Here's some nice news for anybody who likes puzzle games and/or things made by the guy who made Monkey Island. Scurvy Scallywags, the amazingly well-tuned matching game that hit iOS in 2013, has finally worked its way to the green robot devices. It's more than just a blind port, however. Creators Ron Gilbert and Clayton Kauzlaric wanted to experiment with releasing the game for free and supporting it through entirely optional in-app purchases.
Don't worry, though. Gilbert hates IAPs almost as much as the rest of us. A really great quote illustrates just how careful the team was with making the transition to a free game:
"The problem with a lot of F2P games is that they prey on players' addiction and habits and hook into that part of our brain that enjoys gambling. When a game is doing that, it's no longer keeping you playing because it's good and fun, it keeps you playing because you're addicted. Games are tuned not to be fun, but to maximize the amount of money players spend."
That's just what we love to hear from a game designer! We heaped no small amount of praise in our Scurvy Scallywags review last year. This free edition lives up to its promise of not going down the dark side of in-app purchases, so give it a download and see for yourself just how nice of a puzzle game it is.
Scurvy Scallywags (Android)
Oh my goodness. This is seriously good. Some clever modifications to the usual match-3 mechanics, a not-too-intrusive in-app purchasing thing and a pretty funny thematic chrome on top.
What's not to like here?
Is this puppy on iOS?
Yep, it released on iOS last year. It's not a free download like the Android version is, but if the pricing experiment works it'll go that route, as well.
Update