 minutes, I realized I needed to intentionally lose the game.

Sevens Up offers a nice twist on a great game. The graphics are nice.
https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/sevens-up/id1168679329?l=en&mt=8

Duck Roll by Mamau Free

Puzzle App Friends: sorry this is my only post this week.  Just been very busy.

Duck Roll is a sokoban game.  The object is to get Your Duck to the black hole.

There are many innovations:
1. The red block is a 2x1.
2. The little red squares are mines that must be exploded.
3. Most of the levels have an upstairs & downstairs. Elevators.
4. Portals
5. Fire pit of death
6. Look at the 4th image: the two blue squares have to be destroyed to open the big blue one.
7. Want to solve everything using the fewest number of moves? The option is available.
8. There's more, but I'll let you discover them for yourself.

Here's what I don't like:
1. The graphics are sometimes not clear, at least to me, especially when there are multiple levels.
2. The ads are annoying. I paid $1.99 to remove them. Best 2 bucks spent.

There are 128 levels and I've solved about 115.  Many are very tricky and require an 'aha' element.

The not-so-famous PAGY Awards are coming up.  This one has strong potential.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/duck-roll/id1122682633?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mamau.duckroll

Other Good Sokoban Puzzles
A Good Snowman is Hard to Build
Go to Gold - superb
Go to Gold 2 - I hope a third version comes out.
Pepe Porcupine
Sokoban Cargo
Push Box Sokoban
Push Around
Boxed In - loved this. First in a series of 4.
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
Sokoban Evolution
Test Chamber - brilliant

SpreadSet by Chen Xue Free

  

SpreadSet from Chen Xue was a surprise for me.  Look at the 2nd image. The object is to Spread a ribbon from the 16 square to cover all the squares.  Yawn.

Then I realized that level 7 or 8 was impossible. Until I realized that one ribbon can push another ribbon out of the way, if there's room.

There are only 25 levels, which I love!  I was stuck on level 18 for a couple of days. Must have attempted it 30 times.  At the moment I'm stuck on 23.

The graphics aren't great, but that's fine.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/spreadset/id1139441015?mt=8

TIKADAK by dagagada

 

Description from the App Store:
TIKADAK is a puzzle game aligning the tiles with diagonal lines on them.
3 opportunities to rotate the puzzle is given, and you win the game if you make all the diagonal lines become positioned in specific direction within 3 times.
The rule is simple and easy, and you can enjoy the easy puzzles that anyone could enjoy and challenging puzzles that only the gifted players could play.
Of course, you can use hints that may help you in times of difficulty.
Rotate the tiles of Tikadak and rotate your brain as well!

*300 puzzles of various difficulties.
*Harmonious and various color composition.
*Hint system.

My thoughts
1. A single square can be rotated. So can any sized rectangle.
2. There are a lot of 'easy' levels. They're not always easy. I've used hints.
3. In a 3x3 grid, there are 46 possible moves.  All the puzzles require exactly 3 moves, which means the total # of moves is 46*46*46.
4.  I like this game a lot. But the striped colors get tiring after a while.
5. I almost completed all the 3x3 grids (about 100). Other games are demanding attention.
https://itunes.apple.com/cn/app/tikadak/id1143920636?mt=8

I hate Candy Crush Part II

http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/25/investing/king-digital-ipo/

There are so many great puzzle apps out there.  This one is crushing them all.

Tile Chain by Arthur Davidian Free

 

The object in Tile Chain is to slide the tiles to their respective goals.  Important: all the tiles must always be connected. 

There's a  little sokoban feel to this game, but not quite. You can fiddle around and maybe solve some levels. Eventually, you'll have to bear down and plan.

There are only 24 levels and the first 9 are free.  After that: $.99. Definitely worth it.  At the moment, I'm stuck on level 19. Tile Chain is a little gem.
https://itunes.apple.com/ru/app/tile-chain/id1031222028?mt=8

I always save the best game for Friday.

Burokku by Entity3 Limited Free

  
From the App Store:
Burokku is a brand new unique and addicting puzzle game

Simple tap the coloured blocks to move them left, right, up or down

match 2 of the same colour blocks to remove them, clear all the coloured blocks to complete each puzzle

Burokku is stylish, addicting and a great workout for your brain
  
Look at the 2nd image.  The blue piece on the right only travels up and down.  The other blue travels left/right.  The orange at the top moves horizontally while the one at the bottom moves vertically.

These puzzles are trickier than I thought they'd be.  There are only 28 levels, which I really like, and at the moment I'm stuck on 12.

Regarding the graphics: generally fine. But I'd like there to be some markings that signify which direction a piece can travel.  It's not always obvious.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/burokku/id1140189503?mt=8

Kakurasu (Sudoku like Japanese Puzzle Game) by Ancientec Co., Ltd Free

 

From the App Store

RULES:
1. Find all of the Blue squares such that all of the totals match the clues.
2. The clues are on the right and across the bottom and are the totals for the respective rows and columns.
3. The numbers across the top and on the left are the values for each of the squares.

E.g. The first square in a row or column is worth 1, the second 2, the third 3, and so on.
Marking a square in Blue will add that square's value to both the row's total and the column's total.

My thoughts


This game is really easy. Perfect for young puzzlers. I did 30 puzzles in about 20 minutes.
The icon for the game shows a 6x6 grid. But all of the puzzles are 4x4. 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/kakurasu-sudoku-like-japanese/id1137780328?mt=8

Ladybug Pathfinder by Yutaka Onizuka Free

 

Ladybug Pathfinder comes from Yutaka Onizuka. It's a topology puzzle app game where the object is to place the Ladybug on any node and then trace a path that covers every  line once.

 

We've seen dozens of these types of puzzles. However, this is the first one that has a 3D perspective.  Also, the graphics are simply terrific.

There are 110 puzzle and I've done 32 of them. I have to stop because these are too easy. Nevertheless, the visuals are, again, wonderful.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ladybug-pathfinder/id1153321498?mt=8