Posts Tagged ‘strategy’

Chocolate Castle Review

Puzzle | Posted by Meg
Jul 21 2010

chocolatecastle2

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The children’s theme, cute artwork, and the name of Mac game Chocolate Castle are very deceptive. This game appears to be a colorful, simple and fun puzzle for kids, but once you get into it, you realize that it’s a complicated strategy driven mind workout. It draws you in by its initial simplicity and keeps you engaged with its intellectual play.

The game has 4 types of animals and 4 different flavors of chocolate to be eaten by the retro looking, cute characters. To play, you click and drag the same color chocolate pieces to form a larger and connected one, then click and drag the same color animal (pig, bear, rabbit and dog) to the chocolate to be eaten. After successful completion, the animal and chocolate will disappear. Sounds easy enough, but is it?

There are many obstacles or challenges to this game. Once the same color chocolate pieces are together, they cannot be separated. However, if you do make a mistake, by clicking undo or redo or enter will allow you to do a do over. Walls cannot be moved, blue blocks can be moved but do not stick together, pink magic blocks can be moved once before they turn into walls, and white ice cubes once moved in one direction keeps sliding until it hits something. The Turkish Delight can be eaten and will explode everything in 8 surrounding blocks. The snakes do not do much, but you can drag their head around the game board. They cannot move backwards and will break in 2 by using a Turkish Delight.

There are 3 modes of play: easy, medium and hard. Each mode has 40 rooms to devour for a total of 120 puzzles. The easy mode Choc Castlewill be suitable for young children, and I think they will be happy playing this game. The rest of the puzzles, medium and hard levels, are aimed towards older kids and adults. Solutions can be saved, and you can design and play your own creations.

Chocolate Castle is a blend of the old time board game Rush Hour (get the red, plastic car across the board with different size cars and trucks blocking your passage) , and Tetris (the now famous computer game with different shaped objects floating down to fill the appropriate space). The time just flies by when you are thinking up the possible answer to the dilemma of completing the puzzle in an orderly manner. This game is for anyone who loves to solve difficult puzzles or just want to have a fun and relaxed time playing some of the less challenging games and listening to appropriate arcade-like music. Take the time to enjoy Chocolate Castle and its many rooms.

Features of Chocolate Castle:
-3 modes (easy, medium and hard)
-Save solutions
-120 puzzles
-Retro graphics
-Design your own puzzles
-Turkish Delight

Rating: ★★★★☆

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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.

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G2: Geeks Unleashed Review

Match, Puzzle | Posted by Meg
Jan 11 2010

geeks-unleashed

I guess it was the title that drew me to this Mac game Geeks Unleashed. I thought I better check it out and found a challenging strategy puzzle augmented with really geeky cartoon characters.

You initially choose your main character and the story begins with your person (a geek type) who loses an auction bid on a communication device used by Commander Info in episode 64 of Star Quest series. Everyone has an acquaintance, relative, co-worker or best friend like that. If you don’t, then it’s you. Your character finds a Collectors’ Convention and knows that there will be the item she wants there.

However, before she can purchase the device she is thwarted by a geek dressed as a wizard. She must play against the geeks to reach her ultimate purchase. The main game is a strategy puzzle. She is to choose items from the highlighted row or column to fill her own Geek-o-Meter by completing sets of items. She and her opponent take turns filling their own boards. If she completes a set and on her next turn must pick the same object in the set, she must start that set over again. The items without numbers or a star is a single item. If there are numbers listed, then she gets that numbered amount on her board. If there is a star, it fills your set. Whoever finishes their sets first is the winner. Just remember the geeks have more experience playing these games than she does so it isn’t always easy to beat the geek. The red squared item is a block and should be avoided if possible. Your character must go from geek to geek to ultimately finish the game and unlock the prize.

There are 3 modes of play to this Mac game: Story, Quick Play or 2 Player Mode. The Story lets you play against a geek, and the geek constantly makes comments related to science fiction, dungeons and dragons and other favorite geek topics. This is a little annoying and it slows down the play. The Quick play eliminates the bubble talk, but stay away from choosing Precious as an opponent. She makes kissing sounds when choosing her items-more than annoying; it’s just creepy. Some of the other characters are locked and cannot be accessed until you complete more levels. The 2-player mode lets you play against another person and not a computerized geek. Of course, if your friend is a geek, you might get beat.

There are mini puzzles interspersed throughout the game. One is the memory game where you click on 2 squares to match them, and another is a pachinko type play where you drop a ball down a pegged board.

The main game is challenging but you can outsmart some of the geeks. Even though the game looks basic and easy, it is not. The mini puzzles are a welcome break from playing against the geeks, and the goofy characters are amusing and funny. If you like a difficult but fun play, this Mac game is worth trying out.

Features of Geeks Unleashed:
-Funny Storyline
-3 Modes of Play including 2 Player Mode
-Wheel of Mini Puzzle

Rating: ★★★☆☆

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