pennmom36's Profile
Stat Summary
- Average Rating:3.7
- Helpful Votes:358,445
- Reviews Submitted:4726
- First Review:December 10, 2012
- Most Recent Review:July 21, 2025
- Featured reviews0
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Discover the breathtaking beauty of our world while solving gorgeous puzzles in 1001 Jigsaw: Earth Chronicles 6!
Overall rating
3
/
5
71 of 75 found this review helpful
A FEW SIMPLE TWEAKS IS ALL IT NEEDS!
PostedMarch 31, 2019
pennmom36
fromIt doesn't have to be a major overhaul, just tweak a few things for those of us who are puzzle geeks & know these features are available?!? ⛄
Skill Level:Expert
Current Favorite:
Real Jigsaw Puzzle
(1)Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I'm actually tired of having to talk about the fact that there are no changes, because there never is, and probably never will be. With just a few tweaks, these puzzles could be amazing! If you haven't played any puzzle game by this developer, you'll probably think there's no need for change. But if you have played even one jigsaw puzzle game by these devs, you'll find that the lack of customization options along with the same repetitive music gets old. I love jigsaws and I love the convenience of computerized jigsaws, in fact, there's hardly a day that goes by, that I don't work on a puzzle from another developer.
There are 7 Categories: Animals~Birds~Landscapes~Flora~Waterworld~Food~Humans (why food & humans when the Earth Chronicles series has always been animal-themed?) Each Category or Box has 143 different puzzle pictures for a total of 1001. There are Achievement Trophies to earn and a Top Scores leaderboard but there is no option to access any of these features to know what achievements you are striving to achieve...that makes no sense.
There is a Box to store extra pieces, but there are no options to categorize, label or sort these stored pieces, nor is there an option to fetch or retrieve certain pieces because you can't sort and label these stored pieces...that makes no sense.
There is an option to post a Picture Image of the puzzle you are working on which does allow you to choose three different sizes of x1, x2 or x3. You can also opt to Ghost the Image on the Background (the puzzle is assembled on top of the ghosted image) It doesn't, however, give you the option to choose the Opaqueness of the Ghosted Image to make the image more or less visible, depending on how difficult you want the puzzle assembly to be...that doesn't make sense.
There is an available Magnifying Glass to enlarge sections, as well as a Hint feature in case you get stumped. You can choose the Resolution, opt for a Custom Cursor or change the color of the background to pastel shades of Pink, Green, Blue or Gray. These basic color options tend to be somewhat too dark with many of the puzzles they offer, being able to adjust the intensity of the background colors at the very least, makes sense, doesn't it? Here's a fun fact: Most monitors can EASILYdisplay 16,777,216 256 different colors, yet we are only given an option of Four of those 16,777,216 256 colors to choose from as the background color...that totally makes no sense.
There is an Auto-sort feature that seems to have no rhyme or reason attached to it because it doesn't sort the pieces by Color, Puzzle Cut or Shape, or even the Direction Placement (correct rotation placement) instead it sorts the pieces to the general location of where the pieces will go (top~left, bottom~right) Most puzzle geeks like the ability to sort pieces by color (zebra stripes, blue sky, green grass) or group by puzzle shape, and sometimes both. It would also be nice to be able to quickly send those sorted pieces to the Box, after labeling them, of course. At least it gives you the option to choose the Border pieces separately, sorting to the exact areas the pieces will go, practically feels like you're cheating...which doesn't make sense.
Any Puzzle can be modified with Size options, the Puzzle Shape, and whether or not you want the pieces to Rotate, but even then, it's not optimized to allow you to assemble a puzzle much bigger than 300 pieces. A 300 Piece Puzzle purchased off the shelf would be labeled for ages +8-12...that ridiculously makes no sense.
Once you complete a Jigsaw Puzzle, you're done, the party's over. You get to see the finished image for a split second (I'm not exaggerating) and then the Stats Window pops up. The completed Jigsaws aren't displayed in a Gallery or any other section for that matter, to allow you to admire your work or the beauty of the image, so I suppose asking for an option to save the puzzle's image as a Screensaver or Wallpaper is too much to ask for...that makes sense, right?
1001 JIGSAW EARTH CHRONICLES SERIES LIST
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
1-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 1 (May 20-2014) 3.5
2-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 2 (August 21-2016) 3.5
3-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 3 (November 30-2015) 4.0
4-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 4 (May 4-2016) 3.7
5-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 5 (October 9-2018) 3.3
6-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 6 (March 28-2019) n/a
1001 JIGSAW EARTH CHRONICLES SERIES LIST
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
1-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 1 (May 20-2014) 3.5
2-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 2 (August 21-2016) 3.5
3-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 3 (November 30-2015) 4.0
4-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 4 (May 4-2016) 3.7
5-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 5 (October 9-2018) 3.3
6-1001 Jigsaw Earth Chronicles 6 (March 28-2019) n/a
by: Somer Games~developer
by: 8 Floor Ltd~producer
by: 8 Floor Ltd~producer
Enter a fantasy world, where a young elven princess and her fawn friend oppose an evil that threatens to consume the Kingdom in this exciting time-management game
Overall rating
4
/
5
33 of 43 found this review helpful
SOMEONE NEEDS TO HAVE A "ROYAL TALKING TO" WITH THE PRINCESS!
PostedMarch 31, 2019
pennmom36
from"You're right, their jaws clanked metal. However, it was, let me thank you" ...however it was what????⛄
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
Great TM game, but this time, I highly recommend the Collector's Edition version over this Standard Edition version for two reasons. This game requires a lot of strategies, nearly from the get-go, so the Royal Strategy Guide is very helpful, especially in the later levels. (50 levels~SE, 60 Levels~CE) The second reason is my personal love of the Collector's Edition Morphing Faun Statuettes, Collectible Books, and the Collectible Baby Golems. The CE version has a ton of extra's that this version doesn't have (see the last paragraph) and, in my opinion, it makes the game more fun to play.
Well, that was quick! Didn't King Galanius just pass over his crown when the Royal Wedding Bells rang Ding-Dong for Princess Aerin, and Tillian, who shortly thereafter became the proud parents of a bouncing Royal Baby Girl in the last Elven Legends game? Now, in the blink of an eye, the Royal Princess is all grown-up, with magic powers of her very own, and making Royal Decisions on her journey home from Grandpa's house!
I must admit, one of the reasons I have always loved this TM series is because, over the last 6 games, I followed the story of a young Elven Princess as she discovered her magical abilities and learned how to serve her Kingdom's people. Aerin met the man of her dreams (well, it was more like he just popped into her life all of a sudden) Together they worked as an inseparable team side by side, decided to get married and her proud father, King Galanius handed down the crown. That took place over 6 game episodes, so I really would have been happier to have an in-between episode or two with the Royal Parents still involved as they handed down their family values to shape her into the young Princess she's currently become. But I guess there's no going back now, I just hope the next episode doesn't fast forward 40 years to show an aging and bitter Princess Sonja living alone in a decaying castle amongst a hundred cats. (well, the cat part would still be adorable)
Elven Legend games are strategy-based Time Management games requiring you to queue your tasks in a specific order. You can play in a Relaxed mode with no timer (and apparently no available Stars) a Normal Mode, or a Professional Mode, and you can replay the levels as often as necessary. Bonus Icons become available that help you beat the levels, such as Worker's Speed, Add Workers, Double the Production of Resources, Speed up Work Production or even Increase the number of Existing Resources.
There are the normal TM tasks of collecting food, water, wood, stone crystals, etc. and the same tasks of clearing the roads, repairing bridges and filling in pits along the way. Princess Sonja, who has the ability to animate non-living objects, of course, does all the magic work. The Princess soon discovers how dangerous the Kingdom can be without the Royal Guards protection. Luckily, Haseth, a kind, but shifty-eyed hero comes to her aid, claiming to be a friend of her parents, King Tillian and Queen Aerin. Haseth suggests a change of plans, to escort her to his castle where they can send word to her royal parents, (classic move, I told you they made Sonja grow up too quickly! She didn't even get the chance to have the "Royal Talk" with her mum!)
There are several Altars of Resources available in each level that will produce 2 units of renewable resources over a period of time. Magical Trees produce wood, but they will first require Water before they will regrow or produce, Waterwells can be constructed on most levels or reproduced on altars. You will need to construct different buildings as well as upgrade them to produce various resources such as Farms to produce food, Workers House's to hire extra workers, Sawmills for wood, Inn's to produce Gold, Mines to produce magic Crystals, Labs to produce Philosopher's Stones as a source of Princess Sonja's magic.
Some levels require items to be Crafted such as creating Clay, Wood, an Iron Golems before the Princess can animate them. Crafted items you gather will automatically move to the icon, and once all items have been collected you need to click on the icon to complete the task.
In the Collector's Edition version, each scene has a Morphing Faun Statuette (60) Collectible Books (60) and 12 collectible Baby Golems in 5 different categories or types (60) You can replay the levels after completing them, to pick up missed collectibles or morphs, without having to replay the level, you will NOT lose your star rating if you only return to pick them up! There are 8 Wallpapers, 8 Concept Art Character Pictures, 39 Achievements to earn, a High Scores Leaderboard, 10 extra CE Bonus Levels, and a built-in Strategy Guide, enjoy!
ELVEN LEGEND SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-Elven Legend 1: SE only (February 4-2015) 3.2
2-Elven Legend 2: The Bewitched Tree SE only (February 3-2016) 3.3
3-Elven Legend 3: The New Menace (August 24-2016) 4.6
4-Elven Legend 4: The Incredible Journey (March 24-2017) 2.4
5-Elven Legend 5: The Fateful Tournament (December 27-2017) 4.5
6-Elven Legend 6: The Treacherous Tournament (September 30-2018) 3.0
7-Elven Legend 7: The New Generation (March 31-2019) n/a
2-Elven Legend 2: The Bewitched Tree SE only (February 3-2016) 3.3
3-Elven Legend 3: The New Menace (August 24-2016) 4.6
4-Elven Legend 4: The Incredible Journey (March 24-2017) 2.4
5-Elven Legend 5: The Fateful Tournament (December 27-2017) 4.5
6-Elven Legend 6: The Treacherous Tournament (September 30-2018) 3.0
7-Elven Legend 7: The New Generation (March 31-2019) n/a
by: Growing Grass Studios
I recommend this game!
Face the legacy of mythical sunken city of Ys!
Overall rating
5
/
5
128 of 163 found this review helpful
THESE'S ARE THE MYTHS I SEEK!
PostedMarch 30, 2019
pennmom36
fromThe Arabic word maskhara "to transform into an animal or monster" was derived from msk meaning "second skin" by Egyptians. A mask was found in France dated 30,000bc long before the term existed! ⛄
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
Storyline
5
/
5
Completed game 5 hours
(including CE Bonus Chapter & all puzzles)
4.5 Stars (not very CE worthy)
(including CE Bonus Chapter & all puzzles)
4.5 Stars (not very CE worthy)
When Prince Gradlon from the Lutetia Kingdom first met Princess Tehda of Y's, they fell hopelessly in love with one another. Their bond united the rocky relationship between the two kingdoms, but jealousy reared its ugly head dooming Y's and all who lived there. The mythical city of Y's, has been swallowed by an unforgiving sea, decaying past the point of no return for centuries. Y's is nothing more than an Atlantian tale now, lost and all but forgotten, until today! The Myth Seekers have discovered an ancient artifact that could shine the light on the city and all its glory, or bring with it all the darkness of its seedy past!
Bravo Sunward Games! I loved the storyline, puzzles, and Hidden Object Scenes, however, as far as a Collector's Edition version goes, this one doesn't offer a whole lot. If not for today's sale, I may have waited to purchase it because there are no morphs, and not very many re-playable games, etc. it almost border's on being CE Blingless! There are Collectible Ysian Masks in nearly every scene, but they aren't very challenging to find, and there's no option to return to the scenes to pick up any Masks you may have forgotten to look for.
The Hidden Object Scenes are awesome! I rarely find HOP's to be challenging nowadays because the items are never hidden, they are just laying amongst a junk pile, but I found myself staring at more than one scene as I tried to find some of the objects because they were blended so well (the rat took me forever!) Although they are mostly Interactive Listed Item Finds, there are also Progressive~Interactive Silhouetted~Shape Finds, Fragmented~Shape Finds (frogs) Multiples of the same object Finds, and Pictured Item Finds. There are only 10 HOP's offered (+2 in the CE BC) not including the 3-4 Story Progression, Keywords in Sentence Finds because they are considered Mini-Games here. There is an alternate Pair~Matching mini-game available that's actually kind of fun.
The Mini-Games are all doable kind of puzzles. There are 26 Actual Mini-Games (as listed by Sunward as mini-games, not Hop's) Below are brief descriptions of some of my personal favorites in this game:
1-Rotate hands/pipes to allow energy to flow from the bottom to 3 crystals on top.
2-Slide gargoyles until each row matches the gargoyles on the left.
3-Move the silver ball thru every point only once.
4-Move triangle puzzle pieces by rotating diamond-shaped sections.ღ
5-Use directional arrows to navigate according to the landmark clues.
6-Place colored wires into each partial symbol to recreate the color-coded symbols shown.
7-Swap & rotate circular stone tokens to recreate a picture.
8-Click up to 16 Musical notes to guide the bird to the Soul Amulet. ღ
9-Flip over 2 tokens at a time to find matching pairs of symbols.
2-Slide gargoyles until each row matches the gargoyles on the left.
3-Move the silver ball thru every point only once.
4-Move triangle puzzle pieces by rotating diamond-shaped sections.ღ
5-Use directional arrows to navigate according to the landmark clues.
6-Place colored wires into each partial symbol to recreate the color-coded symbols shown.
7-Swap & rotate circular stone tokens to recreate a picture.
8-Click up to 16 Musical notes to guide the bird to the Soul Amulet. ღ
9-Flip over 2 tokens at a time to find matching pairs of symbols.
The CE Bonus Chapter isn't very impressive, but prequels aren't my favorite, I'd much rather continue with the main story or delve into the detail of a missing link scenario. You play as a Baker's apprentice in Y's along with his Ferret Miffy. There's a lot of "Find this, place that, go here, go there's" but there's only 3 Mini-Games and 2 Hidden Object Scenes in the entire fairly lengthy bonus chapter. You will complete the Collection of the final 5 Ysian Masks as well.
This Collector's Edition version has 8 Wallpapers (yeah! no character's to ruin the beautiful scenery) 8 Concept Art Pictures, 8 Movie Video Cutscenes, 8 Re-Playable Hidden Object Scenes, 8 Re-Playable Mini-Games, 18 Story-Based & 10 Skill-Based Achievements, 27 Collectible Ysian Masks (7~8~7~5 of each type) 6 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a Built-in Strategy Guide.
THE MYTH SEEKERS SERIES LIST
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-The Legacy of Vulcan (January 30-2018) 3.8
2-The Sunken City (March 30-2019) n/a
2-The Sunken City (March 30-2019) n/a
by: Sunward Games
I recommend this game!
Only you can stop the crystals raining down on Tar and stealing energy.
Overall rating
3
/
5
42 of 50 found this review helpful
IF YOU LIKE A LOT OF BLING, OPT FOR THE CE VERSION IF POSSIBLE
PostedMarch 29, 2019
pennmom36
fromThis is a very long game, but if you don't like a massive amount of mini-games, you may want to pass this one up! ⛄
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
7 Hours worth of CE completion!
90 minutes SE Demo
90 minutes SE Demo
They're back! The magical floating Elven Island disappeared without a trace 735 years ago, but today, for no apparent reason, the Island reappeared! There once was a time when Elves and humans lived in harmony and worked side-by-side to educate one another with valuable skills. When the elves began to show signs of illness, they blamed the humans, war was imminent, especially when the humans began to disappear. The Medico Imperium Order soon discovers that the return of the Elven Island 735 years later is not a goodwill gesture. Can The Order's most Honored Healer thwart the Elves mission to overpower the human race, or is it already too late?
If you aren't a huge puzzle and mini-game fan, you won't enjoy this game very much because you are literally doing them back-to-back. As an "Honored Healer" you have a magical Diagnostic Sceptor that allows you to access the patients' symptoms and draw a medical conclusion. This Gadget is used 7 times throughout the Main Game and each of those 7 uses requires you to complete 3 different mini-games before you search for the correct ingredients to cure what ails them. Thank you, Domini for making each puzzle different and for not making me endure a Recipe mini-game!
I've said this multiple times before, but in my opinion, Domini throws everything into their games including that kitchen sink, to make their games way too Looonnggg. There are 19 regular mini-games in the main chapters PLUS 21 Diagnostic Scepter mini-games (and another 10 mini-games in the CE BC) that's a whopping 40 mini-games! (+10 in the CE BC) I love puzzles but even I don't want a game where all I'm doing is playing mini-games back to back! There are only 5 Chapters (plus the Bonus Chapter in the CE version), but it literally took me 6-7 hours to complete! Granted I don't skip any of the puzzles, but I was completely bored and over the game halfway through. I lost track of how many times I needed something "Sharp" a bottle of "Acid" something to "Protect my Hands" a "Wrench" a "Nail Puller" something "Thin" to open a latch, a "Shovel" and a jug, cup or mug of "Water" Every single time, I'd use those items once, only to need the exact item two scenes later, a couple of times I can live with, but 10 or more times all in an effort to stretch the game and make people think they are getting a bargain? If I didn't have to heal so many people I would have completely forgotten what the story was even about because I wasn't playing a game to progress the story, I was playing a game to progress to the next puzzle! Everything in this game is a filler, it's just an illusion of a long story!
There are only 12 Hidden Object Scenes in the Main Game (and 5 HOP's within the CE BC) all of which are re-playable in the CE extra's section. There are 3 smaller Zoom Zone HOP's and you can opt to Play a Match 3 game instead of the hidden object scenes. In the custom settings, you can opt for Silhouetted Shape Hints and hint recharges in 0 seconds! Some of the HO scenes were fairly creative, some of my favorite types were using vertical & horizontal sliders to align highlighted images over the correct object in the scene that matches descriptions as Keywords, Swatches of circular image samples to find the correct location in the scene, Combination Silhouetted Shape clues where you find the object that matches the description of the 2 silhouetted shapes combined, and my absolute favorite was finding objects in a scene with multiple Morphing Objects. There are also Multiples of the Same Object finds Gears that rotate to align partial images, Keywords in Sentence Finds and a highly interactive, progressive HOP.
I hope you love Mini-Games, and I do mean love because there are 40 games within the main game and another 10 offered within the Collector's Edition version Bonus Chapter! You can, however, opt to play a Match 3 Game instead of the mini-games! Domini always offers their games in an Easy or Hard difficulty mode, and in the custom settings you can opt to have them start with either easy or hard mini-games, but you can still opt for the opposite per mini-game. You can also opt to skip the puzzles instantly in the custom settings! The above mentioned Diagnostic Scepter requires you to complete 3 different mini-games each time it is used, and fortunately, they are always different puzzles. Below are brief descriptions of some of my favorite games offered throughout the entire game:
1-Drag color-coded chains of various lengths to their color-coded slots.
2-Jump bacteria cells to remove all but 1 bacteria.
3-Move squares to spots w/corresponding colors, arrow sections will change its direction.
4-Untangle bacteria strands by selecting arrow buttons for each strand.
5-Move the pink token to cover the entire grid.
6-Select tiles to reveal all images, if you select a tile that has no image you'll have to restart.
7-Select green buttons to remove all bacteria, removing one may change other sets.
8-Select a sequence of directional arrows to guide the net thru a maze.
9-Adjust the temperature of 4 gauges by selecting + & - to move the needle a specified number to the green zone.
10-Move 1 horizontal & 1 Vertical tornado to direct wind flow, & + or - buttons to move the griffin thru a maze.
11-Select + or - & rotation buttons to align & scale 4 different fragments to align w/the center image.
12-Select number & direction specific buttons to guide the token w/o landing on the skull spots.
13-Move or jump your pieces to add more pieces than your opponent.
2-Jump bacteria cells to remove all but 1 bacteria.
3-Move squares to spots w/corresponding colors, arrow sections will change its direction.
4-Untangle bacteria strands by selecting arrow buttons for each strand.
5-Move the pink token to cover the entire grid.
6-Select tiles to reveal all images, if you select a tile that has no image you'll have to restart.
7-Select green buttons to remove all bacteria, removing one may change other sets.
8-Select a sequence of directional arrows to guide the net thru a maze.
9-Adjust the temperature of 4 gauges by selecting + & - to move the needle a specified number to the green zone.
10-Move 1 horizontal & 1 Vertical tornado to direct wind flow, & + or - buttons to move the griffin thru a maze.
11-Select + or - & rotation buttons to align & scale 4 different fragments to align w/the center image.
12-Select number & direction specific buttons to guide the token w/o landing on the skull spots.
13-Move or jump your pieces to add more pieces than your opponent.
The Bonus Chapter (only available in the CE version) takes place after the main game's timeframe. Dr. Klein welcomes Jarolia, a recent graduate into The Medico Imperium Order, and wastes no time sending her out on her first solo mission. Ill Lydia has created a highly contagious infection that turns Elves into a monstrous Night Elf that obeys her every command, and it's now up to Jarolia to prove she has what it takes as a young Healer. There are 10 Mini-Games and 5 Hidden Object Scenes in this fairly lengthy BC. (one of those mini-games could be considered as a HOP of finding and replacing objects into the pages of a storybook) You will pick up the remaining collectibles, 3 Medical Cards, 7 Golden Metal Leaves (which allows you to purchase the remaining Laboratory Items, the number varies because items vary in price) and the final 3 Morphing Elven Artifacts, which, in my opinion, morph way to fast, and aren't very challenging to spot in any of the scenes.
The Collector's Edition version has 10 Wallpapers, 10 Concept Art Pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks, 17 replayable Hidden Object Scenes, 12 replayable Mini-Games, 21 Achievements to Earn, 15 Collectible Morphing Elven Artifacts, 15 Collectible Medical Disease Cards (to learn about diseases in the Tar Empire (that's just weird, who wants to read about chickenpox?) 15 Laboratory Items, 50 Hidden Metal Leaves (use to purchase Laboratory Items) 5 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a built-in Strategy Guide.
ENCHANTED KINGDOM SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-A Dark Seed (May 5-2017) 4.0
2-A Stranger's Venom (October 27-2017) 3.2
3-Fog of Rivershire (March 23-2018) 3.0
4-Fiend of Darkness (September 21-2018) 3.3
5-Descent of the Elders (March 29-2019) n/a
2-A Stranger's Venom (October 27-2017) 3.2
3-Fog of Rivershire (March 23-2018) 3.0
4-Fiend of Darkness (September 21-2018) 3.3
5-Descent of the Elders (March 29-2019) n/a
by: Domini Games
I recommend this game!
A series of museum robberies leads to a shocking discovery!
Overall rating
4
/
5
74 of 100 found this review helpful
THOSE POOR DYSFUNCTIONAL GRAY FAMILY MEMBERS
PostedMarch 28, 2019
pennmom36
fromAnna's first name & appearance was revealed in #8 & shown younger in the bonus chapter-#10 She & Louisa had the same hair style at one point, Anna's hair was dyed brown in #7. Randy Hames is the voice of Richard in all games except #14 by Matthew Curtis ⛄
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
4
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
4
/
5
Level of Challenge
4
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
Completed game approximately 3.5 hours
(including Bonus Chapter, & all mini-games)
(including Bonus Chapter, & all mini-games)
The museum where Louisa Gray, works at has been robbed of a valuable artifact, in broad daylight during normal business hours, yet no one seems to remember any details! Louisa has asked her sister to investigate the crime scene after the police come up empty-handed because the robber seems to have a unique paranormal ability to create vivid illusions. Anna Gray can travel back in time, with nothing more than a personal item, she can manipulate time itself to stand still. This particular case, however, hits a little too close to home as she makes a surprising discovery linking the robbery to none other than a Gray family member!
I liked this game, and it's leaps and bounds better than The Hunger! Grim Tales has always been one of my all-time favorite series, even though it got a bit weird with the whole daddy-Richard-skull in my purse scenario. Most of the scenes have a Morphing Object, and the staple Grim Tales Character statues and Jigsaw Puzzle pieces within Zoom zones have returned in this CE version. The Morphs are a bit too large and morph a bit too fast to make them challenging, and the puzzle pieces aren't very challenging either because the zoom zones they are located within won't close automatically until you click on it. I don't see the point in having to find jigsaw puzzle pieces to get 3 Screensavers if you don't actually get to assemble the jigsaw? Other than those CE extra's issues, I think this game is perfectly fine, although I do wish Elephant would give us the option to do away with the time-consuming, extremely annoying, "Task Completed, New Task" Banner that shows up constantly throughout the game!!!! PLEASE :)
I think Elephant did a fantastic job with the Mini-Games. They have included games for all levels of players and I enjoyed most of them. I do prefer to solve mini-games that make you think, especially ones that make you strategize or plan several steps in advance. Games don't have to be mind-boggling, to be fun! Below are brief descriptions of some of the games I liked during the game:
1-Use direction arrows and rotation gears to place dinosaurs correctly.
2-Swap & rotate pipes to allow liquid to flow through all points.
3-Recreate 3 different shapes by rotating each partial shape to change the projection.
4-Click directional arrows on each token to slide into the color-coded slots using other tokens as bumpers.
5-Flip 2 gears at a time to reveal matching pairs for each symbol shown in the center.
6-Use directional arrows & push all lock pins up by selecting rods in the middle.
7-Swap small tiles until each large tile displays a complete image & use arrows to move the finished tiles to their matching symbol.
2-Swap & rotate pipes to allow liquid to flow through all points.
3-Recreate 3 different shapes by rotating each partial shape to change the projection.
4-Click directional arrows on each token to slide into the color-coded slots using other tokens as bumpers.
5-Flip 2 gears at a time to reveal matching pairs for each symbol shown in the center.
6-Use directional arrows & push all lock pins up by selecting rods in the middle.
7-Swap small tiles until each large tile displays a complete image & use arrows to move the finished tiles to their matching symbol.
The Hidden Object Scenes are mostly Listed or Interactive List Finds but there are also Silhouetted Shape Finds while scrolling through 3 camera monitor scenes, Keywords in Sentence Finds on 3 different book pages, Uncovering Matching Pairs, Multiples of the same Object Finds and Returning Objects into the Scene. There are only 9 Main Hidden Object Scenes, but there are 7 Smaller Zoom Zone HOP's of various types within the main game and 4 regular and 1 zoom zone HOP's in the CE Bonus Chapter.
The CE version Bonus Chapter takes place shortly after the main game's time-frame. You play as Jared who finds himself trapped by his own souls' dark side. Richard tells him to visit 3 distorted personal memories to collect 3 soul shard's which will let him return to the real world. There are 5 Mini-Games, 4 main Hidden Object Scenes and 1 Zoom Zone Hidden Object Scene within the somewhat long Bonus Chapter. There are 9 Morphing Objects, and 4 Character Statues remaining, and you'll complete the final Screensaver when you pick up the last 12 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces.
This Collector's Edition version has 8 Wallpapers, (why do they always plaster a character on them, can't we just have the scenery view?) 8 Concept Art pictures, 3 Screensavers (collect Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces to reveal 2-12 piece jigsaws and 1-24 piece jigsaw) 5 Music Soundtracks, 23 Achievements to Earn, an Archive Room with 13 re-playable Hidden Object Scenes and 13 re-playable Mini-Games, a Secret Room to search for Morphing Objects in the scenes, 12 Collectible Gray Family Character Statues, 48 Zoom Zone Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces to get 3 Screensavers (auto-complete, you don't get to assemble them!?) 27 Morphing Objects, 6 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a built-in Strategy Guide.
GRIM TALES SERIES LIST
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-The Bride (August 4-2011) 3.9
2-The Legacy (January 5-2012) 4.6
3-The Wishes (July 12-2012) 4.5
4-The Stone Queen (January 3-2013) 3.9
5-Bloody Mary (August 1-2013) 4.3
6-The Vengeance (May 15-2014) 4.5
7-Color of Fright (November 6-2014) 3.7
8-The Final Suspect (May 16-2015) 4.0
9-Threads of Destiny (October 7-2015) 3.9
10-The Heir (February 25-2016) 4.3
11-Crimson Hollow (August 25-2016) 4.1
12-Graywitch (February 2-2017) 4.0
13-The White Lady (August 3-2017) 4.0
14-The Time Traveler (January 25-2018) 3.5
15-The Hunger (July 19-2018) 3.6
16-The Nomad (March 28-2019) n/a
2-The Legacy (January 5-2012) 4.6
3-The Wishes (July 12-2012) 4.5
4-The Stone Queen (January 3-2013) 3.9
5-Bloody Mary (August 1-2013) 4.3
6-The Vengeance (May 15-2014) 4.5
7-Color of Fright (November 6-2014) 3.7
8-The Final Suspect (May 16-2015) 4.0
9-Threads of Destiny (October 7-2015) 3.9
10-The Heir (February 25-2016) 4.3
11-Crimson Hollow (August 25-2016) 4.1
12-Graywitch (February 2-2017) 4.0
13-The White Lady (August 3-2017) 4.0
14-The Time Traveler (January 25-2018) 3.5
15-The Hunger (July 19-2018) 3.6
16-The Nomad (March 28-2019) n/a
By: Elephant Games
I recommend this game!
Unhappy souls suffer under the cruel reign of an ancient vampire. Do you have enough courage to defeat the monster?
Overall rating
3
/
5
45 of 51 found this review helpful
LOVED THE CREEPY VIBE, LOVED THE STORY, BUT THE MAHJONG LEVELS ARE TOO EASY
PostedMarch 27, 2019
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
A Mahjong game has to be really good or offer unique features to hold my attention, and this one has some really good, creepy atmospheric graphics and a decent plot to go along with. The only issue I have with the Mahjong levels is that they are far too easy, even on the Hard Mode. In all fairness, I only completed the demo portion so it may very well get more difficult after the demo, so I'm on the fence with this one, folks.
You play a series of Mahjong rounds per level as you progress towards and then through the Haunted Mansion, and each game you play has a different layout, I liked this multi-game per level scenario. It has 70 Levels and I believe 10 Achievements and the tiles themselves are antique in appearance with symbols you'd expect from a haunted theme, skulls, ravens, axes, sickles, shovels, jack-o-lanterns, bats etc. (although I'd expect to vampire's and fangs as well?) There is a Hint and Shuffle feature available and none of the levels are Timed, which I also like, because I play Mahjong to relax, not work up a sweat from an adrenaline rush. I realize that what I'm saying sound contradicting, I want to relax while playing, but I still want somewhat of a challenge, otherwise, what's the point?
As you progress through the creepiness, you'll come across an occasional Hidden Object Scene that is mostly the JetDogs Clutter versions, but they can be Skipped. If you don't mind that the Mahjong Levels are really easy, everything else about this game is pretty interesting.
I recommend this game!
Help the heroine find her family in this action-packed prehistoric arcade adventure!
Overall rating
1
/
5
9 of 12 found this review helpful
I CAN ONLY MOVE FORWARD~IMMEDIATE TURN OFF!
PostedMarch 27, 2019
Fun Factor
1
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
3
/
5
Level of Challenge
1
/
5
Storyline
3
/
5
I love coin collection types of games, but this one only has the one-speed mode and only allows you to go forward, so it was an immediate turn off for me right from the start! If I could slow down the character and go back to catch the coins I missed, I would have given this game 5-Stars because it would have been a super-fun game!
There aren't a lot of customizable features, there are 2 Language options and you can turn the music on or off, but that's it, no character selections, no difficulty options, and no way to turn off the tutorial. The graphics are rather flat and colorless and the animations had huge potential because of the theme, but they just didn't take advantage of it.
The goal is to move the character forward to collect Coins and jump over obstacles by either left-clicking the mouse or pressing the space-bar. (holding the click or space-bar=higher distance) On several occasions, I had to use the space-bar instead of the mouse because I just couldn't jump high enough to get over some hills. Specific level goals are given before the start of each level and you must collect 3 keys by jumping on the Cavemen you encounter, which opens the Treasure Chest and gives you a new piece of the Map to continue your journey. After each level, you get to Spin the Wheel and win prizes, mostly just more coins.
As your progress, obstacles are added that can hurt you, but sometimes helps you, such as Giant Mushrooms that help you jump higher like a trampoline. You can also get Club upgrades that allow you to bust through anything and everything instead of having to jump. You can replay the levels as often as you'd like, but as I said earlier, it would be much more fun to be able to go backward as well as forward.
The Coins are used to purchase items in the Shop. You can purchase Weapons like hammers, a screw nut on a stick, an ax, spear, sea urchin staff, trident, and even a Pirate's cutlass to help you with the level goals. You can also buy Costumes and various clothing for the Bad Girl. You can purchase Power-ups such as Magnets to attract coins, or various side-kicks like a Wild Boar, Pteradactl, Penguin, Tiger, or Crocodile that can either bulldoze their way through obstacles, fly in the air or jump higher, but each one has their limitations and aren't beneficial in every situation.
I don't recommend this game.
Restore the kingdom's mesmerizing castles in this enchanting Solitaire adventure! Travel the lands and collect resources to rebuild majestic monuments.
Overall rating
5
/
5
123 of 142 found this review helpful
THE MEERKATS HAVE POPPED UP WITH ANOTHER SOLITAIRE WINNER
PostedMarch 26, 2019
pennmom36
fromThis is how a Collector's Edition Should be! ⛄
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
5
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
5
/
5
This is one Collector's Edition you don't want to pass up folks, in fact, if you are a Jewel Match Solitaire fan, I'm confident in recommending a buy without a try, yep, it's that good! It has all of the features solitaire fans love, and none of the features solitaire fans hate! This is a Higher/Lower Solitaire, however, as you progress, you will unlock 12 Different Solitaire Versions: Klondike by Twelves~FreeCell Two Decks~Spider Two Suits~Lady Palk~ Ali Baba~ Bakers Dozen~Acme Unlimited~Trusty Twelve~Giant~Lanes~Raglan~Twenty! (You also get CE bonus games Scarab Spanish Patience~Diplomat Double Line~Nestor~Thieves of Egypt)
This Collector's Edition version has so many extra's you practically get another game because it includes 120 new Extra CE Bonus Levels. It also includes 6 Castle Wallpapers +3 Extra Castle Wallpapers, 7 Castle before/after Concept Art, 10 Music Soundtracks, 4 Card Back Graphics, 3 Card Font Graphics, +4 Extra Card Back Graphics, 24 Trophies +Extra Trophy Achievements, 3 Extra Castles to build, 4 Extra Bonus Levels Solitaire types: Scarab Spanish Patience~Diplomat Double Line~Nestor~Thieves of Egypt, 12 Power-ups +4 Bonus Power-ups.
You can play in a Normal Solitaire Mode, a Hard Mode with a Timer, and a Relaxed Mode which gives you more than one deal. There are 24 Achievement Trophies to earn and I do recommend that you read the Achievements before starting the game because there are a few that are awarded for selecting specific options, such as, choosing a Custom Cursor, Watching the Credits, Setting a Wallpaper, Replaying a Level, and even for Removing 5 Cards in 5 Seconds.
The goal is to Remove Cards that are either one Higher or one Lower than the Deck Card, and you get to remove all of the cards, not just special cards like some games! Each level requires you to Collect Emeralds which allows you to purchase Castle Sections. When a Castle has been completed, you can set it as a Wallpaper. If you don't have enough Emeralds to purchase a Castle section, this step is bypassed. The Level Map will show you how many Emeralds are available on each level. Some Cards contains Coins that can be used in the Shop to purchase Power-ups and Wildcards. Combo's start at 5 Cards and each level gives you 1 Undo. You can earn up to 3 Stars per level and you can Replay the levels as often as you want to try to remove all of the Cards.
There are several types of Obstacles, Locks that require you to remove the Key Card, Frozen Cards that require two Plays, Chains that require removing the Hammer Card, Ribbons that require removing Scissor Cards, Vines that require removing the Sickle Cards, Red and Black Seals that require removing Red and Black Cards, and Red and Black Suit Specific Cards that require removing Specific Suit Cards.
There are several types of Obstacles, Locks that require you to remove the Key Card, Frozen Cards that require two Plays, Chains that require removing the Hammer Card, Ribbons that require removing Scissor Cards, Vines that require removing the Sickle Cards, Red and Black Seals that require removing Red and Black Cards, and Red and Black Suit Specific Cards that require removing Specific Suit Cards.
The Coins can be used in the Shop to purchase a Deck Card Counter~Remove a Random Card~Remove a Specific Card~Reveal some Face Down Cards~Extra Shuffle and Undo features~Card Specific Wildcards~Jokers, and the Chance to Receive Wildcards and Jokers during the Levels.
My only complaint is that I wish the Star Scoring pop-up window wouldn't bounce a few times when it appears because I have to wait for the bouncing to stop before I can click the Re-play tab. It would also be nice if they didn't require you to double click the Deck after making a Combo. These are just a couple of minor annoyances I found during the last couple of Jewel Match Solitaire games because I like these processes to be seamless and I want to be able to move on to the next level or replay the existing level quickly.
JEWEL MATCH SOLITAIRE SERIES LIST
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
1-Jewel Match Solitaire CE (October 17-2017) 4.2
-Jewel Match Solitaire SE (December 13-2017) 4.5
2-Jewel Match Solitaire: Twilight (October 30-2017) 4.8
3-Jewel Match Solitaire: L'Amour (January 21-2018) 4.7
4-Jewel Match Solitaire: Winterscapes (February 5-2019) 4.2
5-Jewel Match Solitaire 2 CE (March 26-2019) n/a
-Jewel Match Solitaire SE (December 13-2017) 4.5
2-Jewel Match Solitaire: Twilight (October 30-2017) 4.8
3-Jewel Match Solitaire: L'Amour (January 21-2018) 4.7
4-Jewel Match Solitaire: Winterscapes (February 5-2019) 4.2
5-Jewel Match Solitaire 2 CE (March 26-2019) n/a
by: Suricate Software
I recommend this game!
They’re cute, their fluffy and they love to play! Care for a flock of adorable little sheep in this excessively cute and charming sandbox game.
Overall rating
2
/
5
64 of 75 found this review helpful
CUTE GRAPHICS BUT THERE'S ONLY SO MUCH SHEEP-ROLLING I CAN HANDLE
PostedMarch 25, 2019
pennmom36
fromHow do I take a screenshot of a rolling sheep if he rolls quicker than my camera pops up? ⛄
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor
2
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
2
/
5
Level of Challenge
2
/
5
This is a Virtual Sheep Farming game but it doesn't have a lot of actual virtual farming quests. It's mostly chock full of gimmicky and cutesie features, but there's only so much sheep-rolling I can handle. Once you get past the tutorials that throws everything at you at once, it quickly becomes boring and the cuteness wears off.
The Quests are attached to floating balloons that are constantly in the way, as you finish the quests, you level up and even more balloon quests are added until balloons fill the entire screen and take away from the cutesie scenery. They can be moved around and they remain opaque until the quest is completed, but for me, it was just an annoyance and I just wanted to pop them all!
You begin the game with one pre-named Sheep, it would have been nice to be able to name him whatever I wanted, or at least choose the pre-named sheep I wanted. Eventually, the bachelor pre-named sheep decides to settle down and search for greener pastures and Mr. and Mrs. pre-named sheep decide to share the pasture, I'm sure you can guess where this scenario is heading. It's not long before you have a full-fledged herd of pre-named sheep!
You can tell each individual sheep which direction to move in, and you can drag them to tufts of grass or flowers to feed them. You can bounce them, send them leaping through the field, roll them all over the field, you can even pull and snap their tails. For some odd reason, this makes the sheep happy, and happy sheep reward you with a Happy Star which is used to buy various items from the random Treasure Chest on the bottom right of the screen. The more quests you fulfill, the faster you will level up, and leveling up rewards you by unlocking more cutsie sheep related and non-sheep related items, including seeds, grooming equipment, paint, farm equipment, and even more pre-named sheep.
You can collect Wool from the sheep, logs from trees, petals from flowers, and expand the pasture's parameters. To grow more grass, and water purchased seed to grow trees and flowers, you need to grab clouds and merge them to create rain, small puddles will grow grass and water plants, larger puddles will allow the sheep to drink from them. Eventually, you can combine large clouds that create thunderstorms (snow in winter scenes) to create lightning which will destroy dangerous items such as poisonous mushrooms.
There are 26 Achievements to earn and several different Worlds to unlock as you progress. Winter Wonderland, Treasure Island, City Park, and the Prairie. As I said before, this is a cute game with adorable sheep that need some basic virtual needs. Unlike other Virtual games, it doesn't continue on in real time, and I don't believe anything will die if not cared for properly, so after a while it just becomes boring.
I don't recommend this game.
The Abomination threatens to erase all worlds from existence!
Overall rating
3
/
5
49 of 60 found this review helpful
The Collector's Edition Is Better
PostedMarch 24, 2019
Fun Factor
3
/
5
Visual/Sound Quality
5
/
5
Level of Challenge
3
/
5
Storyline
4
/
5
The Abomination is an evil force threatening the very existence of the 4 Realms artistically created by the famous author, Michael Ballard. Each of the four realms represents the Arthurs successful novels, every detail, every aspect he envisioned, gave birth to and created these fantasy-worlds and its people page by page. When Michael Ballard's personal life begins to crumble, evil begins to take root within the realms as well. There's still hope for Michael, there's still hope that lies within a simple mage-in-training who must now embark on a journey to save 4 imaginary realms whose fate can be determined by a simple stroke of the Creator's pen!
Yes, there is a gimmicky Gadget of Spell-Casting, however, it does NOT involve following recipes (other than finding specific ingredients for each spell the first time only to "learn" the spell) and it does NOT involve any repetitive Mini-Game prior to using a spell, so I'm totally okay with this scenario! During the Main Game (it isn't used during the CE BC) you will use the Portal Spell 6 times, the Object Levitation Spell 8 times, the Talk to Animals Spell 4 times, the Fire Resistant Spell 3 times, the Antidote Spell 3 times, the Open Door Spell 3 times, the Mermaid Shape-shifting Spell 1 time, and the Muse Shard Spell 1 time as well. Once you acquire the spell-book page and the 3-4 ingredients associated with each spell, that spell becomes available w/o any having to complete a step-by-step recipe game or a mini-game to activate, you simply choose the spell you want to use.
Most of the 18 main Hidden Object Scenes are simple Listed Item Finds but the smaller Zoom Zone HOP's available vary with Silhouetted Shape Finds, Finding & Replacing Items, Keywords in Sentence Finds, Sketched Picture Finds and Swatch Picture Finds (items that match fabric samples) I actually prefer a no-frills, old-school Listed Item HOP so I was perfectly happy with these HOP's. The scenes are colorful and the graphics are crystal clear, even the objects themselves are recognizable and some items were well blended and not easily spotted. Some of the scene locations were excellent, such as finding items sketched into a grey-bricked wall, finding intricate shapes sketched on 3 different pieces of paper or items stuffed between branches in a beaver dam. In the CE version, each of the 18 main HOP's has a Morphing Object to find and they are quite challenging to spot because they blend well and morph slowly.
The Mini-Games are fairly decent and vary in difficulty. There are 22 mini-games within the Main Game and I'm a little disappointed that none are offered for re-play within the CE version's Extra's menu because I really liked some of the more difficult ones. Below are brief descriptions of some of my favorite puzzles throughout the entire game:
1-Select elephant tusks to match the lengths shown on the clue.
2-Remove tiles between identical tiles that shift positions when a tile is removed.
3-Rotate and swap triangles so they share corners w/identical numbers of dots.
4-Jump gold balls until only one ball remains.
5-Use directional arrows to navigate in the dark.
6-Overlay segments strips so that every hole is filled with a gem.
7-Turn wheels and adjust arm segments to grab all circular knobs. LOVED IT!
8-Move tiles to adjacent empty slots until all gear tiles connect.
2-Remove tiles between identical tiles that shift positions when a tile is removed.
3-Rotate and swap triangles so they share corners w/identical numbers of dots.
4-Jump gold balls until only one ball remains.
5-Use directional arrows to navigate in the dark.
6-Overlay segments strips so that every hole is filled with a gem.
7-Turn wheels and adjust arm segments to grab all circular knobs. LOVED IT!
8-Move tiles to adjacent empty slots until all gear tiles connect.
In the Collector's Edition Bonus Chapter, you play as Jason Ballard, son of the Author Michael Ballard, who gets swept away to Tale World to fight an evil witch. Because you aren't playing as an Adept, you won't use any Spells within the BC. There are 10 Mini-Games and 4 Hidden Object Scenes within the BC and you will pick up the remaining 7 Mage Citadels, 7 Scene Morphing Objects and 4 Hidden Object Morphs.
The Collector's Edition version has 12 Wallpapers, 9 Concept Art Pictures (w/before-after slider bars) 10 Music Soundtracks, 0 replayable Movie Video Cutscenes, 18 replayable Hidden Object Scenes (you can pick up missing HOP Morphs, improve accuracy and earn 3 stars as well as pick up missing HOP achievements) 29 Hidden Mage Citadel's (one per scene) 29 Morphing Objects (one per scene) 18 Hidden Object Scene Morphs, Character Bios (after completing the BC) Jigsaw Puzzle to assemble (after completing the BC) Pigeon Puzzle (after completing the BC) Ultimate HO (after completing Collectible Hunt) 11 Achievements to earn (6 of which are available in 3 parts) 5 Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a Built-in Strategy Guide. The End
NEVERTALES SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-The Beauty Within (November 22-2013) 4.6
2-Shattered Images (August 17-2014) 3.3
3-Smoke And Mirrors (December 8-2014) 4.3
4-Legends (October 11-2015) 4.5
5-Hidden Doorway (October 23-2016) 3.4
6-Forgotten Pages (July 23-2017) 3.8
7-Creator's Spark (April 8-2018) 3.6
8-The Abomination (March 24-2019) n/a
2-Shattered Images (August 17-2014) 3.3
3-Smoke And Mirrors (December 8-2014) 4.3
4-Legends (October 11-2015) 4.5
5-Hidden Doorway (October 23-2016) 3.4
6-Forgotten Pages (July 23-2017) 3.8
7-Creator's Spark (April 8-2018) 3.6
8-The Abomination (March 24-2019) n/a
by: Mad Head Games
I recommend this game!