Mobile

Now and then a puzzle game emerges that feels like a breath of fresh air. In the case of Sinkr, a 2D puzzle game by Wahler Digital, this is achieved largely through the minimalist design of the game's visuals and the originality of its mechanics. The game starts you off with a deceivingly simple task: guide the pucks home to their circular zones. To do this, you are given an array of hooks that you pull along in a set direction by winding a winch-like hexagon. Simply click and hold the hexagon to set the hooks in motion, using the grid in the background as a positioning guide if needed. The introductory levels are a breeze but things quickly become a bit more thought-intensive as new mechanics are added and combined in interesting ways.

RED is Bart Bonte's latest game and red is the color of Valentine's Day...we have excellent timing!

[Note: This game contains mild gore as well as themes of death and violence that some players might find upsetting.]

Rusty Lake has become one of the gaming community's favorite vacation destinations and the developers are responding to this with a string of projects that seem to only increase in scope. With yet another game already in the works and a short film planned for future release, Rusty Lake shows no signs of slowing down. Rusty Lake Paradise (available for PC, Mac, Android, and iOS) is the latest addition to the already extensive series, and is the third premium game to be released along with Rusty Lake Hotel and Rusty Lake Roots.

After hard work, it's time for relax with Tesshi-e in Escape Hotel!

We exist in the world as people defined by the places we go. We go to work, we go to the mall, we go to the doctor's office, we go on vacation. Always thinking in absolutes, we so rarely spend much effort considering the places we pass through on the way to the places we go; the bus stop on the way to work, the parking lot outside the mall, the waiting room outside the doctor's office, the baggage claim at the airport. But what happens in these wistful places where we spend so little of our time? What greater purpose do we not see as we merely pass them by?

Boo! A bit late, huh? Well, Bart Bonte isn't late, it's me. Brand new BB's game was released a week before Halloween but sometimes things are not going as planned...oh well. You can put a memo somewhere and leave the game to the next Halloween, but it would be a pity as this is awesome game, based on unique and original Factory Balls series.

The new game from Bart Bonte is sharp yellow and black. The first-signal system activates! Wasps! Hornets! Caution Bio-Hazard! Caution Wet Floor! Slow Down! The last one is correct, no need to hurry anywhere, we've got awesome relaxing game with 25 levels (PC) or 50 levels (Android/iOS), with beautiful graphics, vivid music and great puzzles. Well, you may played the game already as Bart Bonte on his blog says that it passed one million downloads on Google Play recently...

It's the winter of 1972. In Rusty Lake's latest instalment of the disturbing Cube Escape series, the protagonist rows across the lake to a strange cave full of weird and wonderful goodies, including a dog (how long has it been in there?) and an unfortunate diver who needs your help.

Fans of the series will recognise Rusty Lake's signature surrealist style and weird creepiness in this latest game. After entering the cave, use the mouse to explore your surroundings and collect items to help you escape. The puzzles are a mix of utilising items and mini-game style puzzles, which keeps things interesting. There are a few gruesome moments, so be prepared for that if you are a little squeamish.

In Realm Grinder, you're the ruler of a kingdom, and you can choose to align yourself with the forces of good, or the forces of evil. As you click, you accumulate gold and faction coins. Your accumulation of faction coins lets you align with Fairy, Angel, or Elf factions while aligned with the forces of good, or Goblin, Undead, or Demon while aligned with evil. Your choice of alignments also chooses which types of buildings you are able to build.

Where is Cat this time? In this charming little puzzle game from Bart Bonte, Cat has a craving for authentic Japanese sushi that simply can't be satiated through a trip to his local Sushi Train. He needs the real deal! Cat decides to takes a trip to Japan in search of 20 delicious pieces of his favourite Asian delicacy, but he needs your help to find and eat them all. (He probably needs less help with the eating part than the finding part).

Today, we are going for a stroll back in time. Cast your mind back 12 years (yes, it's been 12 years) to 2005. What do you remember from this momentous year? Perhaps you recall the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland, or maybe you are still thankful for the launch of video giant Youtube. Star Wars: Episode III and Batman Begins were both released, as was the sixth instalment of the Harry Potter book series. In amongst all of these worldwide hits, Robin Allen quietly dropped a ton of stick-figure dismemberment on us in his hit Flash game, Hapland. We can still hear the faint sounds of frustrated players hitting their foreheads on their keyboards as their 137th attempt to successfully finish the game crashes and burns before their eyes.

Heed us, readers! Our words are backed with CUTE VOXEL GRAPHICS and SOOTHING BLIPPY CHIPTUNES! [We've found that's much easier on the floors around here than nuclear weapons.] Midjiwan reinvigorates Sid Meier's Civilization-like turn-based strategy and resource management gameplay for Android and iOS and gives it a sleek mobile interface, voxelized graphics, a refreshing chiptune soundtrack and chibikkoi cast of adorably tiny characters. Games usually last thirty turns in Perfection mode, but the option for Domination mode will let you keep playing long enough to become the undisputed ruler of the realm — or to research all the techs and build all the turf improvements until you're satisfied with your infrastructure or score. Polytopia even comes with a 'Pass & Play' mode that lets you play multiplayer with your friends locally until you don't have any left!

Android developer Yiotro shows us that the best things in life are not only free, they're also buttery-smooth and more than a little offbeat with Achikaps, a minimalist economics simulation with defense elements that fans of rymdkapsel will find eerily familiar. Achikaps has you building production nodes, managing workers and occasionally fending off timed waves of aerial invaders, but has less to do with placing tetrominoes and much more of managing supply and production processes [getting enough raw materials acquired and processed in various player-built facilities to become things you actually need] and defense [amassing enough workers to man the defense stations and successfully fend off the waves of invaders that show up on some levels]. Each of the fifty levels have completion requirements necessary to advance, and the paid version has three times that, along with a level editor and unlimited slots for savegames. Achikaps' slimmed-down look reminds us that content is king, and makes for smooth play even on older Android models — even the nifty two-finger rescaling feature.

It has been said that everything in life is a matter of perspective; that everything is a matter of
viewpoint. Well, in the new game by Bryce Summer, Viewpoint - A Game of Perspective, viewpoint is the main thing that matters. What does that mean, and how changing my viewpoint can help me beat levels in a platform game? That's a good question. Stay tuned.

Sometimes you just need to get some time away from it all, and this soothing crafting role-playing game by Chibig is just the thing. One part Harvest Moon, one part The Little Prince, Deiland features a young prince who is the sole inhabitant of Deiland the Tiny, smallest of the outlying minor planets. Fortunately the land is great for mining, farming and lumber, enabling you to craft tools and buildings and upgrade them with improvements, cook, catch fish, learn recipes and craft them either for yourself or for the traders who occasionally stop by from time to time. Mun is a brave hunter of bugs who will often have just the right items you need, Lock is a kindly old man with plenty of potions and mixtures and an interest in any herbs or produce you happen to have, and Brram is an interstellar chef who buys and sells culinary masterpieces. While slightly briefer than most games in the genre, with its tranquil music and positive attitude Deiland is uncomplicated and interesting enough for young people while involved enough to keep adults interested. There's always something to do, and it's also just the thing for keeping the hands and eyes busy if you're the type to listen to lectures, radio plays or audiobooks in the background. When you do finish Deiland in about a week, be sure to check out its free sequel Ankora for Android and iOS, which is more advanced and features Mun the huntress crash landed on a much larger farmable planet.