Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Kindle Games - kindle freebie, free


I just downloaded and played the game. Your goal is to make a picture from numerical clues.



Using each number as a clue, you draw a sequence of consecutive black squares. The clues in a row or column are in the same order of black squares in the puzzle pictures. For example (2,3) on a row means there are two consecutive black squares, at least a blank square in between and three consecutive black squares on this row.



You use Next Page (>) key to fill squares and Prev Page (<) key to cross off squares with an X. To fill in many squares at a time, hold the Next Page (>) key while moving the cursor with 5-way controller. To cross off many sqares at a time, hold the Prev Page (<) key while moving the cursor. I found the key selection a bit awkward.



Starting with the largest clues is the key since it will eliminate the options available for the smaller clues. Also, make sure to mark all the blanks with an X. Marking constraints first like this is always useful in logical games.



There are 50 picture puzzles in the game. Time, hints used, and errors are recorded for each puzzle so you can compete with someone else.



Some pictures are quite complex so you may need hints to continue. Three hints are available for each picture for you to use if you get stuck.



You can find errors and erase them anytime. All errors are also recorded for each puzzle.



Amazon released another free fun puzzle game. Give it a try. It is free after all. Pixel Perfect Puzzles

This is a neat little game for your Kindle - not as addictive as some of the other games that are available as Kindle applications, but as I type this review it is free (and everyone loves free). The goal of the game is to use a certain number of clues for each column / row on the picture grid in order to figure out what picture is contained in the grid. You have numbers you are trying to connect, etc.



I will admit I wasn't able to identify a few of the pictures I played - there are 50 total in the series - but you can get clues. The keyboard does get confusing, so I wrote a few instructions down for which arrow key represents



I would agree with the game description if you like using logic to solve puzzles, you will like Pixel Perfect Puzzles (I substituted "like" for "love" in this case). Considering the game is free for your Kindle, why not give it a shot and see if you like it?

I noticed one flaw in the program -- it says to type ">" to make a black square. I didn't figure that out as "next page" until I saw another review here. I instead typed "z" for black squares, and "x" for squares known to have nothing.



These are all great puzzles, and well implemented. Nonograms, Hanjie, Paint by Numbers, Griddlers are some of the names for this puzzle type. It was originally developed by Non Ishida in Japan, in 1988. I would have paid for the program.



The logic aspects involve figuring out forced squares and unfillable squares, and continually going back and forth to figure out the status of more squares.



Picture types included:

Introductory 5

Animals 11

Electrical 10

Natural 7

Vehicles 8

Objects 9



Puzzle range from 5x5 to 15x15. This is a great free download. Other puzzle programs I recommend are NY Times Crosswords, Strimko, Futoshiki, and EA Sudoku.



Recommended.

This logic puzzle set is fun, smart and addictive.



Most folks want more puzzles, but my husband appreciates that there aren't more. For some reason he likes dinner and clean clothes.



Right now I have puzzles left to solve. If I have withdrawal when I finish, I might have to drop my rating to 4 stars. ;-)

With pixel perfect, you construct a picture of something using black squares and numerical clues.



Using the cursor buttons on your Kindle, you move around a game board that's made of squares that are stacked 10 by 10 or 15 by 15 and you make specific cells black to eventually create a picture. Just as the image for the game indicates, there are number clues on each column and each row to tell you how many sequential blocks there will be in that column, the number of black squares in each block, and the order in which they must be. Each block of squares must be separated by at least 1 empty square. For example, a row with "2 4" on a 10x10 board would mean that within that row, there will be two black squares together and then another block of four squares, separated by at least one empty square. This sort reminded me of "paint by numbers" - where you paint each cell a certain color based on a numeric code. One of the other reviewers mentioned that this was a nonogram, and, after looking it up because I'd never heard the term, that's exactly what this is.



This particular game includes 6 categories with 50 total puzzles that seem to get more complex the further down the list in each category you go. On the page that lists the categories, I liked that it tells you how many puzzles you've completed in that category and the total number so you can easily tell whether you need to skip that category. Categories include:



* Introduction - 5 puzzles

* Animals - 11 puzzles

* Electrical - 10 puzzles

* Natural - 7 puzzles

* Vehicles - 8 puzzles

* Objects - 9 puzzles



After you select the category in which you want to play, there is a question mark icon to represent each puzzle so you can't see the final image you should get for that puzzle. After you successfully complete the puzzle, the image is displayed on this selection screen instead of the question mark icon. When you place your cursor on completed puzzle, you can see the name of the puzzle, the time it took to complete, the number of hints used, and the number of errors found in the puzzle (based on, it seems, use of the "Erase Errors" feature).



The puzzles include the following features:



* Hint - You get 3 hints per game. Each hint will fill in two black squares for the 10 x 10 puzzles and 3 for the 15 x 15 puzzles. Depending on your settings in the game's "Options", it will either display a standard black box or it will display a small white box within the black one to indicate that the square was filled using the "Hint" or "Erase Errors" features. I found that on some of the larger, 15 by 15 puzzles, it didn't really help when you're starting out the game, unless you use all of your hints.



*Timed Game - The games are timed so you can see if you get progressively better as you play different puzzles or replay the same puzzle. The nice thing is that the timer doesn't start until you move your cursor or use the paging buttons, so you have time to review the clues and strategize a little before beginning.



*X's - In addition to highlighting a square black (which you do by clicking the "page forward" (>) button), you can fill squares with an "X" so you know that the square is not valid for play (i.e. you'd put an "X" in the cell between your two blocks in the previous example). To put an "X" in a square, use the "page back" button (<).



*Multi-fill - I don't know what else to call it. Holding down either the "page forward" (for black squares) or "page back" (for the "X") and the enter/select button on the Kindle, you can fill each empty cell in the row or column. It will skip any square that you've already highlighted black or filled with an "X".



*Undo - You can use your Kindle's "Back" button to undo moves. You can also reset the entire puzzle but this feature helps if you just screw up one row or something like that.



*Erase Errors - This feature will determine whether you have errors on your board and it will erase them if you do. Based on your settings in the game's "Options", it may display a little black or white box in the middle of the square to remind you that the game had to fix that square for you. There's no limit on the number of times you can use "Erase Errors" but the statistics at the end of the game will tell you how many total errors were found via this feature.



*Restart Puzzle - If you've royally messed up your puzzle, are lost and have used all your hints, or are almost done but your time makes you want to cry, you can reset the puzzle and do it again.



*Erase Player Records - Once you've done all the puzzles, you can pout and seek out another game, or you can delete all the scores and completed puzzles so you can do them all again.



I found the game highly enjoyable. It's the sort of thing you could accidentally play for hours. It engages your logical and deductive thinking skills. The graphics are clean, simple, and intuitive. The instructions for the game are accurate and helpful. Like all the other Kindle games I've bought/downloaded, you can stop a game and resume play when you get back to it. I've done about 15 puzzles but I'm enjoying them so much, I wish there were more puzzles. I'm a little competitive too, so it would be nice to know an "average" or "respectable" time to completion.



Overall, I'm sure I'll waste hours of my life wiling away with this game.



UPDATE: 7/14/2011 - I've now completed all the puzzles in this game, some more than once because it seems to erase some of your completions. I've noticed that when you finish the last puzzle in a category and use the "Select" or "Back" buttons that display on this little pop up, it may (maybe 50% of the time) delete your completed puzzle. Since I won't remember where all the black squares are versus the "X" squares, it's not a huge deal, but, as I mentioned earlier, I'm a little competitive and I like to finish what I start so it is a bit frustrating to have your work disappear. As a final note, I thought the puzzles in the "Animals" section were the most fun (in terms of seeing the end result), so enjoy those. - Kindle Freebie - Free - Kindle Active Content - Puzzles'


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