Posts Tagged ‘logic’

Zen Stones Review

Action, Match, Puzzle | Posted by Zeke
Jul 02 2010

Zen Stones

play zen stones Zen stones Download

Finally a unique logic, strategy match Mac game for all ages!  It’s in a category by itself. You might say it’s a little like Tetris and a little gem match 3 game. It’s addictive, there’s action, great sounds and fun bonuses.  Mac game Zen Stones is a smart, relaxing play for everyone to enjoy.  And, the best part is it’s free online and download for only $3.99.  Not just the demo but the entire game! You can’t beat that. Macgames.org is proud to offer this new puzzle to anyone who is interested in having a good time.

The game board is set up with tiles on the periphery of the square. There are a few scattered tiles on the board, and the goal is to remove all the tiles in the center.  In order to accomplish this feat you must click on tiles on the border, they will fly out either across, up or down and when you match 3 or more like color tiles, they will disappear.  When there is not a match, that tile will stay on the board with the direction arrow on it to show you which way it will go if and when it is released. In addition, if there is a tile next to an available tile on the outside of the game board, you cannot move it. If you fill the board completely with tiles, the game is over.  It’s not as easy as it sounds.  It takes a little strategy, a little logic and a little luck.  The luck comes in the form of bonuses or power-ups.

zenstones_bonuses

As you can see there are a lot of bonuses. My favorite one is the UP button. Get it to the edge of the board and when you press it, it will take you to the next level. Of course, if you are trying to increase your points, this button is not for you. The double-sided arrow will shoot across the entire row or column eliminating all the tiles in its way. The strategy comes in when you press the black button with small squares. It will remove one tile of your choice, and it will darken the board and highlight the tiles you can take out. The direction arrows come in handy when you make this move.

Zen Stones 4

The first few levels are easy, but as you continue more colors are added and the difficulty level rises. The bonuses also become fewer and far between. The challenges in these levels are more interesting to play because you must think and plan your next few moves in order to conquer the stones. The great thing about this game is the tiles are not advancing continuously to take you down in a limited time period. The game is for you to relax and enjoy the play. If you have a need for competitiveness, you can see the highest level you can complete or how many points you can garner. Maybe in the future you will be able to post your high scores or post them yourselves on Facebook or Twitter.

The tiles will sometimes stick and if you click more than once on one tile, it will eventually release 2 tiles. This would be catastrophic if not for the undo button. I found that if a tile sticks, click on an open area on the game board and one tile will release. This is a minor annoyance because the game is free online and download for just $3.99. Another thing is that this game is addictive and will take up a lot of your time so be sure you have cleared your schedule to master the Zen Stones.

We, at Macgames.org, are happy to launch Zen Stones for your enjoyment.  Also this game is being developed as an app for the iphone so be sure to check back with us for further news of its release.  Have fun and zen out.

Continental Cafe Review

Action, Adventure, Hidden Object/I Spy, Puzzle, Word | Posted by Meg
May 21 2010

Continental Cafe

Continental Café is a conglomeration of puzzles, story and delicious recipes. It is cleverly held together with an unlikely tale about Laura winning the lottery, buying a restaurant with a mystery behind the former owner, a sinister character and then traveling the world to learn how to cook recipes made famous by other foreign chefs. It somehow works.

Your play begins on an airplane clicking on lit stars for hints. You click until you are suddenly stopped. Hopefully you will get far in this mini bonus game but you can also lose everything. The world map will take you first to France to meet Kallie Crotteau, a well renown Continental Cafe 5French chef. She will help you with new recipes after you do some favors. Running errands for the chef consists of multiple puzzles – all different with some easy and others difficult. There are jigsaw, match the shape, word, slide, and tasks to complete puzzles before you can play the hidden object scene. Continental Cafe2One logic game is similar to World Mosaic and fun to play. The rewards for completing these puzzles are the real recipes you can use and make a delicious meal for your family. This is similar to the latest cooking Mac games like Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen.

Each puzzle is different and all may not be something you are into so the game provides a rain check if you are lucky enough to earn it. This rain check will allow you to pass on a game if you want. This feature is great because I do not like all the puzzles and opted to skip a Continental Cafe4game. Unfortunately, I couldn’t play the Word Wheel because it kept timing me out. I later learned that if you play it in the hard mode, the game will progress normally.

Continental Cafe5I enjoy this game even with the minor flaw. The puzzles are diverse making it feel like you are getting a variety of games and the recipes are bonuses on top of the excellent graphics and well thought out puzzles.

Features of Continental Café:
-Challenging Puzzles
-Recipes
-Top 5 Chefs

Rating: ★★★½☆

World Mosaic 2 Review

Adventure, Puzzle | Posted by Meg
Jan 03 2010

World Mosaic 2 4


The saga of the Sea people continues in Mac game World Mosaic 2. A colleague of Dr Remington (from World Mosaic) somehow breaks a hourglass and in that moment is transported back to a past world of dinosaurs and ancient plants. In order to get back to the present he reads a note left by Dr. Remington in his bag advising him to fix the hourglass in order to return, and to do so he must solve logic puzzles to form mosaic tiles.

The tutorial for this game is very explicit and clear. The logic puzzle’s grids start out as simple 5×5 board and increases in number of boxes and difficulty as the levels go higher. There are numbers at the side and top of the grid. These numbers tell you the pattern of each row and column. Start with the largest numbers to begin your quest. If the row or column is a 5, then each square will be turned over to World Mosaic 2 3display an icon. Going on to the other squares, you must remember that there is always at least one space between the groups of flipped boxes. For instance some rows or columns will have more than one number listed (1,3 or 1,1,1). This will tell you there is at the very minimum 1 space between each group of flipped squares. In the first instance, you will flip the 1st box, skip the next and then flip the next 3 boxes. You can change your cursor by clicking on the shovel to the right to put in the space box. It will mark it with an X. In doing this it makes it easier to figure out the rest of the grid. If you should make a mistake, the square will make a terrible noise and put the correct item in the box. It will also show the number of your mistakes on the right.

If you should get stuck and you earn hints, you can use them to help you along. You can earn a maximum of 4 hints so if you have them, use them.
World Mosaic 2 5
I found World Mosaic 2 just as enjoyable as the first version. If you have never done logic puzzles, this one is non-threatening or frustrating to learn, and you’ll enjoy seeing the tile pictures as you go along. I liked World Mosaic 2 and could see playing it over and over.

Features of World Mosaic 2:
-7 Different Eras
-90 Story Puzzles
-152 Extra Puzzles

Rating: ★★★★☆