If you haven't figured out the meaning of the title of this one yet, don't feel bad; I just got it myself (hint: think sdrawkcab). Anyway, let's talk about Yalpeyalper from the ever-inventive Tonypa. This time he brings us his twist on a chain reaction game.
There have been many chain reaction games made in Flash, and the formula is simple: click one object and watch as the rest of the objects react in sequence. However, while other chain reaction games leave your fate up to chance, Yalpeyalper forces you to make sure you've picked the right starting point.
The game board is also simple: a black and white array of boxes with little dots on the sides. Each side of the box may or may not have a dot. What to do? Umm, click on one, I guess. So you click on one. The box will set off the box next to it if it has a dot on that side. This repeats the process, setting off more boxes and so on and so forth. Pretty standard chain reaction gameplay.
So now there are two options: 1) You got lucky and picked the right box and set off all the boxes, and you advance to the next level. 2) (much more likely) You saw boxes and panicked! So you just picked one randomly and failed to set off the entire chain. Oh well that's okay, you'll get it next time. So next time you figure it out and get to the next level. Now you're speeding through the levels. You're feeling pretty good about yourself. Eventually you make a mistake (it's okay, everybody makes mistakes). No big deal. You'll just pick another box with a lot of dots in it.
This doesn't look like the level you just played!!! That's because it's Level 1. That's right, it's back to the start for you. That's what you get for your impetuosity. This is the brilliance of Tonypa's implementation of the replay theme (which for some reason got seriously knocked in the comments). What was before a happy-go-lucky chain reaction extravaganza is suddenly transformed into a real thinker. Now you must thoughtfully plan your moves—you only get one chance.
Analysis: Another wonderful offering from Tonypa. Yalpeyalper takes the standard chain reaction game and tweaks it just enough to change it from a toy to a puzzle. Of course, as always with Tonypa the presentation is nice and simple, and complements the gameplay well. However, as many have noted, the board is a little small, which can make it hard to see for someone who has been staring at their computer screen for a few hours.
As for the puzzles themselves, at first I thought I had figured out a brilliant strategy: just click the box that none of the other boxes can set off. However, later stages of the game required much more thinking than that. In fact, picturing the patterns in my head became quite a trying task—and also a thing of beauty. As Psychotronic commented, watching the synchronized patterns is "very Zen". It really does have quite a mesmerizing effect.
The only real issue I had with this game was the length. I could have played many more levels than the ten offered. Again, as some have suggested, a randomization feature would make this game timeless. Then it would truly embody the replay concept—I could play it whenever I wanted. In order to preserve the original replay concept, one option could be to base the levels on size - e.g. Level 1 = 4 x 4, Level 2 = 5 x 5, Level 3 = 6 x 6, etc. Then the contest would be to see who could get to the highest level. The only loss would be the artistry that goes into level creation. Maybe the game could have two play modes: Arcade and Random.
In all, Yalpeyalper is a wonderful little puzzle game and, most importantly, unique. It is well thought out and well executed. With a little work, this game could be revisited over and over, thus providing another implementation of replay. Tonypa continues to reinvent game types we've seen before and delivers a brand new experience; see for yourself.
dancemonkey - The "replay" element in this game generated a lot of discussion, and I initially agreed with those who said it was an annoying contrivance. After playing more I realized that although there were several different and brilliant interpretations of the theme in the competition, Tonypa's implementation is the most subtly brilliant one in any of the entries. It actually changes the entire nature of the game: from being what could have been a boring game of random clicking into a stately, thoughtful series of puzzles. I agree that the replays themselves could have used a "fast-forward" button, but disagree with the comment that suggested the correct square should be remembered and marked. What would be the point? If Tonypa could get a randomization feature working in this game, then Yalpeyalper could be a new puzzle sensation!
zxo - We all knew that Tonypa could teach the course on game design minimalism, but he's even outdone himself in that respect with Yalpeyelper. By taking the chain reaction concept and making a puzzle out of it, he's also once again demonstrated his keen sense of originality for game mechanics. Unfortunately, the idea doesn't quite work, as the game becomes one-dimensional once you figure out the secret. Nevertheless, it's a neat concept and the only suggestion I would make on the implementation would be to introduce a soft "pop" or something for each detonation.
I like the game, but I seriously dislike the implementation of the replay theme.
wctaiwan
Yeah for tonypa.
The only problem is, since I am an older lady. I have trouble seeing the board. Love it. Also, I got tired of "replaying" the levels that I had done right in the first place.
Good game.
Thank you
I have to agree with the above. It does make you consider more carefully which to click, and discourages random clicking as a solution technique, but one wrong move and you've got to wait (slowly) while you negotiate the previous however many levels, remembering which was the correct square each time.
I would have preferred it if the replays were fast forwarded. Additionally, if the previously correctly identified square was highlighted that might be helpful... but maybe too helpful.
Another great entry from Tonypa. The simple concept wrapped in an elegant and clean interface is reminiscent of his other recent game, .
However, for me the replay theme is a hindrance here rather than a feature. Having to remember which block you clicked on to solve a level becomes a bit of a bore, particularly as the chain reactions occur so slowly. It suggests that the Replay element was bolted on to an existing game idea rather than informing the whole concept.
Other than that, it's a great little game!
At first, I agreed with everyone about the replay theme. In fact, I played two levels, then headed here to see if anyone else was complaining. I almost closed the game after seeing that I wasn't alone, but decided to give the game another try, and that's when I discovered that if you truly look carefully, each level (so far) has a pattern that sticks out. I've just hit level 7 without needing a single replay, yet. (7 looks really hard, though.)
I take that back. A quick glance shows that level 7 is actually pretty easy.
Notice that the top two lines don't have any dots pointing down. Obviously, you don't start up there.
Notice that the middle three lines also don't have any dots pointing down, so again, you don't start there.
Finally, if you look at the bottom two lines, you can see that the pattern repeats itself: the two right-most columns are isolated, as well as the three middle ones.
This is the sort of game which pays to have a notepad near you. (or the program notepad open.)
Boy is it tedious to have to sit through all those replays... but xadoc is right: it does make you stop and think.
And I disagree with jbeaver: for me, the replay theme does not feel tacked on at all. In fact, I feel it is one of the more unique implementations of the theme yet--although I have loved a number of the entries so far, a lot of them are just slightly different takes on controlling multiple agents in succession. But here the idea of "replay" has been implemented as a form of punishment. This may seem a bit weird and frustrating at first, but like I said above it really does slowly you down and make you consider the consequences of your actions.
If you slow down you'll find that most of the levels can be solved at the first go with a bit of care (I solved six of the ten levels on my first try--although it probably would have been more if I had been paying attention in the beginning). Even if you fail, no level should take more than two attempts--look closely at the squares remaining and it should become fairly obvious what the right starting square is.
As for remembering which block to click on in case of failure, well...
Maybe this is cheating, but I wrote down the correct block for each level when I solved it. I just started counting from the upper left and assigned a number to each block.
I will be honest, though: the fact that it was a Tonypa game made me a little more patient than I would normally be. I happen to be a big fan of his games, and this one has his characteristic style.
A few suggestions:
1) Speeding up the replays slightly might be nice. Yeah, it does force you to slow down, and the knowledge that you have to sit through all the replays makes you extra careful on the later levels, but it walks a fine line between motivation and frustration.
2) In a word: size. This has been a bit of a problem with some of Tonypa's other games as well, but the board and pieces are really small. I know that a smaller physical size keeps the file size down, but with all that space to work with... an increase of even 100% would be great.
3) I wouldn't mind some sound effects when the pieces are hit. Nothing too jarring, of course, but a little something would be nice.
All in all, a good, solid game. Initial frustration aside, kudos to Tonypa for the unique implementation of the theme.
I like the game idea, and it made me feel clever to be able to solve the second level through inspection. But I don't feel like being punished any more.
I get enough of that at home. When I play a game, I want to be entertained. :)
I'm a big fan of Tonypa's games, but this one just didn't do it for me.
One, this is a very weak interpretation of the "replay" theme. If you make a mistake, you start over from the very beginning? That may work for arcade games, but this doesn't work for puzzle games at all.
I can't say that was frustrating, though, because...well, two, it was just too easy. I went through all ten levels on my first try.
First you look for any box that doesn't have any dots leading into it. If there is one, there's your solution; you have to start there since you have no way "back in". There can only be at most one such box, or the level will be impossible.
If there aren't any of those, then look for some region of boxes that collectively doesn't have any dots leading into the entire region. This will at least pare down your search area that smaller chunk, again because you don't have any way "back in".
The games on Tonypa's site are great, but I couldn't help but feel disappointed at this one.
Sorry, I dont know how to make sounds yet with AS3 :)
Even making a clickable button took me weeks to figure out.
I liked the game. To replay every level again was kinda boring, but I made it to the end ^^
Don't worry Tony, mines the other AS3 game, the menu is horrid mostly because it was the most daunting thing. Making a button in AS3 just isn't fun :(
I for one really enjoyed this game. You have to admit it really is a casual game. And just the right difficulty level.
As for the replay theme, luckily I only had to deal with it once on the first level :)
All you really have to do is
look for the block which no other blocks will detonate.
The best part about this game was that my short attention span and I didn't get bored before finishing out the game.
All in all, another great little gameplay mechanic, which is what we can always expect from Tonypa. It has my vote.
I adore this game in theory -- it reminds me of the blob puzzle, which is one of my favourite casual games. The puzzles are fun and rewarding to solve.
I however also dislike the replay aspect. I think people who like puzzle games are people who are going to think carefully on each level anyway, so the replay really adds nothing to the play of the game. In addition, it's simply uncreative. I like the JIG game competitions because it gives me games that are like, wow, no one would have thought of that without the prompt! I really don't feel this way about Yalpeyalper -- I feel like this is a great Tonypa game, but it would have happened with or without the competition.
I like this one a lot. True, a pen & paper can be really handy. I like the tinyness of it and the go/stop motion of the dots. It took me a while to figure out on my own that it was a chain-reaction game. The success/fail indicators are acres away from the playing field and my eyes never bothered to journey all the way over there to see my status no matter how many times I goofed.
But then I caught on and started really enjoying it.
A postscript -- I guess what really frustrated me is that I see a lot of opportunity for replay to be integrated well into this game -- the solution to each level can be visualised as as induction -- first the last block must be destroyed, then the block to set off the last block must be destroyed and so on, backwards. Emphasis of this theme, or, for instance, combining earlier levels so that a single block will set off the solutions discovered for both would be a much more integrated use of the replay theme.
I usually like Tonyapa's games, but I thought this was pretty disappointing. Once you realise the secret, it becomes quite tedious (and eye-straining) to complete the level. It would have been improved a lot by having variations (such as squares or dots that trigger other squares 2 or more places away, different shaped grids etc.) The replay theme is also annoying in this one. It may have worked better if the levels were more interesting to play or watch once you had clicked, but as it is now it's just infuriating.
It's an interesting idea, but unfortunately it doesn't work very well. Because of the way the replay theme is implemented (horrible idea), you basically have to search the field and play out the game in your mind before clicking anything for the game not to punish you, and this ends up feeling a lot more like grunt work than actual fun.
I did hate this game, because I thought it was based on trial and error. When I realised that it was possible to complete every level through inspection, I liked it a lot more.
As other people have said, the fact that you have to slowly replay every previous level if you make a mistake and somewhat annoying and definitely unnecessary.
Great game! I wish it were bigger though. With allt eh tiny boxed there they sort of make an optical illusion and make it kind of hard to tell which box is going which way.
Huh. After playing the game, I didn't expect this to be the reaction in the comments. I found this game to be quietly brilliant, and easily one of my favorites in the competition so far.
I think that disclosing Tonypa's implementation of the "replay" theme in the description of the game is doing it a disservice, actually. I just started up the game without reading the blurb, and as it turned out, the moment when I miscalculated on level 5 and got kicked back to the beginning was when everything really clicked for me. It sent a clear message - "Slow down." - and I did.
I went from an analytical monkey-minded puzzle solver to a laid-back, patient observer in a heartbeat. I started to see patterns in the weave of the levels, rather than hunting for that one winning spot square by square. I started to enjoy watching the slow blip of the chain reactions, like an underwater procession of dominoes. It was very Zen and wonderful.
I understand that not everyone had my experience in this case, but I think one of the things that makes video games worth playing is their ability to produce in us strange and unusual states of mind. And that's exactly what this one did, with maturity and class. I feel like a risk like this should be rewarded.
Psychotronic - I do value your input, and so I've updated the introduction of the game accordingly. Cheers.
This was nice. tonypa's got a great eye for abstract games, and this entry is no exception. The replay implementation is a bit silly, but completely avoidable, since every level is pretty easily solvable on the first try.
I guess the biggest problem with this game is that it's trying to fill some very, very large shoes, namely those of Domino Pressure, one of my favorite games featured on this site. Only when compared to Domino Pressure does Yalpeyalper appear too slow, too easy, yet too unforgiving. I'm not sure how I'd feel about this game if that comparison weren't in my mind.
I personally enjoyed level 7 more than the others. As others have mentioned before, the solution is simple.
Just find the brick that won't get touched by other bricks.
Level 7, on the other hand, didn't follow the normal solution. I don't know how difficult it would be to make more levels based off of the idea that level 7 had, but I think that it would make for a more enjoyable, and difficult, game.
Oh, and as for the replay idea, it actually makes sense when you think about it. While I don't like doing work over again, after I discovered that I had to do the original level over again when I screwed up level 2, I went much more slowly. I thought out my actions and went through the entire game without restarting. It rewards thought instead of experimentation. The only thing I don't like about is that you might have gotten far on simple guesses, and then get sent back to the beginning.
Another thought is that the levels might be able to be randomly generated somewhat. Then it really would be a punishment to get sent back to earlier levels. Only send the player back one or two levels, but now the player has to rediscover the answer on those two levels.
Another possibility that would allow for more difficulty, would be the option to use more than on click for later levels. However that ends up pushing it away from the simple idea that it is, into something a bit more complex.
Great to see you got a game working in as3, I still haven't done a thing beside reading a book about it.
I love the presentation, it's in the line of ununicum, I got associations with middle-east carpets.
You know I'm a big fan of your games, but I don't want to go too philosophical on the "replay-all-levels-over-again-thing" and search for the mystic idea you must have had while developing the game. The game is just too slow to have this feature. It could have been very well implemented in some sort of fast simon says game, that would have been great to see something like that in this competition.
Maybe the game would work as a modification of this chain reaction game too ?
Jay, the shell shows the name as Yelpeyelper, I'm not sure if this is ok?
At the risk of hijacking this thread, I did want to comment on the use of AS3 : yes it is very different than AS2, and I expect that it will give many game developers who are used to putting actions directly on instances a headache, as that is no longer permitted. Also, everything is done with eventListeners now, and that does take some getting used to if unfamiliar with them.
That being said, Adobe should be commended for what they have done with AS 3.0 as it simplifies Flash coding tremendously thus making it much more compatible with OOP principles. The resulting code is more efficient and easier to manage.
Wouter - the HTML link is not yet being updated in the AS3 version. Believe it or not, the reason I didn't roll out any AS3 entries until now is that I have been working on finishing it up right up to this very morning. As such, I had to cut a few corners and some things are still yet to be implemented, the updating of the HTML link is one of those things. Hopefully by the end of the day everything will be exactly the same in both versions.
once you work out the key they become somewhat easy
You have to find the block that isn't triggered by any others
The only thing I didn't like about this game was the tiny size of the playing field. Thanks for another fun game, Tonypa.
I might have played this game longer, if it was bigger and a bit more visually stimulating. As it currently stands, I got sick of squinting very quickly.
Quite a nice idea, but why so small and why so slow? As others have said, the continuous starting from level one is a poor implementation of the replay theme - in fact, it's quite galling to be punished by having to play the whole thing again for getting one level wrong, especially when the whole thing moves so slowly.
Though some have scolded the use of "replay" in this game, I applaud it. I was clicking squares I thought were good in the first level. Eventually I got the right one. I tried my same strategy when I first entered level 2. I didn't last long. It hit me that this would be a long tedious game if I kept using that strategy. This game really made me think (I didn't use any more replays). Though this concept has been used before, the use of replay makes you study very, very carefully. Thank you for making this great game. It's high on my list for my vote.
I have to say, I agree with the dislike of the implementation of the theme. I can see the idea of discouraging too much trial and error and making people think their steps through, but this was too much for me. I think there are better ways of doing similar things without being quite so infuriating.
Thank you all for comments :)
I understand the frustration of replaying all levels, but as it has been mentioned, the game is really very easy once you understand the mechanics and you should be able to play through it in one go without the problem. There is no time limit and levels remain same so the replaying all levels is only punishment for false clicks.
The original idea was to fill whole whole stage, about twice the size of currently last level and then watch the things explode like some abstract video. I agree that movement speed may be currently too slow and I also tried to create random levels, sadly never got it working :(
I didn't like the replaying of all levels, and I really really wish this game could be bigger. It's so hard to see that I ended up clicking on the wrong box many times and having to go back to the beginning.
To all who are frustrated with "replay" mechanic - you are jumping the gun.
Without it, you could solve the game by random experimenting, which I guess is kinda brainless and unchallenging. By making it clear "replaying" will be painful you are forced to learn the mechanics, realize they are far simpler then it looks like initially and then play the game "as it was supposed to".
The idea is great, but the size of the board is WAY too small!!! (I'm another older lady...!!)
Twice the size would be better...and less headache inducing (but that's my oproiblem I guess)
But I like the idea, just can't play it..
Oh...and I like the name...clever!
tonypa: Even making a clickable button took me weeks to figure out.
OFFTOPIC: This does not bode well for AS3... how much of Flash's success was due to it not having the benefits of Java applets?
I once thought Flash's success was due only to its artist-friendly IDE and asset integration, but now I'm not so sure...
Meanwhile, Java has JavaFX Script, an AS clone.
For those of you having a problem with the size, I've found that so far, right clicking in the middle of the playing field, and selecting zoom in, works charms.
What gets to me though, is the slow slow slow slow slow slow slow slow slow movement. Did I mention it's too slow?
Oh, and as an extra comment, (sorry for the double post) the "replay" theme of this, to me, is just "Game over, start again." Which, technically, is replaying the game, since there's nothing random about it, but I can do just that with any game. it's not something that tells me the game has been designed as replay themed.
Warning, this rambling is completely off-topic.
yow, I think Flash has been gone in wrong direction for many years now. I started with Flash4 and why I liked it so much was simple fact that complete non-programmer could make interactive content with it. With very few commands available and being stricktly menu-driven the whole "programming" part was so novice-friendly as such thing could ever be.
With every new version Flash has got more options, more power, more complicated actionscript version and with that lost part of the initial appeal. Of course we all love more power and more commands and more things to tinker with, but all that should not come with the application becoming more complicated to use and learn for beginner. If I would have to start with Flash today and would have CS3 in front of me, I would probably never bother to learn all this.
I still remember the mass-protest against Macromedia (yeah, not Adobe back then) decision to throw out the menu-driven scripting window and leave everyone with programmer-has-to-know-what-to-write window that only real programmers are able to use. Apparently it was big surprise to MM that people who worked with Flash were not all highly-educated programmers and use "normal script window". They did include similar coding window option in later versions again and its even in FCS3 as "Script Assist", but I feel they did not understand and learn anything from the mistake.
I honestly dont care if AS follows "ECMAScript (ECMA 262) standard" or not. I dont understand the advantage of turning Actionscript exactly similar to any other languages in faint hope that programmers from other languages start to use Flash just because it is somehow similar (the exact reasoning behind every change in Actionscript since Flash MX). Beats me why I need to learn object oriented programming or any prgramming at all to make clickable button. As far I can see the whole "powerful and very similar" language can fairly well reduce people interested to learn about Flash, once it is similar to other languages and it takes good amount of time to understand anything, you may wish to invest that time in some other language instead.
I am sure some fanatics may enjoy writing pure and perfectly optimised code in Flex, wonder how to "implement singleton pattern in RIA" or discuss "advantage of using subclass to override getter function". Sorry if I wrote some meaningless rubbish, these things have no meaning to me and I am sure there are a lot of Flash people out there not understanding single word either.
At least I managed to happily ignore AS2 throughout its short and unsucceful existense since it compiled into same bytecode with AS1, I would of continued same way with AS3 too, but the code AS3 compiles and is being run by new Virtual Machine inside Flash Player which provides much better speed.
Its not of course just Flash becoming more complicated with every version. I still think version 2 was best MSWord ever made, having all the necessary tools and no extra rubbish. Guess its the force of money we are suffering here as companies need to add new features to keep selling new versions. I just wish one day the developers would sit down and decide to make cheaper, smaller, easier and simpler version to gain more new users.
Well, next year same time I will probably write similar post about AS4 and Flash10 being overcomplicated and forcing users to get degree in computer science before being able to make clickable button :)
I'd love to have an open discussion on this very topic, but this is not the thread to do it in. I promise as soon as the competition is over, I will post my thoughts expounding on why I believe Actionscript 3.0 is the best Actionscript yet.
Oh, and to create a button, here's the code I used for the "J" button in the interface to play the sound with...
var ROBOT_J:robot_j = new robot_j(); // sound in libraryvar j_btn:SimpleButton; // already on stage
j_btn.addEventListener(
MouseEvent.CLICK,
function():void {
ROBOT_J.play(0,0,new SoundTransform(1,0));
}
);
Not very difficult, actually. Sound and all.
ramble warning:
@tonypa: Speed is the big benefit? I assume the changes in AS3 are (mostly) for that. Larger canvas is possible, without slow-down? Some very cool stuff might become possible, etc, to rival the desktop...? That'd be really something, a revolution, overthrow MS, etc etc etc.
But it should still have very simple just-get-it-done buttons (esp for menus - hell, they don't need to be fast!)
Is it easy to code the GUI in AS1, and hook it up to AS3 for the fast stuff? In the one project?
I do think the main reason Flash won was because creatives could make "Flashy" content. These artists/animators usually aren't hard-core coders. A different mindset. And even for the renaissance guy, great at both, a tool is better if it helps focus on the important part - the actual content. Sure, a big shop has both, but most Flash developer don't, I bet!
BTW: Another reason for adding features is to keep ahead of the competition or they catch up, and all is lost. Sometimes, a later version is a complete rewrite, like Windows XP, and is genuinely better. But mostly you're right, "cheaper, smaller, easier and simpler" doesn't seem to happen often. Maybe it just doesn't sell as well? It only takes one essential feature to hook you...
Flash has to move forward, or else competitors will kill it. But if Flash sabotages its great gift of ease-of-use, it will kill itself; and something else will replace it.
ps: sorry for the hijack jay.
er... I didn't see your post jay. I had an older web page open when I started writing. Oh well, at least I put it in a spoiler tag, so it doesn't clutter. :-)
Do we have to wait before giving complete walkthroughs?
@whiners:
I think psycho gave a really great explanation of why tonypa is making us replay all the levels if you screw up. As has been said, not screwing up is really not difficult if you are patient enough to figure out which square will work before you click. And as Jonas said... you can do it very easily most of the time.
As far as criticism goes... it's just that you can do it very easily most of the time. Other than that, I continue to marvel at Tonypa's ability to take a seemingly simple concept and turn it into a rich gameplay experience with his satisfyingly minimalist approach to presentation. Thanks tony!!
yay! i was waiting for a tonypa game :P
at first i grumbled a bunch about the restarts (well actually at first i didnt realize i was restarting), but it made me realize there was a clear strategy, which made me appreciate this game.
and it is interesting to hear this debate, from the perspective of somebody who is using flash and as3.0 for the first time...
I think its a great concept. Tonypa always did come up with something different, am sure all fans (like me) will dig this :)
Thank you for the way to get the game bigger...still don't like it (gives me a headache, it's the black n white)...but at least I can see what I wasn't keen on!
52 year old eyes need all the help they can get!
I do like the idea of it though - it has echoes of that game where you have to explode stars to clear them all..
Lol, Yalpeyalper is replayeplay backwards. Just noticeiseded that.
Great game, but like many puzzle games, impossible without a walkthrough. *sigh*
Just when I got good at the game, it last lvl told me game finished. *pouts*
I really quite enjoyed the game. I like the fact that it forced me to really read the lvl instead of relying on the replay of a lvl. Plus, after the third lvl, I didn't need to start all over again. I just "read" the lvl.
My browser (Internet Exploiter) lets me right-click the Flash control and zoom in. Those who have trouble seeing the display might like to try that.
While I liked the puzzles, it quickly boiled down to a game of 'hunt the square' applying a few simple rules. I'm going to show off and say that, after the first board, I never actually failed in a puzzle so I never noticed the 'go back to the start' feature.
If no dots point into a section then the start block is somwhere inside that section. If that section is one block in size then that's the block you need to start with. If there's multiple possible start blocks in a non-enterable section make sure the block you click causes the section they're in to get exited.
For those people who are simply looking for the simple explanation, and want to watch the pretty patterns unfolding, here are the answers:
(coord's from top-left block)
Level 1: 1,3
Level 2: 3,2
Level 3: 3,2
Level 4: 6,2
Level 5: 1,3
Level 6: 1,4
Level 7: 1,7
Level 8: 5,9
Level 9: 9,8
Level 10: 10,1
OR, you can boil down the "solution" for every level in one simple sentence:
Find the square which will never get "bumped".
The game actually suffers from the fact that every level has one and only one solution, one square that "does it". Interesting corollary is that if the later game levels introduced multiple solutions instead of just a single one, the game would actually get MORE difficult instead of less.
Furthermore, to up the difficulty another notch, a restriction in number of "steps" to solve the level could be made. Sure, the simplicity would suffer then, but you can't have everything.
Here's the walkthrough:
For each level, start counting from the top left box.
e.g.: 3,4 means three boxes to the right and 4 boxes downward
level 1:
1,3
level 2:
3,2
level 3:
3,2
level 4:
6,2
level 5:
1,3
level 6:
1,4
level 7:
2,6
level 8:
5,9
level 9:
9,8
level 10:
10,1(top right box)
finish!!!
If there is one thing I learned from games that have very few save locations, or send you back to the start of the level if you fail (as opposed to the start of the room) Repetition of something you've already accomplished, simply because you failed in a later, more challenging task is quite frankly, annoying as hell. The challenge should be the current task you are on, not the length of tasks which you have to repeat; weather or not you have to skill/wisdom/knowledge/combination/key item/experience to complete your task, not the patients to repeat tasks you've already solved. Screw Simon Says handheld games.
Other than that, its a neat chain reaction game, I like that not all the levels are just a square.
Tonypa, you are the minimalist of the Internet age.
His designs are quite brilliant, really. Although I get bored with some of his games, the ideas are often brilliantly simple, and don't have a lot of fluff to get in the way of those ideas. You see a lot of frustrating puzzles on the web that have poor graphics, poor control, and often too much going on. Because Tonypa's games are so accessible, even the frustrating, "not-my-type" games are always worth a play because of the visual style. It's very condensed and doesn't confuse the eye. Thus, if you hate the gameplay (which, generally with Tonypa, you won't), you can still admire the beauty that comes from simplification.
Cool game! Nothing wrong with being made to s l o w down and think. But, as yet another older player, I agree that bigger would be better (although slower, maybe.)
I read somewhere that the fastest growing category of casual game players is middle-aged women...that's right guys, your mothers are playing your games!
I hate sounding like the grumpy old grandpa, but I think Tonypa fell flat with this one.
It takes approximately 30 seconds to figure out the trick to solving the levels, and after that, the whole game is ridiculously easy.
Just look for a square or group of squares that don't have any dots pointing INTO them, and start there. It's easy to find.
I finished the whole game in 10 minutes, and half of those minutes were spent replaying the same levels over again because I slipped up once in level 7. Sorry Tonypa, but the element of having to play the whole thing over again is a completely artificial challenge.
REPLAYEPLAY
IS A GOOD GAME
BUT THE REPLAYeplay
part sucks
THIS GAME IS MAGNIFICENT!!! Although some... or most people do not like the idea of the replay, i think its great because it puts the pressure of having to redo the whole thing on you and it makes you actually think about it instead of randomly clicking on a box. GREAT GAME TONYPA!
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