Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Family, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
This isn't exactly a review. I love word games and they are extremely rare at Big Fish. I was elated when I saw this and read the positive reviews. I thought "Yeah!!" But, I couldn't get it play on my computer. Like another reviewer, I downloaded it twice and it didn't work either time. I finally, and sadly, gave up. The reason I am posting is to say how happy I am that BF offered a word game that is apparently very good, based on some of the more favorable reviews. That's why I gave it 2 stars rather than 1. Two stars for effort on the part of BF to offer a word game, even though I am unable to play it which makes me really sad.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
3/ 5
I am enjoying this game a lot and purchased it. I like the variety of things available. It's a great "chill out" game for me when I want to kick back and relax. BUT, the amount of dialogue is insane. I finally got to the point where I stopped reading it and am clicking through it as quickly as possible click click click click click click. It's like the developer wrote a book and then decided to insert a game into the book at intervals. Thank goodness you can click through the dialogue and aren't forced to read it all. If that had been the case, I would not have purchased the game.
I have Dig the Ground 3 and liked it so I tried the demo on this one. I bought it pretty quickly. Pennmom did all the "hard work" in reviewing so others like myself don't need to - that's good for me since I probably couldn't do as good a job as she does. I agree with her thoughts about not being able to go back and rescue a fish. I play relaxed mode on games rather than for stars and I still couldn't go back and save the little guy even though I was only 2 rows below him. I enjoy having the two options of play - match 3 or chain. I play both in these games. These are fun, colorful games - and relaxing if you aren't trying for the stars. Hopefully the series will continue with another "dig" for flowers or fish/turtles or something new. I didn't rate level of challenge since I don't play for stars.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
This is an instant buy for me. I was bummed out at Halloween because I had been hoping for a new Cursed House. But, I'll take a new Spellarium for Thanksgiving! The Spellarium, Laruaville, Cursed House and Floria games are always superior and in a league of their own. I always look forward to what new features have been added and this one does not disappoint. For the second time lately, Big Fish has screwed up and not shown the correct video and thumbnails for the new game. That's very unfortunate for new players who aren't familiar with a new game since they are being terribly misled about a game. How does something like that happen and not be corrected fairly quickly?????
Elements of this game remind me of the game 2048. I like to use games like this and M3's as a break from other games that usually take me a while to complete (TMs and HOPs). I never rush through games since I'm retired and time is on my side. I read the reviews, the BF description, watched the BF video and then gave it a try. I understood 90% of it so after I played the demo for 30 minutes, I went back to Pennmom's review for more detail - mainly about the use of the ticket. Then I played the remainder of the trial version. I'm going to purchase it to help fill out my punch card before the end of the month. One thing I strongly agree with in Pennmoms review is that some of the information is on and off the screen way to quickly. One item told the best use of the brown soil tiles, but it was gone in a flash before I could read more than the first few words. Big mistake on the part of the developer. Why does a developer think they know how slow or how fast a gamer reads? I'm a fast reader and I still couldn't read all of their information. This game and the recent DotSee are both somewhat different and I've been happy to see both of them; purchased both of them.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
I have always loved this type of puzzle game as I've run across them in various HO games over the years. I especially enjoy the ones with multiple layers. The first Collection of 16 took me 22 minutes to do, so I am hoping they become more challenging as I work my way through the other levels. My brain has always been good at working with multi-dimentional objects for some reason - clear back to my high school days (I'm a retired senior citizen now), so this is right up my alley. I rarely if ever re-play a game, but this might be the exception. I really like the arrow feature at the bottom of the screen, although I do have a touch screen on my laptop. Also, I rarely listen to the music in a game, but I really like this music. Twisting and turning the mesh-mash of dots until a picture begins to vaguely appear is relaxing to me - and just plain fun. And, as others have said, the pictures are exceptional. This is a rare find and I'm so happy to add it to my treasure trove of games.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
4/ 5
Thanks to those who go into detail about this game. I enjoyed it and will purchase it. The hour demo went quickly for me. I really like the variety of games and the story line was decent, too. This game isn't going to win "game of the year" by any means, but it's a terrific little gem to kick back and enjoy if you don't want to cause your thinking cap to explode. For me it's a kick back and enjoy kind of game. I deducted one star because it does have a lot of dialogue; but since I like the story line, I can't fuss too much about that. Since the ratings are all over the place for this game (so far, anyway), you'll probably have to play the demo for yourself to see if you like it or not.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Strategy, Word
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
2/ 5
Level of Challenge
2/ 5
Storyline
2/ 5
In the CE version you get bonus levels; but in the case of this game, that is not a plus. A couple of things are really awful about this game. Having to wait and wait on resources is sooooo irritating. You have to trade resources and you can't trade until you gather certain resources. So, you wait and wait and wait for the needed resources to generate. You want to yell at the game and say "So hurry up already!!!" The second really awful thing about this game is that it is so repetitive - no imagination here by the developers. You do the same thing level after level after level. There might be a variation now and then; but it's just way too repetitive and lacks imagination. When compared to the cream of the crop TM games offered by BF, this one is woefully behind the times. For someone who has never played a TM game, this might be a good one - sort of like using training wheels on a kid's first bicycle. But, at the same time, you wouldn't want a new TM player to think all TM games are as bad as this one.
I was so thrilled to see this as the new game of the day. I have only had one other game like it and played it over and over again. This is a true game of deduction - sort of like what deduction is to the game of Sudoku (which I also play a lot). I am posting because I want my joy to be passed on to BF and the developers. I am leaving the detailed reviews to others. I wouldn't know how to explain it anyway. There is a good tutorial with the game. The way I play games like this is to first go through the "pages" of picture clues and delete the items from where they are NOT supposed to be located. Gradually the correct item begins to pulse and before you know it, you are on your way to solving it. When you play, always remember to click on the picture clues so the selected items will be highlighted on the game board. I'll be up all night playing this game.
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Large File, Match 3, Puzzle, Strategy, Time Management, Word
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
3/ 5
This is a basic M3. It's not going to set the world on fire, but it's a good time killer. I have no complaints about it except for one thing. The developer really missed the boat when it comes to the tutorial. Seasoned players will be able to figure it out, but others may give up. The instructions for the tutorial are on and off the screen in a nanosecond. Even the world's best speed reader wouldn't be able to read the text in the tutorial. If you are going to go to the trouble of having a tutorial, why not leave the text on the screen long enough to read it and how about having a "continue" button so the gamer can decide when they've had time to read and digest it? I enjoy building or repairing things, so I like that about this game. I also agree with another reviewer that it would be really nice to know how much money you have to spend on repairs without having to exit the board to find out. I'm going to buy the game, but only with a coupon or on a good sale. It's not a full price kind of game for me.