Flo is back in a new game and it’s not a Dash sim play. Imagine that! If you know about the Dash Diner series of Mac games, you’ll know that Flo is the one who saves the day usually from big business and helps her friends get started in new professions. Each game in the series is a very similar sim play where you drag diners or guests to a table, take their order, get paid and clean up. This is usually done in a frenzy manner because the customers are all hotheads and will leave in a huff if you do not serve them in a timely manner. It’s usually a fun play. Avenue Flo is a completely new type of play. Yay! When you have enjoyed more than half a dozen Flo Dash games, you want a change of pace.

Avenue Flo is somewhat a sim play where you take Flo throughout Diner Town talking to individuals who may need her assistance in one way or another. Flo leaves her Grandma and Cookie alone at the diner so she can go and help her friend Quinn the wedding coordinator. She needs Flo’s help because the big wedding she is putting on this week is going wrong and she needs Flo’s assistance. Flo needs to find the $50,000 wedding rings and find out who is causing all the problems for Quinn.

The play takes Flo down the streets of the town looking for answers, butterflies, dog, and empty plastic bottles. When you collect 15 bottles you can take it to the recycling vending machine and receive a token. You’ll need tokens later in order to take the subway to other parts of this metropolis. Flo can go in and out of the shops talking to the proprietors and helping them if they request it. This will take you to many side puzzles you can solve in order to move on in the game. 2 of the games are string the beads in a pattern and packing pet supplies to ship out. These side games are fine, but when you have to complete 3 puzzles (not difficult) at a time and there’s no skip button, it slows your play a little. I would rather roam the town looking for clues.

This game is interesting since now you get to see all the places you played in the Dash games, take a subway to other parts and meet old friends you know from previous plays. It has hidden objects, logic puzzles and a funny story. Find who is responsible for creating all the havoc in Diner Town. Is it Bernie the bookworm, the pizza guy or the ex boyfriend to the bride? The only way you’ll find the answers is to hoof it through Diner Town.

Features of Avenue Flo:
-In-scene Mini Games
-Talk to Diner Town Residents
-Explore Diner Town

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

What do you do when a former high school buddy invites the class to a beautiful Greek isle for your reunion? You go, that’s what! You fly to a small island in a bi-plane but no one is there to meet you. Strange, but you muster up your courage and bags, and get off the plane with your friend CJ. You are still comfortable with the whole set up until you see your plane go down into the beautiful blue waters. That plane was your only way off this mysterious island. What do you do now?

CJ is a talker and he takes charge and orders you to search for your host and others. This game is voiced nicely with the only one mute, you. The story is played through photos in a comic strip form. The other part of the game is the many puzzles you must solve to find out what is going on, especially when you find your friend and host dead, and you and the others are threatened by notes. The killer or killers are still on the island and your life is in danger. Get to your room, search the gardens, beaches and the island to find out what happened and, more importantly, how to get the heck off this island.

Lucky for you the island and its accommodations are very nice with the blue ocean at your feet, beautifully manicured gardens and the sandy beaches steps away. Search with CJ for clues and when you come across a hidden object game, be sure to find all the items listed at the bottom of the screen. The items listed in blue are multiples of things you must click on and the purple item must be interacted with in order for you to click on it. The hint button is at the bottom right and you must wait until it is fully charged before you can activate it. The scroll right above the hint button must be pieced together when you find a scroll along your search. When you see a green mosaic tile, click on it in each scene. Once you click on 12 tiles, you will get to unlock a reward.

There are many puzzles and mini games to solve also, and these will have a skip button for those who wish to not solve them. In scenes when your cursor changes to a hand, you’ll be able to pick up objects, the eye to zoom in or get more information. Most of the words are your thoughts and will give you guidance in your journey. In addition to extra trivia you will learn about your surroundings like where the word tantalize comes from, and the map is a useful device in this game. The map will show active areas, where you are, completed areas (however, it can always become an active areas later), and the best of all, you can jump from one location to another once the button activates.

Even though there is only 1 mode of play, the game is interesting enough for both novice and advanced players. Murder is always a good subject to tackle and Murder Island: Secret of Tantalus has a nice balance of voiced acting, quirky characters, hidden object and mini games in addition to the point and click adventure. The artwork is good but could have been made a little more picturesque like the gorgeous Greek isles. The blue could have been bluer and the white-washed buildings, well, you get the point. At least most of the game is in the daylight and not always in dark and gloomy places unless it is in the cave. The music is dramatic with some Greek accents and is appropriate for the game. For all those reasons I give it a 3.5 out of 5 for a fun time.

Features of Murder Island: Secrets of Tantalus:
-Find the Murderer Before He Find You
-Hidden Object and Mini Games
-Good Artwork and Music

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

News flash: Best operated zoo will win $1,000,000! 4 are in contention and it’s up to you to assist the zoos. Can you make the difference?

Zulu’s Zoo is another hidden object game. This one integrates the zoo atmosphere with educational data in their many puzzles. Of course since you do not have any experience, you start out as an apprentice doing menial jobs such as cleaning the trash from the penguins’ habitat or counting the fish in the aquariums. Click on the hidden pictures to complete each level. The camera viewfinder will focus on a subject and you click to take its picture.

The mini games are not only enjoyable but educational as well. You are to put the animals on day or night circles depending on how active they are during each period. Another puzzle is to place the animal on the correct continent, and one is to place the animals in order of the food chain. Upon completing the puzzles or tests, you are raised to a specialist. It will behoove you to learn the animal facts given at the end of each level. There will be challenges to test your knowledge.

Zulu’s Zoo is a pleasant game. The many zoo scenes are cluttered and beautiful, but a few objects are difficult to make out. Luckily there are many hints to use. Click on stars to receive a hint. In addition you can go to the memory game to click on pairs of zoo animals. Another duty of yours is to take photographs of different animals. There are some puzzles when you search for 1 type of animal (11 monkeys or 22 fish). They may look different but there are many species of each animal. I like this Mac game for its ease of play and the animal data that are given to you. I think this game is great for kids and casual gamers. So learn all you can about wildlife in order to rise in the hierarchy of the zoo and win the million dollars. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 for an educational and enjoyable game.

Features of Zulu’s Zoo:
-Animal Facts
-Zoological Tests
-More than 60 Rounds

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Lost Souls: Enchanted Paintings Collector’s Edition is a Mac hidden object adventure game. Like so many other games of this genre it begins with an eerie story of abduction. It is full of puzzles, hidden object games and different scenes to search.

Bella and her son receive a mysterious package on their front doorstep. It turns out to be a painting and her son wants to hang it in his room. In the middle of the night Bella hears her son call out and she rushes to find him gone from his bed and the painting changed to her son’s image. Spooky, right? Months go by with no clues or leads from the police or FBI to the whereabouts of her son. In desperation Bella consults a fortuneteller to help her. This leads her in wild searches in another dimension where she sees her son’s painting break into many pieces and the pieces are spread out in different worlds. She discovers strange and enchanting lands where she is commissioned to help the residents of the area. You start in Chapter 1, Frozen World where everything is covered with ice and snow from a blizzard created by the wicked wizard, Ethiel. According to an old gentleman, their land gets colder and colder each passing day. If she can help revive the magic flame, they will help Bella look for her son. Along her journey Bella will be helping others with different tasks.

Move your cursor across the scenes and when your cursor changes to a hand, pick up the item. A magnifying glass will bring you a larger view and stars will open a hidden object game. There are puzzles where you must get inventory items in order to complete like finding keys in order for you to enter locked areas or things. This game is a little different from other games because it does not have navigation arrows to lead you to other areas. You must go to the map and click on other places to travel. This game will tell you when you need to go to the map and go to a different site. The map will also show you with a green checkmark when that area is completed and you do not have to go back there.

Even though the thought about having your only son abducted in a mystical and unusual way, this tale is not spooky, the mother is not frantic and the search through the lands is not scary. So in each land you will need to complete a main task like stop the blizzard or get water, and within the land you may need to help others with minor tasks like finding someone’s heirloom watch. The puzzles are not difficult but are fun to do like mixing paint and painting objects, weighing gems with an old fashion scale. The HOGs are in 2 forms: list of items written at the bottom of the screen or a row of pictures to find in the scene.

The search for Bella’s son is more light-hearted than scary. There are beautifully drawn scenes and quirky characters to enjoy. The scenes are not the dark and gloomy areas difficult to see and search, but they are bright and almost cheery like the snowman scene or the room with the telescope. The HOGs and puzzles are easy to do and not very challenging. More than likely you will not need to use the hint, skip or in-game strategy guide but they are there if you need them. The game is entertaining if not challenging. It will be good for kids and those new to this type of game. Expert mode is not timed or hard, but experienced gamers might enjoy the game play as well. I give this game a 3.0 out of 5 for a solid, pleasant game. Find all the gold coins.

Features of Lost Souls: Enchanted Paintings Collector’s Edition:
-Interesting Tale
-Adventure, Hidden Object and Mini Puzzles
- Collector’s Edition: In-game Strategy Guide, wallpapers, Screen Savers, Bonus Game

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

What could be worse than being female, young and African American starting your first day on the job on the New York Police Department in 1974? Probably not much but Jane Smith is feisty enough to make a go of it in Mac Hidden Object Adventure Profiler: The Hopscotch Killer.

Her first day is not a great success when she finds out that her fellow workers are not happy she is there and her grumpy trainer (she is replacing him) wants nothing to go wrong before he retires. After cleaning up the office, her first case involves a grisly murder of a homeless man. The hidden object game has the items you need to find at the bottom of the screen. Once you find and click on an object, it will scroll to the left and supply you with more things to find. Sometimes you will look for multiple of items designated by how many and an X. Remember to expand the scene (left and right or up and down) for more items hidden from your view. Most of the objects are easily found but if you need help, use the clue button at the bottom left of the screen. On the button will be the number of clues left for you to use. However, don’t worry about running out of clues because right after you use a clue, there will be a star in the scene for you to get another clue in the standard game. If you are playing the timed version, then you’ll get extra time for finding the star. There are only 2 modes of play to this game: Standard (untimed) or Timed for more of a challenge. The tabs to the left will help you remember your tasks for the level, zoom in on a scene, pause and the inventory case at the top. After finishing the standard HOGs (including some outlined items), you’ll be asked the cause of death.

In between the HOGs you find puzzles to solve like jigsaws, match 3s, Rush Hour, and more of your familiar mini games. The jigsaw has tabs on the right side to maneuver the pieces in different directions. You can skip any game by waiting for the button to recharge.

Profiler: The Hopscotch Killer is a retro game set in the 70’s. Going from one murder to another you find a pattern and Jane discovers there’s more to it than meets the eye. The game is your standard HOGs filled with puzzles for answers and clues to the murders, but it really didn’t spark my interest in the stories or the characters. The game actually suggests you brighten your screen all the way to be able to find objects. The scenes are dark and some items are hard to find due to that fact. The constant sound effects get annoying after a while but the music when present is eerie and appropriate. Jane, although smarter than her predeccesor, could have been a lot more sassy but is content to follow meekly an almost comical Deck to solve cases. Donuts anyone?

Features of Profiler: The Hopscotch Killer:
-1974 Story of a Serial Killer
-Hidden Object and Mini Games
-Dark, Grisly Scenes, Sound Effects and Eerie Music

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The mystical land of Atlantis was a blissful, idyllic place where Poseidon created for his people, but as time past they neglected the god and darkness fell throughout the kingdom. The altar of Poseidon was separated and 7 crystals were sent to 7 countries and 7 cities to be sealed forever.

The hero will be the one to remove the spells and bring the crystals back together to resurrect and bring the power back to Atlantis. The hero is you, and you need to swap 3 or more like items in a row to conquer and win back the jeweled encrusted altar. In the match game there is an amulet of Poseidon power-up which must be used in the level. There are bombs once brought to the bottom of the game board can be used in a hard to destroy area.

This game is very similar to Around the World in 80 Days with a different story line, but somehow Call of Atlantis is not as an engaging of a tale. The play although is a match game like many match games, it was not as exciting to play. I thought it was good but not enticing enough to play it again. Maybe it is because I didn’t play the previous Atlantis games, but I think other match plays are more interesting. However, the artwork is excellent. If you are into Poseidon and Atlantis, this may be the game for you.

Features of Call of Atlantis:
-Part of the Atlantis Series
-66 Levels
-7 Lands to Explore
-7 Crystals to Recover

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

I remember years ago I saw the musical version of The Phantom of the Opera with my beautiful sister. It began with a huge chandelier swooping over the audience’s heads and crashing loudly onto the stage. It was some opening. Mac hidden object/seek and find game Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera Collector’s Edition is not as head spinning but it gradually sets the stage for a dramatic and sometimes shocking story.

Evelina the daughter of a retired stage actress is trapped in the once grand but disheveled abandoned opera house and held against her will by a mad man who thinks she destroyed his love for her by running away with another man. In reality she is the image of her mother and her father is the other man. You find yourself in the lobby of this once majestic and magnificent theater. You have objectives and tasks to complete while playing hidden object games. You search for areas to zoom in on and for HOGs. You’ll see sparkling stars where you need to investigate further. The HOGs will have the list of items at the bottom of the screen. You search mostly dreary, dark spaces for 12 objects. Once you click on a found item, it will be crossed out. If you need help, you can click on the mirror on the lower left. It will crack and slowly restores itself. The journal and the map can also be helpful. You will also hear the voices of the phantom and Evelina assisting you and written messages across the top. If you click too many times on wrong objects, the screen will crack abruptly. If you get stuck or do not know what to do, you may need to go back and search areas you have been before. In some instances there will be more interactive puzzles or HOGs to discover. Sometimes you will be back at a scene you already have completed but must look for more items. The Phantom wants you to find the black rose. Keep looking.

Even though you are stuck in the theater, there are many locations to search from the ballroom to the caretaker’s cottage outside in the snow. The objects you search for can be ordinary to something you may need later. The mini puzzles can be skipped after a while but stick with it and you’ll be able to figure it out.

I think Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera is well done with exquisite artwork. The colors help create the mood and the era of this story. The music also helped create the eerie atmosphere of the opera house, but I kept waiting for the Andrew Lloyd Webber’s soundtrack from the musical that is so ingrained in everyone’s heads. The game is not that difficult, but may not be appropriate for young children. It is not shockingly scary, but puppets hanging in the ballroom are a bit creepy. So try it out and listen to the music of the night.

Features of Mystery Legends: The Phantom of the Opera Collector’s Edition:
-Dramatic Story
-Many Scenes In and Around the Opera House
-Many Objectives and Tasks to Fulfill

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This time this Hidden Object Adventure begins with eerie music (appropriate for the story) and a ghost trying to kill you. Whew! You make it through and now you are asked by a monk to save a girl in a tower. This is the start of your wanderings through an enchanted land full of ghosts, gnomes, fairies and humans. You are Reylin of Winderalth a gypsy minding her own business until this happened.

A Gypsy’s Tale: The Tower of Secrets is not your standard adventure full of hidden object games with sparkles and a list of items to search. No, this one has hidden objects to search when you click on an item and a wheel with other things pop up. You must search for, say, a cardinal, click on it and take it back to the wheel to place it. After finding all the bubble items, you get the main item in the center. It may have nothing to do with a bird but you may need this main item later on. There are other places where you can zoom in when your cursor changes into a magnifying glass to either collect hidden items or solve a puzzle. You’ll have many varied puzzles to solve from jigsaws, match, untangle the lines and slide puzzles.

There are many different (beautifully drawn) environments to explore and search from mystical forests full of fairies and gnomes to a high tech tree house. In most areas there will be crystals to collect. Some places will have 0 crystals but at the upper left side of the screen, it will let you know exactly how many are in that scene and how many you have collected. When you collect all the crystals in 1 location, you will get a piece of the map for you to use. This map is extremely helpful since it will let you jump to different places directly avoiding having to retrace your steps. Eventually you will be using these crystals as money to buy different things from the store (once you find the shop).

Even though there is only 1 mode of play, the hint and skip (for puzzles) buttons are fast charging, and you will not have to wait long to use it again. Most of the time the hint is explicit, but there are other times when it will only make obvious observations like the monk is creepy. Let’s hope he’s not the same monk you are helping.

There are many things to do in this game and most of the puzzles are easy to do. It may not be much of a challenge for some of you who are really good at this type of game, but for the rest of us, it is a fun game to conquer. For traditional HOG fans this may not meet your needs, but you are still searching for hidden items in a different format with the same types of puzzles to solve.

The only problem I faced with this game is when I was in the garden and trying to plant the seeds, nothing happened even though I could see the pile of seeds but couldn’t click on it. I restarted the game and even though I had to start the garden sequence again, it worked the second time. I found the music good but some parts didn’t seem appropriate for the scene (the tree house for one). The wheel search also seemed at times disconnected. When you figure out how to get a key down from high on the wall, you cannot collect the key immediately. The wheel opens and you have to find 3 different kinds of flowers before you can click on the key. In Treasure Seekers the wheel opens and you look for parts of the piece you need. That game made more sense to me.

Other than those minor quirks, the game is good, the story interesting and the search fun. I recommend casual gamers try this game. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 for an entertaining time.

Features of A Gypsy’s Tale: The Tower of Secrets:
-30 Different Environments
-Interesting Tale
-Puzzles and Hidden Objects

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

It seems like there are a lot of new and different match 3 games lately. Hey, I’m not complaining. In fact I’m happy about it after going through a whole slew of hidden object plays. Mac game Geisha – The Secret Garden is one of those new types of match 3 games. It took me awhile before I got used to the play, but it was well worth the effort to learn this new game.

Natsumi a geisha will guide you through 4 seasons of play while you create a beautiful zen garden. The game play is different from any match 3 I have come across. In order to make matches of 3 or more like items, you slide the mahjong like tiles horizontally and cannot move up and down. As a match 3 player this is frustrating at first because you feel like your hands are tied, but you learn to think differently and play this unique and fun game in just a few short levels. In addition to making the matches either vertically or horizontally, there are goals you must meet to complete a level. They are located at the bottom right of the screen. You can also slide a tile across more than one tile. The tiles also replenish slowly moving up the board and not down. You must keep making matches so the tiles do not reach the top of the screen. If there is a gap or empty space a tile can fall down the open slot.

There’s plenty of time to strategize your next move even with the timed mode, but if you want to really relax, try the untimed. Some levels will throw blocks like snow, ice and stone at you and will not let you slide your tiles. Most of the time you have to make matches below these blocks and cause them to break apart so you can continue with your sliding, but snow is different you must click on it several times to make it melt away. When you create a chain of 3 or more you create magic and produce helps. They are Steel, Fire, Water and Wizard. They will clear from 1 to many tiles. Money will be collected from making matches with colored circular icons. The coins will earn you stars and the stars will unlock the colorful dragons. The first dragon will cost you 20 stars. The coins will buy you the items needed for your beautiful zen garden.

The garden you create will start out very sparse and can grow into a amazing and gorgeous place. You can upgrade your items 3 times, move items around or delete things. I’ve seen some pretty awesome gardens made. Mine not so much but that play isn’t really my thing, but I appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the scene when done right. You’ll also get a fantastic wallpaper to use on your computer.
I eventually enjoyed playing this new type of match 3 game. I said eventually because it took a few levels before I got comfortable with the sliding aspect of it. It is addictive and fun so try it out.

Features of Geisha – The Secret Garden:
-80 Levels of Matching Fun
-16 Bonus Levels
-The Secret Garden

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A string of murders in the French Quarters in New Orleans, Louisiana does not sound very original since it’s been done before and it’s a mysterious place with many unusual stories, but throw in the death of the son of the palm reader who believes there’s more to it than what meets the eye, sightings of the paranormal kind and a weird cult trying to revive the Crescent Snake and you have a set up for an exciting Mac Hidden Object Adventure game.

Calvin Laveaux, student at Steinbeck University, is one of the many victims of a mysterious murder. He has a strange, glowing tattoo that may lead to some answers and possibly the killer or killers. His mother is convinced, and for good reason, there is dark magic behind his demise and she wants you to help investigate this case. You play as a Paranormal Crime Investigator brought in by the New Orleans police to help solve the case.

You search the streets of this famous town and when your cursor changes to a hand, you can interact with the object. If something glows or has a question mark on it, you can place it in the PCI, a case at the lower right of the screen, to analyze the item. Doing so you’ll come across a puzzle or mini game to solve like clicking on the correct color atom to fill vials to your left or match 2 identical objects. This case will also have information for you. The mini games are familiar and not difficult to complete, however, the hidden object games will take time to figure out where some of the items are placed due to size or partial hidden parts. The hint button is very useful in this game and it does recharge quickly. The items you need to find are listed at the bottom of the screen and the objects written in green will need some interaction before you can click on it. With the Collector’s Edition there is an in-game strategy guide to help you if you need it.

Your search will be hampered by a ghost-like figure that will place obstacles in your path and threaten you. Luckily, this will involve a puzzle to solve. You can skip the mini game if you choose after waiting only a short time, but I suggest you try them because most are easily solvable. Unfortunately this game is fairly short even with the bonus chapter. Depending on your expertise you can finish this game in a matter of hours with another hour for the extra bonus.

This is the first game that I’ve come across that asks you to keep the sound on during the game. There is no voice acting but the music is good. The artwork is fantastic with the wraithlike characters, voodoo items and quirky characters. There’s a lot of HOGs for fans of that type of play. I liked Paranormal Crime Investigations: Brotherhood of the Crescent Snake Collector’s Edition and gave it a 3.5 out of 5. However, can someone tell developers to shorten their titles?

Features of Paranormal Crime Investigations: Brotherhood of the Crescent Snake Collector’s Edition:
-Eerie Tale of the Supernatural
-Hidden Object and Mini Games
-Good Artwork and Music
-Collector’s Edition: Wallpaper, Sound Track, Bonus Chapter, Strategy Guide

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Nothing is as it seems in Mac hidden object game The Conjurer. The great Conjurer, the greatest magician in the world, has suffered 3 serious accidents during his magic acts. Why? This amazing performer will be retiring and has invited several worthy magicians to his spacious medieval castle to demonstrate their greatest skill, cunning and artistry. The Conjurer is willing to give the winner of this competition access to the Hall of Secrets. With this knowledge, they too will become the world’s greatest magician.

You find in the course of the play that the great Conjurer is suspicious of all his invited guests. For each visiting magician there are several locations you must search for clues and objects. The hidden object play is similar to other games, but there is one exception. There is a stage to search and find different items, then you must set up the magician’s props and finally the magician will perform their magic act. This is an interesting and different part of the usual hidden object plays. Other locations may be the bedroom, bathroom or any other room they may have entered in the castle. If you cannot find the object listed, you can click on the crystal ball for assistance. There are unlimited hints through the use of the ball, but you may have to wait a few moments after you click on it. For each magician there is 1 super hint to use where it will give you the exact location of an object.

The tale of the Conjurer is complex with the involvement of Adelaide a love interest for more than 1 magician. In addition, the “accidents” may have been planned to injure and get rid of the master. He also keeps a journal written in invisible ink to help you in your search for clues. Are the intentions of the Conjurer as it seems or does he have other motives?

This game is intense with a Victorian feel with appropriate outfits and items throughout the castle. Not only did I like the hidden object play, I also enjoyed the incredible magic acts of each magician.

Features of The Conjurer:
-Victorian Era
-Amazing Magic
-Ten Master Illusionists
-Nothing is as it seems

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Mac Hidden Object Adventure game Secrets of the Dragon Wheel is a new game starring Epiphany O’Day (must be a daughter of a movie star with that name), a researcher fired from the University for her outlandish study of the Dragon Wheel. To the upper crust of the academia society, there is no such thing as a Dragon Wheel and anyone associated with that project is foolish and unworthy of their time.

The unbelievable story of a mysterious wheel, although typical of a lot of these games, is voiced by Epiphany throughout the game. She must prove the existence of this relic to clear her name. She is on a train on her way to see her mentor, Professor Lunn, when someone gets murdered and she sees the murderer. She cannot wait around for the police or the murderer will get away. Of course, this is a suspicious move on her part and the police may suspect her as the murderer. She’ll deal with it later. Throughout her adventure you will be playing as Epiphany and will encounter many hidden object games and other puzzles. The sparkles will direct you to hidden object games where you will need to click on the items listed at the bottom of the screen. The games are all very straightforward except the dark areas of the screen where you cannot make out the object. It is easier to just click on the dark and questionable areas to find the items. The hint button is extremely helpful with a fast recharging time. After finishing the HOG, you will get 1 or more items to put in your inventory to use later in the game. Be sure to click on these items to place them in your inventory. This is a little annoying but it’s set up like this. The other puzzles will be displayed when your cursor changes to a magnifying glass. The puzzles are your standard connect the lines, take fuses out of a firecracker vending machine, buy train tickets, place the right shaped peg in its proper place and travel through a dark maze to get to the other side.

Epiphany’s mentor is murdered by the same man she saw escaping the train, and now her trail leaves 2 murdered men. Before the professor died he told her to contact Chang at the bazaar for help. Chang turns out to be a strange, little wrinkled man in a birdcage who, after verifying she is who she claims to be, gives her advice and information on how to retrieve the Dragon Wheel before anyone else.

The story is bizarre but works to solve many puzzles and gets clues in order to solve the mystery of the Dragon Wheel. The game is solid with good artwork and sound effects. When you are on the train you hear noises as if you are traveling on a train. I give it a 3 out of 5 for a good hidden object adventure game.

Features of Secrets of the Dragon Wheel:
-Unusual, Exotic Tale with Creepy Characters
-Many Hidden Object Games and Puzzles
-Bonus Items

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

A simple request from her aunt to pick up her purse in her apartment turns into a vast adventure in Mac hidden object game Brunhilda and the Dark Crystal. Brunhilda, not a particularly popular name in the United States, is of German origin and used more in Poland and areas near there. Brunhilda in this game is not like the stocky witch in the cartoon series. This Brunhilda is blonde, cute and brave. She calmly confronts the king of the rats and takes potions to shrink her size.

The story begins in a far away land where the dragons and men lived in harmony. This idyllic land is now in danger of inevitable doom. The magic they historically treasured will disappear forever if something is not done. The king ordered all magic to be stored in a dark crystal in hopes that some day a hero from another world will save them. This brings us back to Brunhilda a seemingly normal young woman doing her aunt a favor. She goes to the apartment and finds a demon that takes her to another realm. Gruber the demon will assist you in your adventure to find the broken shards of the dark crystal to restore the magic and fight off the evil.

The main play is to collect different objects usually at the request of someone you need to help you out. You can select from 2 modes. Casual has hints and skip buttons and they will recharge at normal speed. Objects of interest are highlighted. The Adventure mode the buttons take twice as long to recharge and rarely will objects be highlighted. The magical quest cards can be found at the bottom of the screen. It will give you the items you will need to find. To get into small spaces you must make a magic elixir to shrink Brunhilda to enter the rat door. Once small she encounters many rats who will do her a favor if she does one for them such as collecting all the fireworks in the village, get all the cheese, click on parts for a machine, get rid of all the rat traps and lots more. You may need to go back and forth from the rat village to the lobby of the building and back again. Luckily Brunhilda found a shortcut through the rat village to the king’s palace.

There are mini games you can play or skip such as catching drops of blue potion to make magic elixirs. Another is to pick out magical runes from a book. The mini puzzles do get progressively harder as the levels increase but you can skip them if you wish. However, skipping the puzzles will not unlock bonus mini games. The games involve telekinesis, alchemy, telepathy and wizardry. All the puzzles are related to the story and you are not aimlessly looking for a pizza cutter, battery or bowtie like some other HOGs.

There are 10 chapters to take you on an incredible adventure. You will meet many unusual things like dragons, part human part machine, rats that talk, birds, and much, much more. The story will unfold with Brunhilda talking to people or things that will help her in her quests. There are easter eggs to find so be sure to click on the fairies.

Brunhilda and the Dark Crystal is a different sort of HOG since you are finding things on quests, going back and forth through many rooms and areas and even shrinking down to mouse size. The story is intriguing even though it sounds like something you heard before but is presented in such a great way with the voice acting and gorgeous, detailed and creative artwork. The dialog between Brunhilda, Gruber and others are humorous and funny. The only thing I can say I thought was too much is the fact you have to go back and forth from one spot to another and back again. A small complaint considering the awesome job the developers did in this interesting and fun hidden object game with great details in their characters, words and story.

Features of Brunhilda and The Dark Crystals:
-Engaging Story
-Fantastic Artwork and Mysterious Music
-10 Chapters of Fun HOG Plays

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The title, Smiling Pasta, reminds me of the pasta or cracker with the smiley face on it. It’s also a name of a Taiwanese soap opera. In any event, Mac game Smiling Pasta is a time management and match 3 pastime. Since we have been doing a lot of Hidden Object Adventures, I thought this would be a great break.

The story begins with Uncle Leo, the chef, leaving his restaurant, Smiling Pasta, to go to Italy. No reason, he just upped and left the café to Daisy the assistant chef. His confidence in her is incredible but that’s life and video games. Daisy must ready herself for the Best Restaurant Award by working hard and fast to prove she can do it.

The game is to serve customers what they want to eat. In order to make the pasta of choice, you must match 3 or more of the ingredients needed for the meal at the screen to the right. Match 3 or more tomatoes, meat, cheese, chicken and pasta. Each time an ingredient is matched and is needed for the dish, it will fly to the customer’s list of supplies. You’ll be getting helps like the fire when you make 4 matches that will clear (burn) several of the ingredients at once when you click on it. The star can swap with any of the ingredients but you need to make 5 matches. Once all the ingredients are met, the dish is finished and you click on the dish to serve the customer. Just be sure to serve your guests as fast as you can before they lose their patience (represented by the 5 hearts above their heads). You’ll be able to appease them by clicking on the candy dish at your lower right or if you have a coffee machine, give them a cup by clicking on the cup and then the diner. The happier customer will pay more. The money can be used at the Beach Mall for recipes and treats.

If you get only 1 customer at a time, it would be too easy, so you will be getting a multiple of guests to serve, some more patient than others. Once a chair is vacated, another customer will fill the seat. There are 2 modes of play in this game, but you have to find it first. It’s under the Option button. You can choose Normal or Easy. Normal for the casual gamer is fairly easy so this game may not be for the experienced sim time management player needing a challenge, but for the rest of us, this is fast enough. The match 3 game is not much of a challenge either but at least for novices and young kids, you have the Easy mode to switch to if you need.

All in all this game may not satisfy the sim time management fans or the match 3 fans. This hybrid didn’t have the challenge in either game and the cursor slowed down a bit and made matches difficult to make. The artwork is okay, but Daisy did look a little crossed-eyed in the opening sequence. The music started the game with a happy and upbeat tune but later got a little annoying even though they changed up the jingle. Under Options you can adjust the sound. Try it out and see what you think. I give it a 2.5 out of 5. Do you really want your pasta to smile at you?

Features of Smiling Pasta:
-Sim Time Management and Match 3 game
-7 Locations with 10 Levels Each
-Beach Mall for Shopping

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

So you are a brave prince on your way to marry your beautiful princess when an evil, ugly witch stops all your future endeavors. Who knows why someone would curse your beloved and the castle in order to stop you from marrying? Maybe she is interested in you and wants to be your mate? In any event, you are not going to take it anymore and you go to the dragon’s lair to see if they could help you defeat the wicked witch. Who knew dragons are so helpful? It is the year of the dragon so maybe they are willing to assist you in your quest to recover your princess.

Before the dragon can help you with this, you must help the dragons raise their own “clutch”. You take on this task by clicking repeatedly on an egg to hatch, when the adorable baby dragon emerges, you must take care of it by feeding and collecting their gems. Yes, baby dragons poop out jewels. Hooray! No dirty diapers to change. Click on the gem to collect because the main dragon will give you your goals to collect a number of jewels. These gems can, in turn, be forged into magical jewelry (necklaces, rings) to sell for gold dragon coins.

The progress quest is at the upper right of the screen along with the Start of Day button. You use the button to start each day of dragon duties. The screen will darken when you day is almost over. However, before you start the day, be sure you have filled your food rack, forged your jewels, and other preparatory business you must deal with. Once you begin your day you will be kept busy feeding the babies by clicking on them when you see the bubble with the drumsticks. Collect their gems by clicking and fight off the intruders. These so called heroes will enter your precious nursery to create havoc and steal your wards. Just click on the enemy and see their clothes fly off them one by one. Once they are in their undies, they will escape your cave as fast as they came into it. But, wait. They will leave blue orbs of hero essence for you to collect. Once again click on these because they’ll come in handy later in the game.

As these sim breeding management games tend to do, they increase your duties many folds. However, you with your amazing time management skills will be able to make a lot of money raising baby dragons. Hire trolls, goblins and imps to help you with your many tasks including protecting your growing dragons, feeding and collecting the gems.

Mac sim time management game Dragon Keeper is a fun and entertaining game to while away the day. It could have been longer with different types of dragons but that may be for the next version. They produce different colors and shapes of gems, but all in all it’s basically the same. There are only 4 chapters with 3 types of dragons per chapter. The dragons and characters are adorable, the artwork good and the music is cute and light making for a great time all around. So brave prince, rescue your fair maiden and raise your dragons.

Features of Dragon Keeper:
-Tale of Good versus Evil
-Sim Breeding Management Game
-Dragons, Gems and More

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Casual or Advanced, anyone will be engaged in searching for the answers in this mysterious adventure with Nelly and Tom, sister and brother investigating team. In this third installment, these siblings go after the supernatural from ghosts, yeti, monsters to mummies while traveling the world from Egypt, Siberia, England, Germany to France. Go with these 2 and uncover the mystery behind the stolen Ruby Heart.

Choose your level of expertise: Casual mode will give you sparkles where there are interactive areas to find clues and faster recharging hint and skip (for puzzles) buttons. In the Advanced mode you are challenged to find all the areas of interest without help and the buttons are slower to recharge. The story begins with the Ruby Heart being stolen from a impenetrable casing, however it was broken into and the gem gone. What inhuman creature took the ruby? Reading the missing case in the newspaper, Tom and Nelly are interested in finding the stone. Hearing about the original owner of the gem, the two venture out to Caldwold Manor in England to talk to the owner and his ancestor, a sad ghost. You play as one or both of the siblings searching each room for clues and information. You can speak to humans and the paranormal beings to get information. You will also need to complete tasks for them before they can help you. The ghost is unhappy and you must discover what will make him content again. In addition to hidden object games, puzzles, you will encounter places where the cursor changes to a hand. Click on that spot and a wheel will open where you must find parts to complete the item for later use. For example, you will need to find a toy mouse to distract a cat, but when you find the item, you need to find parts to complete the toy. The parts will be scattered around the room or in another location and bring it back to the wheel to complete. This game is not dominated by hidden object games but is balanced with other puzzles like jigsaws, logic and shapes.

There’s so many places Nelly and Tom need to investigate they split up and go separate routes and get back together at other locations. Each area is different and you are meeting a variety of people and non-people to keep your interest up in this game.

Some of the downside of the game is the not so helpful hint button (of course, this does not refer to the experts, only the novice players). Trying to appease ghosts and other paranormal creatures may not be your cup of tea but it continues the game with more puzzles.

The upside is that this game is fun with great artwork and appropriate music. It is a period piece set in the 1930’s. Nelly is down to earth while Tom is critical but still a character, and both are a version of Nancy Drew and a Hardy boy. Have a great time finding the Ruby Heart in this amusing Hidden Object Adventure.

Features of Treasure Seekers: Follow the Ghosts:
-Find the Ruby Heart
-Puzzles and Hidden Object Games
-Great Artwork and Music

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Outside of Paris there is a town where something horrible is happening to everyone in its border. Could this unspeakable nightmare occur and who is behind it all? It is up to you as an inspector to solve this heinous act and save the people.

However, before you can get to the village, guards stop you from entering. In this point and click adventure you go about searching for clues and answers when you come across a woman near the gate who escaped the curse but her daughter and nanny are still trapped in the city. She implores you to find them, but before you can answer a dark cloud swoops down over the guards killing all the men. Upon investigating the cause of death, you find all the soldiers had aged into old wrinkled men. Why do you hear music coming from the other side of the bridge? What could have caused such a horrendous tragedy?

Begin by choosing your level of expertise in these hidden object adventure. Regular mode will give you faster recharging for hint and skip buttons and will give you sparkles for you to investigate further. These sparkles will lead you to hidden object games or something to investigate and pick up. When the cursor turns into a hand, you can pick up the object. The cursor will turn into a spinning globe to navigate you to another location.

In the hidden object games the list of items you need to find are at the bottom of the screen. Any item you need to interact with before you can click on it is outlined in orange. For the most part the items are appropriate to the period and area. Most of the objects are easily spotted but if you need help, there is a hint button at the lower right.

Go from location to location searching for objects and clues you will need to use in later puzzles. You will find many posters, news items and notes giving you information to further your cause. You may need to go back to an area to pick up more items or find another hidden object game. There are many places, both indoors and out, where you will need to put back pieces of a plaque, sign, door lock and more to proceed with this game. The mini and hidden object games with the many puzzles will draw you into this story of death and revenge.

Maestro: Music of Death is an interesting tale with superb artwork and appropriate music. Since music is part of this story, you will find many puzzles with a music theme. If you are a hidden object, point and click player, this is one game you will not want to miss. If you are an experienced player, try the Expert mode to challenge yourself. If not, the Regular mode is just as fun. The only problem I have with this game is when I went too far down the screen with my cursor, the menu pops up making your adventure a little frustrating. Other than that, it is a great game with a balanced HOGs, puzzles to point and click adventure.

Features of Maestro: Music of Death:
-Mysterious, Deathly Tale
-Hidden Object Games, Puzzles and More
-Beautiful Artwork and Great Music

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A great drought is forcing you and your tribe to leave your beloved homeland. The Elders consult the Shaman and is told the bones have the answer. It is to leave this land and start over somewhere else. Your tribe must travel across the ocean to the land of Kalevala. Heroes of Kalevala is a match 3 and build a village simulation game. The Kalevala is a Finnish national epic work from ancient oral poetry, this mac game is based on this important piece of literature.

The match 3 part of the game is to swap items to make matches of 3 or more of the same objects to clear. Making matches over the yellow tiles will change them to blue. When all the yellow tiles are gone, then the level is complete. However, you must do so before the evil crow sent by the wicked witch Louhi flying the perimeter of the puzzle burns the entire board forcing you to start again. The puzzles are easy for a few levels and will begin to increase in difficulty and blocks like the icy tiles or double locked chains as you go higher. When you make matches of 4 or more, you will get bonuses like bombs to clear your tiles. You have the powerful Finnish gods to help you fight off the malicious blocks to your game. Il Marinen will throw fiery hammers that incinerate tiles and the god of sea, Ahti, will raise the water to flood and take away tiles. More helps will be unlocked as you advance in the play. At the beginning of each level you choose which god you would like to help you, but be sure to make the right choice for an ultimate experience.

The match 3 games will earn you cash to help build a town. The faster you complete the puzzles, the more money you will get. Once you get some structures up, it will attract people to your village. The people themselves will let you know what they want and what will make them happy. You use the shop to buy houses, trees and other things for survival and happiness. After building your first village, you move on to build more towns. There are medals you win for accomplishing different things.

Heroes of Kalevala has a lot to do from its match 3 with loads of bonuses to the sim play and additionally the interesting tale about Louhi, her crows and the ancient gods. The artwork is great especially the beginning of the story and the beautiful backdrops, and the music are interesting. There’s hours of playability and fun for all ages. Just keep in mind that the levels are challenging after about a dozen puzzles. Give this game a try and have an entertaining time.

Features of Heroes of Kalevala:
-Over 140 Levels
-Match 3 and Sim Plays
-Based on Oral Finnish Poetry

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I didn’t get this review out in time for Halloween but it’s still a fun Mac match 3 and simulation game to play any time of the year. It’s very similar to their Fishdom – Frosty Splash without the Santa theme and with lively ghostly items instead.

Like in the Frosty game you shop for your fish tank with a Halloween theme. In addition you must keep your fish happy by buying comfort or beauty items or other fish. Click on the Shop button and then choose from Fish, Beauty and Comfort. The Fish tab will display a variety of different sea creatures to choose from, Beauty will have plants and Comfort has different water cleaning devices. Of course, all these items cost a lot of money and in order to purchase these great things, you must make cash. This is where the match 3 games come in.

The match 3 levels have sea and Halloween related items to match. You swap 2 items to line up either horizontally or vertically 3 of the same objects. When this is done, it will clear and more items will fall into place from above. You must make matches over the gold tiles to destroy and when you get rid of all the gold tiles, you win the level. If you make your matches quickly, you will win more money. There are blocks to impede your movements like chained items (single or double) where you must make matches with them to clear. The double chains you must make 2 matches to destroy. Even with the many block different blocks, there are as many helps to aid you in your quest to finish the level. Making matches of 5 items or more will get you bombs, firecrackers, lightning and more. Also look for the shape of the match boards because they are in forms of spiders or other things.

Fishdom – Spooky Splash has all the fun elements of the other Fishdom match plays with a Halloween theme. If the relaxed mode is too easy for you, try it timed to challenge your match 3 skills. Either way the game is great fun and should be enjoyed by children and casual gamers. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 for an entertaining play. Try it if you dare. Boo!

Features of Fishdom – Spooky Splash:
-Halloween Theme
-Lots of Match 3 Levels
-Fish Tank to Decorate

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Yes, Christmas is over and the memories of the season are fading quickly, however, the magic of the spirit lives on throughout the year. Especially if you play this Hidden Object Adventure Christmas Tales: Fellina’s Journey. Keep the magic going by playing this enchanting game full of puzzles.

This game is mostly a hidden object game with some puzzles to solve and potions to create. The HOGs are fairly simple but with such good artwork, it’s fun to explore all the various items scattered through the scene. The objects you need to find are listed at the bottom of the screen. The items in blue are in zoomed areas where when you move your cursor over it will change to an eye to have a closer look, and the items in this area will turn to white so you know which things to look for. This makes searching a little easier. The other part of the game is talking to various characters like the elves and others who will ask you to do different tasks before going on. Your main task is to save Santa who is now in deep freeze because the Ice Elf in his evil ways put the poor guy under ice. The only one who can save him is Fellina because she is good and pure of heart with no bad things against her. You play as Fellina when Santa’s elves come and get you from your bedroom to the North Pole, but before you depart, you must find Fellina's clothes. If you are a novice, play the casual mode with its fast charging hints and skip buttons. In addition, you’ll see a sparkle when you need to investigate further. All those who are looking for a challenge should play the expert mode.

The mood of this game, the beautiful artwork, the simple but cute story and the classic music like the Nutcracker Suite bring a superb rating. However, there are many problems like strange voiced parts at the beginning. It’s hard to make out and it sounds foreign but from where? Also the writing is a little stiff and the items are a little off. With that said, this game is not perfect but it has charm, lots of HOGs and besides, you get to save Santa. I give it a 3 out of 5 for all of the above.

Features of Christmas Tales: Fellina’s Journey:

-Fantastic Adventure
-Loads of Hidden Object Games
-Great Artwork and Classic Music

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars