Shapecraft by Gamezaur $1.99

 Shapecraft comes from Gamezaur. It's a minimalist puzzle. Which means that the rules are never explained. Essentially, it's a packing puzzle and the dots on the pieces must fit onto the dots on the grid.

There's a lot to like about this game.
1. The graphics are outstanding.
2. Level 51 introduces a new concept: some blocks can change color.
3. Some colored pieces, say blue, are not directly connected, but they travel together.
4. The images show just dots, however there are also squares & triangles.
5. When the pieces are outside the grid, they're easy.  But when the pieces are on the grid, shifting them around can be a very crowded job. 
6. There are 84 levels, I did them over 2 days.  This is a very relaxing puzzle. A winner.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shapecraft/id1481960751
https://www.facebook.com/gamezaur/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Gamezaur.Shapecraft&hl=en&fbclid=IwAR1IrNQmGP3y9HSybIQrq9z9A8YvX7GsZ7DYPJ7GyiHoeQomKoYQcypF28Y

Bubbles Pop 3D by Anatoly Maximov FREE

Bubbles Pop 3D comes from Anatoly Maximov. The object is to tap out all the balls connected by color.  Reminds me of Flood-It, from long ago.

This game is extremely colorful. But after doing maybe 10 levels, I didn't really see a challenge.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bubbles-pop-3d/id1487866803

Destroy Blocks by KAYAC Inc.

Destroy Blocks comes from KAYAC Inc. The object is to fire the torpedoes in the correct sequence to destroy all the blocks.

Love this concept.  But I see only 4 levels.  Hopefully they'll be a fix.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/destroy-blocks/id1493904256

Cup Puzzle 3D by bugra bayrak FREE

Cup Puzzle 3D comes from bugra bayrak.  The object is to stack all the cups.

1. The Red Cup is Your Man.  As Your Man travels from space to space, he flips.
2. The arrow: slides Your Man 1 space without flipping.
3. The yellow circles: flip Your Man
4. Multiple Red Cups: travel in the same direction. Be careful, one may travel while the other pushes a blue cup over the edge.

There's no information about how many levels exist.  I've done about 30.  Not too hard.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cup-puzzle-3d/id1494286551

Sort It 3D by Oz Maharshak FREE

Sort It 3D comes from Oz Maharshak. The object is to sort the balls by color into the cans.

I've done about 10 levels. This game is too easy.  Strictly for kids.  The reviews that were posted were mostly very positive.  But I'm deleting this.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sort-it-3d/id1493125671

2048 Stack by RedLine Games FREE

2048 Stack comes from RedLine Games. The object is to place the random cubic numbers at the bottom of the screen onto the 4 stacks.  Hopefully, you'll reach 2048.

I played this game once.  It's actually not bad.  But I was very annoyed that I could not undo a blatant mistake.
Also, there's no Leaderboard, which this game desperately needs.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/2048-stack/id1493041086

Orixo Wormhole by Logisk Studio Inc. FREE

 Remember Orixo from last year? The Logisk Studio has a sequel called Orixo Wormhole.  The object is to fill the entire grid by sliding the numbered tiles according to their values. This is a very polished game.  The graphics are crisp & colorful.  The challenges are fun. The price is right too. Though there are ads.

There are 128 Easy levels. I did half of them very quickly.
There are 128 Medium levels. Again, I did half.
There are 64 Expert levels. At the moment I've done 45.
There are 32 Insane levels. I've done a few.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/orixo-wormhole/id1469778528

Similar Games
Drop Pocket  from 2017
Zhed from 2017

WoBoRoW Rock-paper-scissors puzzle

 Mikko Hannikainen recently contacted me about his new puzzle game WoBoRoW.  Essentially, it is a 'Rock-Paper-Scissors puzzle on a grid.

I was not able to download this on my ipad.  So I played it on my phone.  This game is tough!  I've only solved about 10 levels. 

There are 4598 levels. This is a big no-no. A great game should have 100 levels.  200 at most.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/woborow/id1489711141

Other Games with a Rock Paper Scissors Theme:

Puzzle Janken came out in 2012
R.P.S. 25  came out in 2013

2019 PAGY Award Winners

The PAGY Awards were established in 2011 to honor the best Puzzle Apps Games of the Year.

The 2019 Award Winners: 

Simply GREAT

ReMaze
SNIKS
EMBERGRAM

Minimalist

NABOKI
Sometimes You Die
Untangle

Dotstep

Blue

Weird & Wonderful

Gorogoa

Loop Loop Puzzle
Platonic Opaline

Point Scoring

Topsoil

Block Slide
25 Game
Bloku

Must Solve All the Levels

Cage It

Look Over the Edge

Cubeesc

Zero21

Orixo

Knight's Tour

Unfoldit

Netting

Magnet Brick
100² Logic Games
Path of Giants
Flow Fit
SARKWO
inbento

Algemy 2

For Beginner Puzzlers

1234 Number Logic

boul: kare

Mosaico

Folding Blocks

Connect

Sixy Sudoku

For Expert Puzzlers

Polygon Flips

Sandwich Sudoku

One Line Weekly

ColorFold 2

Word Puzzles

Bits & Pieces

Word Plus

Flow Fit

Across

Great Graphics

The Birdcage
Halloween Cryptical Puzzle

Adventure a la Myst

Isoland
A Long Time

Dexterity

CMYK

Pinball Color

Mathematical

Math Riddles

2018 PAGY AWARDS

2017 PAGY Awards

2016 PAGY Awards

2015 PAGY Awards

2014 PAGY Awards

2013 PAGY Awards

2012 PAGY Awards

2011 PAGY Awards

ColorFold 2 by Martin Pluisch $.99

ColorFold 2 comes from Martin Pluisch. Last year he published the first version ColorFold.  I really liked it. 

 There are 150 levels.  They are much much harder than the original game.  I only solved 47 levels.

All the levels are split into 9 Acts.  So I got to sample the various elements.

If you're a Ribbon Puzzle fan, add this to your device.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/colorfold-2/id1439018385

Other Ribbon Puzzles
Ribbons Puzzle Game
The Weaver
Ribbon Puzzle
TAPES - similar to Colorbind. Excellent
Woven - easy
Colorbind - the first of its kind. Genius
Twisted Lines - very hard
Spreadset Easy til you get to level 7 or 8

Solitaire Logic by Mark Mainwood FREE

Solitaire Logic comes from Mark Mainwood,  The object is to place the 9 cards in the grid above by using the clues at the bottom.  It's very similar to ThinkFun's Chocolate Fix.   

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/solitaire-logic/id1481885506

Parks Landscapes - Logic Game by Andrea Sabbatini FREE

Parks Landscapes - Logic Game comes from Andrea Sabbatini. Andrea has a long history of publishing very good puzzle apps.

In this game, the object is to place 1 tree in each park, each row and each column.

On the harder levels, each park, row & column will have 2 trees. This concept was expertly done in Twin Beams from 2012. Sadly, that game is no longer available (But it's still on my ipad!)

Parks Landscapes has 1000 new levels spread out over different landscapes.  I prefer the desert landscape.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/parks-landscapes-logic-game/id1479179864

Also by Andrea:
Park SeasonsHedgehog GardensPark Seasons

100²

Frog Tactics by Guillaume Danel

Frog Tactics comes from Guillaume Danel. The object is to place arrows and jumping points to make the frog hit every square and then land on the red spot.  

We've seen this type of game many times before.  But I do like this game.   Level 12 was challenging because even though the grid was small, there were 3 sets of wormholes.

Of the 60 regular levels, I've solved 45.  The game allows all users to create their own levels and share them. At the moment, there are 360 of those.

Very interesting: you must place directional arrows or a jumping icon on various tiles.  There is also a 'go back 3 steps' move. 

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/frog-tactics/id1485651048

inbento by Lukasz Spierewka $2.99

inbento comes from by Lukasz Spierewka. It's a food puzzle. I believe that every mother has said to every young child: Don't Play With Your Food!

The object in this game is to lay the tiles at the bottom onto the grid to match the image above.

Look at the tiles on the bottom right for both images.  Those arrows show that some pieces will have to shift.

I've solved 76 of the 108 levels.

Lukasz: good game!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/inbento/id1468115950

SNIKS by Shelly Alon $2.99

SNIKS comes from Shelly Alon. It's another snake game.  It's fantastic. 

 The object is to wriggle the snakes around until their body rests on the colored targets.

Features:
1. Wormholes. We've seen this many times before. Maybe the first time in a snake game.
2.Combining Colors: 2 snakes with different colors must overlap on the targets.
3. The Plus Sign increases your snake by 1 unit.
4. Snakes are sometimes monochrome, sometimes not.
5. Snakes usually travel 1 unit at a time. Unless you're near the end, and don't stop until they hit a wall.

There are 110 levels. I've solved about 85 levels.  Stuck on #57

Shelly: fantastic job.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sniks/id1425793639

Other Snake Puzzles: all winners.
Snaky Snake
Snakes Minimal Board Fill Puzzle
Snakebird
Eat A Way
Twisted Snake
Quetzalcoatl
Truepuzzle
Hyper Snake
Snake Slider
Wriggle
Snakekans

Bloku by Abdullah Firat FREE

Loyal Blog Follower David Cole sent me an alert about Bloku.  The object is to swipe rows piece by piece off the screen.  This brings stray cubes down.  When a cube hits the top of the board - it's game over.

I did not want to like this game!  I've never been a fan of Tetris. However, this point-scoring game is much better than it appears.

One night, my score was about 8500, when I went to bed mid-game.. In the morning.....my game was erased.  Ever since, I have not been able to crack 7000. I've become a little obsessed.

Other Point Scoring Games Worthy of Your Time (Some are no longer available.)
NumberMania
Four Straight Lines
Pushopolous
Stickets
Folt
Nineout
Nineout II
BeeCells Lite
Kindly Colors
HexAgony
Domino Drop
Put Number
Tripevo
Triple Town
Kindly  Colors
COLORswipe
SubaraCity
Virus Pop Smash
+1 Number
4 Way Puzzle
Merged!
Enso

Politaire

Treple

numDance

Black Boxes

o:anquan
Levels

Buckets

Hit N Run

Puppo!

Omino!

Super Swipes

Make Square

Colorzam
Color 6
Sticks.

21 Black

Chessumo
Fues5

9 Maker

Favo!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bloku/id1488095399?ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Embergram by the Gillespie Brothers FREE

Embergram comes from Matthew, Bryan and Jacob Gillespie.  Their game is very very similar to Thermometer puzzles.  (More Thermometer Puzzles).

The object is to burn the matches so that the number of embers in each row/column matches the numbers on the sides.

Each section has relatively easy levels with straight matches only.  As the matches get curvy, they get more interesting.

What could be better: there should be an element that marks squares that cannot be burnt!

There are 12 levels for each grid size: 4x4 to 12x12.  I've spent a lot of time on this game.  The 12x12 levels take about 20 minutes.

Gillespie clan: you guys rocked this.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/embergram/id1471800563
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.umvirate.embergram&hl=en
Developer website: http://umvirate.com/

Sudoku Octangles: Numbers Game by Amr Hassan FREE

Sudoku Octangles: Numbers Game comes from Amr Hassan.  The object is to place the numbers in the spaces to form a Latin Square (very similar to sudoku).

There are two game: Sum and multiplication.  The little numbers in the grid are either the sum of the surrounding 4 numbers or the product.

The grid sizes go from 3x3 to 9x9.

According to the Leaderboard......practically nobody has played this game.  I think it's pretty good.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sudoku-octangles-numbers-game/id1480851707

Chromoblox by Dan Bravender FREE

Chromoblox comes from Dan Bravender. This game is very similar to the card game SET. The object is to clear the board by selecting 3 tiles that are all different or are all the same.

Important: the selected pieces can only come from the bottom of the columns.

Look at the first image. Legal move: the green heart from bottom of column 1, then the blue triangle from column 1, then the red circle from column 5.

I don't know how many levels there are.  I'm guessing I've done about 25.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chromoblox/id1480608922

Thinking Putty Puzzles from ThinkFun

 Thinking Putty Puzzles is a finalist for Toy of the Year Award in the Specialty Category.

 ThinkFun is one of the best puzzle companies in the world.  I was asked to create the challenge puzzles for their new game Thinking Putty Puzzles.  The concept is easy: connect the two yellow points, and the two blue points, etc, without crossing lines. Previously, I made similar puzzles for Mindware.com under the titles Lab Mice Puzzles and Find Your Way Gnome.

 However, in this version, there are bridges, which allow for some crossing of lines.
When's the last time you played with putty?  The putty was re-invented by Crazy Aaron.

Reasons to buy:
1. It's fun.
2. Makes for a great gift for nieces/nephews/grandkids.
3. My royalty checks will increase with your purchase.

Amazon: buy it here and/or read customer reviews

Rave Reviews
Best New Games 2019

Casual Game Revolution

Puzzlenation Review

Parenting Progress Review

Gifts and Decorative Accessories Review

Mom Does Reviews

Fatherly Review

Mothering

Michigan Saving

Kristin McGee

I4U News

https://www.thinkfun.com/products/thinking-putty-puzzle/

The Toy Insider

Today Show

The Halloween Cryptical Puzzle by Calum Davidson FREE

 The Halloween Cryptical Puzzle comes from Calum Davidson. The object is slide the red and green tiles to free the key.  When the key gets to the slot, you win a gold coin.

There are 13 levels and I've solved 4 of them.  I really like this puzzle.  It would make for a great cylindrical version of Rush Hour.   Hey Calum: really good job. 

Read this article about Calum.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-halloween-cryptical-puzzle/id1484214291

A Long Time by COTTONGAME $.99

 A Long Time come from COTTONGAME Network Technology Co., Ltd. They made Isoland which I reviewed earlier this year. 

Their new game is similar to Blockwick, which I reviewed back in 2013.

The object is to shift the rectangular shapes to create a path for the ribbon to go from left to right.

There is a story behind it: a puppet who is in love.  It's very poetic & philisophical. Probably all lost on me.  There are 30 levels, so it's a short game.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/a-long-time/id1450612495

SquareShift by Will Hain FREE

SquareShift comes from Will Hain.  The object is to rotate groups of squares of 2x2 tiles to eventually transfer the blue squares into the glowing blue targets.

There are 60 levels.

The first 15 levels - straight forward.
The next 15 levels - some squares are locked in place and cannot be rotated.
The next 15 levels - some squares have #s which indicate the maximum number of times that square can be rotated.  These are challenging.


https://apps.apple.com/us/app/squareshift/id1484781114