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Watch a robot play Threes better than you can, live on Twitch
Threes is the adorable, addictive puzzler from Greg Wohlwend and Asher Vollmer, neither of whom are robots. Team Colorblind is the studio behind Aztez, the bloody beat-em-up in development for next-gen platforms and Steam, and no one in that group is a robot, either. Threesus, also known as Threepio, is a robot, and it's playing Threes live on game broadcasting platform Twitch right now - and it's doing a really good job. Matthew Wegner, one half of Team Colorblind, designed the robot playing Threes, while Way designer Walt Destler programmed the AI's logic. We enjoy Threes very much, but we've never reached the ridiculous numbers this robot can. A lot of other people haven't, either: Less than half of players have seen the tile 384, but Threepio has made it to the thousands. So far.
Threes is finally available for Android
Android owners, we'll understand if we don't see you for a few days -- Threes is now available for your phones and tablets. If you're not familiar with Threes, prepare to fall in love. The $1.99 game has been rocking the top of the iOS charts for weeks, but has been MIA for other platforms. The number-based puzzle has you match numbers together to create multiples of three. Sounds simple enough, but it's a bit more challenging than it looks -- especially when you start dealing with triple-digits. The game has an adorable soundtrack, beautiful design, and is more addictive than Flappy Bird. You can try your hand at the game (and start losing hours of your life) now, by heading over to Google Play.
Threes slides to Android, provides numbers about the numbers
The addictive, number-pushing puzzler Threes is now on Android, following its launch on iOS in February. It's currently 33.3 percent off on the Google Play Store, or $2, and it features all of the minimalistic design and party personalities of the original game. The port was handled by Hidden Variable Studios. Threes creators Greg Wohlwend and Asher Vollmer put together an infographic with some scintillating stats about the game in its first month on iOS, including the following information: Of all players, 47 percent are from the US, while 14 percent hail from China – but in China, only 2 percent of players paid for the game, putting the supposed piracy rate at 93 percent. Each day, Threes fans play a cumulative 11 years, for 327 years in total so far. The current high score is 808,989, held by chu121su12, and the highest tile players have reached is 6,144 (six players have seen it). Less than half of players have seen the 384 tile, while more than 70 percent have reached the tile previous, 192. Check out the full infographic after the break (click to enlarge). Wohlwend and Vollmer launched Threes on iOS first simply because of time and resources – and because of uncertainty about the game's success, Wohlwend told me. "Releasing on multiple platforms would be really overwhelming and take us too much extra time to coordinate," he said. "It seems like we could have in hindsight, but at the time just before release on iOS we were really uncertain about Threes. It could go either way and so we do all we can, when we can. I think this is the case for just about every indie developer out there. When you release a game, you have no real data about if those many months of work will connect with people. So staying in that vacuum, with an unreleased game, and assuming that it's worth it to port it to every platform, can be a huge trap." The team hasn't released information about how many players have gotten their paws on Threes, but given the new port and celebratory infographic, we're guessing Wohlwend and Vollmer's bets paid off. [Image: Greg Wohlwend]
Threes browser game will ensure you get absolutely no work done
Attention hungry iOS Threes addicts and sad Android users: You, too, can play Threes all day long with the browser game, designed specifically for those who want to spend hours avoiding actual work (or those who forgot their spectacles at home). Seriously, open this game only if you're OK with not doing anything productive the rest of the day. You already opened it? Oh, man. We warned you. Threes comes from artist Greg Wohlwend and designer Asher Vollmer, and it's a brilliantly simple premise: On a four-by-four grid, slide numbers together to create larger numbers, all divisible by three. One and two make three, three and three make six, six and six make twelve, and up from there, squishing together the same, three-based numbers to achieve the high score. The Threes browser game doesn't include the amiable chatter and unique personalities of each number featured in the iOS version, but it has the option to play the game's music. The big version comes from Angela Li, @angelaconstance on Twitter, and it's been approved by Wohlwend and Vollmer. "We're really flattered that a fan would take the time to put Threes in the browser like this," Wohlwend tells Joystiq. "It's a fan-made, free game that doesn't try to profit from our hard work on Threes. We're currently trying our hardest to stay focused on the next update as well as on porting to Android. While the obvious feelings of 'uh-oh, people really want to play Threes everywhere' kind of permeate our thoughts more and more, and it's hard to focus on what we need to because of that, we feel this homage was done with the right kind of heart." [Image: Angela Li]
Portabliss: Threes
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Imagine a house party in a minimalist, white studio apartment, where the easy, simple decor belies a mixed group of partygoers. For some, introductions and flirtations come effortlessly, while others are more shy. For all the many people, the atmosphere is one of constant effervescence and the collective always mingles as one, its faces and sounds shifting and changing as the night bubbles on. Now imagine that as an addictive puzzle game with numbers. Don't worry if you cannot, because Threes already exists. To casually glance at Threes, you wouldn't sense its foxy personality. In its heart of hearts, the iOS game is a matching puzzler with numbers, which sounds like the opposite of sexy. That said, even when you discount its style, Threes isn't a conventional matching game.
Daily App: Threes! is a tiny puzzler that'll convince you math is cool
Threes! is a game of threes that, appropriately, was made by three people -- Asher Vollmer, Greg Wohlwend and Jimmy Hinson. It's a sliding puzzle game that'll have you doing math and loving every minute of it. Threes! challenges you to slide numbers together in order to add them, but there is a catch -- the sum has to be a multiple of three. Lower numbers can be added together to equal three or six -- you can add 2 + 1 and 3 + 3, for example. Higher numbers can only be added in pairs -- you cannot add 6 + 3, but you can add 6 + 6 or 12 + 12. This is a sliding puzzle game, so the tiles shift when numbers are added together and combined into one tile. New numbers are also randomly added to the board and an indicator at the top of the screen shows you which number is coming up next. Your goal is to add as many numbers together as possible and keep the board from filling up. Once you can no longer add any numbers, the game is over. There's a twist in Threes! that makes it a bit more challenging than most puzzle games that I've played -- instead of sliding one square at a time, the squares slide in groups. When you try to add 3 + 3 at the bottom, you may also be adding a 2 + 1 at the top. It makes the strategy that much more difficult when your moves have multiple effects on the board. The trailer above shows the gameplay, but you really have to play it yourself to get the feel of it. Threes! is one of those games that is easy to pick up and addictively fun. The graphics are appropriate for the game and the music in the background is just perfect -- it's catchy enough that you hear it, but subtle enough that you don't focus on it. There are also voiceovers that provide the tiles with some character -- literally. Each block has a personality with a small face and a tiny voice that responds when you touch it. Threes! is available in the App Store for US$1.99 and is worth every penny. Puzzle fans should just go and buy it now. You won't regret it. A quick note for parents who are buying it for kids. Threes! would be an enjoyable game, but it's not meant for the younger set. The app has a prominent tweet button, an easily accessible credit screen with links to the developer's Twitter accounts and an App Store link for the developer's other game.
Indie puzzler Threes comes to iOS at 33% off, naturally
Today marks the debut of Threes, a new iOS puzzle game that asks players to combine adorably anthropomorphic numbers into even larger, potentially cuter numbers. Developed by Ridiculous Fishing artist Greg Wohlwend and Asher Vollmer, formerly a designer at thatgamecompany, Threes was built from the ground-up with accessibility in mind. "Threes is a game anyone can play anywhere," Wohlwend told us in an interview last month. "It's the first game I've ever made that didn't rely at least partially on reflexes in some way. It's purely turn-based and rewards a lot of thought between each move." Vollmer added, "It can be played for ten seconds or two hours at a time. There's no hidden or memory-based information, which means it can be picked up at any point in the game. The difficulty of the puzzle always keeps up with the skill level of the player." To celebrate the game's launch, Threes has been marked down to $2, or by 33.3 percent, a figure that is both numerically apropos and only available for a limited time. [Image: Sirvo LLC]
Addictive iOS puzzling comes in 'Threes'
Threes, due out on February 6, is an addictive little iOS puzzler from Ridiculous Fishing artist Greg Wohlwend and former thatgamecompany designer Asher Vollmer, both of whom collaborated on Puzzlejuice back in 2012. It's another tile-based puzzle game, asking players to squish numbers together across a 4-by-4 grid to make larger and larger numbers, each divisible by three. The numbers themselves have personalities and backstories, and even voices, some of which are provided by fellow indie developers. It's surprisingly adorable, for a game starring numbers. "Threes is a game anyone can play anywhere," Wohlwend tells Joystiq. "It's the first game I've ever made that didn't rely at least partially on reflexes in some way. It's purely turn-based and rewards a lot of thought between each move. Those aspects will make for a puzzle that'll live in your pocket forever." Vollmer and Wohlwend have found a sweet spot in mobile gaming, offering customizable challenges for players of all ranges, Vollmer says: "Just a quick glance at the app store charts will show you how popular puzzle games are .... I kept the idea of how gigantic and diverse the audience is in the forefront of my mind while designing Threes. It can be played for ten seconds or two hours at a time. There's no hidden or memory-based information, which means it can be picked up at any point in the game. The difficulty of the puzzle always keeps up with the skill level of the player. I believe anyone with a critical mind will enjoy the game – it's just a matter of getting it in their pockets."
