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Atoms Puzzle is a brainteaser for your inner scientist
For everyone's inner scientist (or for those of us who have a soft spot for high school physics), Atoms Puzzle just might be the free-time iPhone indulgence. Optimized for iPhone 5 but available universally, and requiring iOS 4.3 or later, Atoms is a streamlined, brain-stretching way to pass an afternoon. The game builds on basic scientific observation to draw out the objective, and it's even in the pop-up directions: Larger atoms convert smaller atoms within their vicinity to the larger's composition and structure. However, one need not have the barest acquaintance with atomic theory to play a successful level of this puzzle. Building on the conversion idea, players are to take a varying number of differently-sized atoms (which are red) and convert a stationary pattern of other atoms (colored green) to the first group's color. This sounds simple enough, but the player cannot merely place the red atoms in any lackadaisical formation. Depending on the size of the both color atoms, the green ones may only shrink in size, not being converted completely. But this shrinking can be used to one's advantage, as this makes it easier to convert the green atoms. The beginning player is given thirty levels of increasing difficulty, though there are a total of 174. After the thirty have been mastered (which is very doable for the reasonably determined player, as I did it within probably less than an hour), the player has the option of paying an in-app fee of US0.99 to unlock a new "pack" of levels (the others can be unlocked for free after purchase), but retrying the first thirty is entertaining for the short of cash! As players complete levels they are greeted with differing affirmative phrases ("Nice work!" "Outstanding!" "Fantastic!" and so on). This may seem like a small thing, but the fact that it was not some immobile stock phrase was refreshing and signified attentiveness on the part of the developer. The player also has the option of sharing the completed puzzle to Facebook. This communal aspect of the game also shows up in its option of many two-player levels. Users can also play levels by challenge, where they can create their own red atoms to try and solve the puzzle, while paired against the best score of other players. They can also go back and try to solve in fewer atoms as well. A nice aesthetic feature of the entire game is that players are not restricted to only red and green atoms, but can mix and match several different colors as many times as they like. Over the course of playing mine, I switched colors several times (once or twice in the same level just for fun), but all of the colors work well together. Another thing must be said about the graphics, and that is their elegant simplicity. While the game is very streamlined and simple, it is far from ugly. Clearly, time and care went into creating a game arena that was pleasing to look at but which was free of unnecessary frills and distractions. One can concentrate on the gameplay while not being jarred by elementary graphics or loud colors. The other helpful feature of the game is the redo function, where stuck players may undo all of their choices and go back to the level's beginning I found this trick invaluable, especially when I got hopelessly entangled on later levels (cough, sixteen, cough). Still, the puzzles are hardly infuriating or frustrating, and a player willing to expend the necessary thought and observation of detail will find solutions (likely one of several possible, including at least one which does not require use of all the atoms) relatively quickly. Science was probably one of my worst subjects in school, second only to math. I remember basically nothing from any of the science courses I took in high school or college. But even though this game is based on a basic fact of physics (which, if I ever learned it, it has long since been forgotten), I had no trouble whatsoever connecting intellectually and emotionally with the app. I was invested in it, eager to find out how to solve each puzzle, and found it so entertaining I thought nothing of replaying the same levels over a second time. I really have no constrictive criticism of Atoms Puzzle, and would be delighted to find more games in the future from its developer.
Wordrix is a fun puzzle, but a puzzling game
Wordrix is available for iPhone and iPad, optimized for iPhone 5, requiring iOS 6 or later. A kind of Scrabble for the iPhone lover, it is free but features an in-app store where the user can purchase coins to unlock different features (base pack starting at US0.99). This is a fun pastime that will predominately appeal to the casual gamer, but its increasing complexity will also find a niche among experienced and determined gamers. However, there are a number of oddities that may give players of all levels pause. Meant to appeal to lovers of word games and puzzles, Wordrix features 72 levels of increasing and diverse challenges, divided into different chapters. Players must create words by dragging their finger across lettered tiles. Only connecting tiles can be used, and each letter is assigned a particular numerical point value. The player is supposed to score a certain number of points per level, and words should be chosen wisely, as the number of moves per level are limited. In addition to rationing movements, players must also incorporate various challenges into game play, such as using all of the tiles covered by split ink. Wordrix also features "powerups," including the ability to erase a tile (replaced with a new letter), swap any two tiles, and be shown a high-scoring word. Differently colored tiles feature bonuses, such as doubling or tripling the value of a letter or an entire word. Upon the completion of a level, the player will view a screen detailing the points they won, if the time limit had to be reached, and their all-time best word and score. Within 60 seconds I was able to score over 700 points and create a word worth 180 points ("freeze"). Within each level it is possible to win a bronze, silver, or gold trophy depending on how quickly the player wins the necessary number of points and in how many moves. Here, perhaps I could have been a little faster or a little more ingenious with my movements, as I only scored a bronze trophy. Players have the option of viewing each chapter's levels as a whole upon completion. The highest-attained trophy is displayed along with any specifics of the particular level, such as its move limit (shown in the lower right-hand corner) whether it involved inked tiles or was timed. Clicking non each book will show more details, as well as an option to replay the level. The iTunes description said the game was addicting, and that was certainly true! As a lover of words and language, I had to call upon both my extensive mental library and my powers of logic to figure out how to maneuver the highest-scoring words in sometimes very intricate ways. Still, despite the clever idea, attractive graphics, and streamlined interface, there were several issues which left me scratching my head. I did not expect the game to have an Oxford English Dictionary level of linguistic finesse, but some of its word choices puzzled me. For example, two-letter words such as "no," "is," or "on" are not allowed, but what I first assumed were proper names ("Ben," "Tom," and "Lea") were actually extremely obscure words. Another was a form of Japanese currency. This did not really hurt my overall gameplay, but the seeming randomness made the game exceptionally confusing and less fun. A far greater critique is the in-app store. While playing, I could not figure out why some of the powerups were being offered but were unusable. A closer look revealed the store was to purchase coins to use in the game to buy different features (including critical powerups). In fact, it was my lack of further powerups coupled with my unwillingness to shell out almost $3 for fake coins that made me stop the game after level 16. Making players pay good money for fake coins risks alienating players who appreciate the game's ingenuity and challenge, but are not committed enough to buy in-game coins. Overall, Wordirx is a neat little game, a brainteaser for the electronically literate. Its seemingly obscure word choices and its play-crushing requirement to spend real money in exchange for fake (but progression-necessitating) money make it a puzzle in ways I doubt the creator intended.
