First: this is one of those point and click games where there is no tutorial or no hint at what you have to do. The good thing is that it is a really easy game, so it is not likely that you will get stuck once you start paying attention to the small details. So you have this cute and deligtful scenery to interact with, but you will soon see that all you have to do is two things: one is to pick up any raspberry you see around, the second is to keep an eye on the little pictures that will pop up on the right side of the screen once you start clicking on items. All you have to do is to collect items shown in the small pictures. Example: you need 10 batteries, so you go around in scenes (at an awfully slow pace) and click on any battery... need more? a little game that you access clicking on a question mark (up left), will let you find more if you solve a very easy minigame that is always the same: there are a few of the raspberries you gathered scattered on a grid, and you have to slide tiles under them until all berries are sitting on a purple colored tile instead of a blue one. Once you get the ten batteries, you will just see in the small pictures where you are supposed to put them in the scene. Do it, and another little square will appear, to let you know you now need, say, 6 sticks. I do not know what kind of player would like this... to me it is really boring, despite the scenes being very cute, clear and well designed, with bright colors and a lot of details. Little furniture pieces to open, flowers you will need to look inside and so on... For a child, it is maybe a bit too complicated to work. It is well done and different, though, so, as always, give it a try if you are looking for some relax. Unless someone will post there are surprises in store, I had enough with trial time.
This is a very basic game. Does not necessarily have to be a bad thing, but it is not very exciting either. You just have to go from one location to another, prompted to do so by characters that will pop up on the screen at the end of each level, and find a series of nonsense objects in said location. After you have found them all (like, say, a coffee pot, a pinecone and a unicorn figurine) the character will thank you for being instrumental in advancing some nonsense investigation about the king being dead, because you actually revealed a poison, or other useful piece of information.... ehm.... ok! But... the scenes are extremely beautiful, hidden items are clear but not in plain sight... so, if you just want to relax looking for tiny objects in beautiful locations with young family and friends... well, why not? There are even boosts if you find yourself in trouble (I used a few because there is so much time I 'like' to spend staring at beautiful scenery), and they are a hint that will automatically recharge given a little time, a lantern full of fireflies that will find 3 objects for you, a clock that gives you extra time if you are playing in timed mode and a lantern that will light up dark scenes and that I found completely useless, as you may still find the objects you are looking for even in the mid shade of said scenes. Boosts will be available to buy with the coins you gather finding objects, and they come so cheap that you could play just using them and not even making an effort at looking for pieces. Beautiful scenes come with nice and appropriate sounds and music... so it was all the more funny that the main sound you can hear in the village square was incessant wolf howling..... ugh!
As other reviewers have said, the game works brilliantly, it is visually beautiful, colorful and clear. You have multiple sets of cards and you may turn off both music and tutorial. I bought it, and after a couple days of playing it I am growing more and more disappointed that I did. I like to aim at perfect result in all the levels of a solitaire game, but with this one you cannot do much to obtain that, for two main reasons: you may not see how many cards are left on the table, or how many cards are left in the deck, and boosts are useless. You may only buy (at a very high price, considered how much gold you gather as you play) wild cards or jokers, but since you may not know how many cards are still on the table, because they are completely hidden from the card on top of the pile, you may not judge if it is worth to play one of those valuable wild cards. You may exaust a pile doing so, or there may be 10 more cards hidden under it you just cannot see... You also do not know how many cards you have left in your deck, so, it is impossible to judge what you need to get a perfect result. Once the round is over, you may only accept the result or replay the level, without having a clue at how near you were to score a perfect. Boosts just pop up after you collect a given number of objects during gameplay. Up to now, two out of four lighted up for me, but they are both useless in solving my problem with this game, as one is an additional undo, and the other will open one covered card on the table. There is no clue to what the two boosts that I have not activated yet will be, as I can only see 'not unlocked yet' if I mouse over them. Honestly, there are far better solitaire games out there if you like to put that little 'thinking' into a game that is, for the rest, just turning cards and wait for the right deal that will win the level.
I will admit I am a bit strange when it comes to liking or disliking games. I hate limited moves games, but, my all time favourite game is indeed one, and that is Mundus: impossible universe. The reason why I like that one so much is that is has just the perfectly right amount of challenge for me. After playing it over and over again for ages, I still have to briefly think before I start moving tiles, because I know well that there is a way to beat each and every level, and without any boost, but you have to devise a strategy. Now, this one plays exactly the same, but it is insanely difficult, and I got stuck, during trial time, at level 8. If you restart the level, the game will deal a different set of tiles, they are not placed in the same way, so you may not make the same moves and try and beat the level through trial and error. This is puzzling, because either you take this game as a solitaire kind of gameplay, and you just try until the game gives you a scheme that is beatable, or you play in relaxed mode, (no time limit, no moves limit), but that will take any challenge away. Also, as you go, you will restore and upgrade statues of the ancient gods of Egypt, that will obviously help you as boosters, but, at least at the start, their powers are very confusing and rather random, as each god will change a few tiles around, or make boosters appear randomly on the scheme, but again, it being random, it will not help building a strategy. Some of them god powers are indeed to break one or a few tiles of your choice, but that did not help me beat level number 8, so I may not even think what will happen later, as I suppose levels will become harder as you progress. Give it a try... I hope there are discoveries to be made, and that it may be a lot of fun, but since I am indeed stuck at level 8, I may not guarantee it, of course! Me, I will use a credit and see where it goes.....
I am disappointed in this new installment in the series. I liked all the previous clutters, even if they were starting to become repetitive, so I had high hopes for this new one. I found it has all the aspects of clutter games that I do not like, and the ones I used to like are gone. Apart from the fact that you have to figure out what the criptic menu is trying to tell you by hitting randomly icons until you start to get some sense from them, then all levels are just match pairs. You get this enormous quantity of objects (often enough one of a kind, as all smileys, all shoes, all butterflies) and you have to spot pairs from tiny details that may be seen in small corners or shades of color. Not only that, the game is timed, and you have a ridicolouosly short time to beat levels, especially if you are not using a mouse but a mousepad, as I do. However, when the time for the level is over, you get the chance to keep playing the level anyway, so it is just frustrating without making any sense. Lastly, after playng for many hours, I still find only match levels. I found one sliding images level by chance, but I am not able to find more for the life of me, and no other options I used to like, like composing sentences, for instance. Just match, match, match as fast as you can before the game basically tells you you are useless, time is over, but, oh, well, just keep playing! so, do not trust the fact you liked all the other clutter games, just try this one carefully before you buy it. Sincerely hope other fans will like it better than I did.
This is a delightfully beautiful and well working solitaire game. Basic one up/one down card solitaire, with a wide array of bonuses and wild cards to choose from to assist you. Everything is a little different from other games in this genre, but not so different you will get scared.... you light up torches to chase away spiders, you have to find keys and axes among the cards to break up ostacles... and at the end of each level you will be rewarded some mana bottles and some coins. You use coins to buy bonuses or wild cards and mana to implement some really beautiful scenes with appropriate buildings straight out of fantasy realms. It is really appealing when it comes to visual, and even music is less terrible than the usual in these games. I very much liked the slightly different approach at the usual blocked cards and other obstacles, the game runs smoothly and is easy to manage. My only complaint, hence the 4 stars, is that, even at full difficulty, the game is a little bit too easy. Take a good look at the hand in front of you before you start taking away cards, and it will be really unlikely that you have to replay the level. They are usually beatable at first try... also, the quantity of money you earn is so abundant that you will be flooded in bonuses after the first levels. It is not a real flaw... it depends on how much challenge you like in your gameplay.... I am now around level 70, and, as I said, with a little attention and strategy, you will beat level after level.... try the trial to see if that suits you. Personally, I found it very relaxing and bought it.
My disliking this game has nothing to do with game mechanics. The game works just fine and nonograms are logical, which is a big plus. As in many other games of this kind, you have several colors to each puzzle, plus various boosts helps and so on. Big problem number one: some nonograms are huge. And it would be a good thing. I have been longing to go beyond the usual 20x20 tiles. You have 30x30 here, right from the first levels, and it would be a treat, but numbers, as a result, are tiny, and they are set, for no reason, against a dark stripe in an otherwise colorful background, that makes it impossible to read them. Big, big problem number two: they show you in advance the pic you are supposed to compose. As soon as you complete one scheme, the pic you've got is magically transferred to the dark silhouette it is supposed to occupy in a little cute landscape. So, if you just look at the little landscape, you see all the silhouettes of the next things you are going to discover in the next levels. I am spoilering nothing important saying that you get to compose a train first. So the first levels will be, one at a time, all the carriages to make up your little cute train.... but after the first one, you will clearly be shown all the next waiting to be 'discovered'. So you will not be discovering the next pic, but rather filling up with different colors the silhouette you have just seen. Is that even fun? I see nothing that may overcome these big faults in the next levels, so I just had enough with the trial. As usual, try it, before you buy!
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
2/ 5
What really annoyes me is that the devs introduced a much needed new factor a few chapters ago, and that was secret colors. Basically, you cannot choose what color you want to fill, but you have to unlock them by finding keys while you fill tiles with the first color that you get. Right. Annoying factor: grids have become so easy to fill that you barely notice the secret colors thing, because you will automatically find keys while you quickly get that first color done. All in all, the game has become easier and less interesting. Now, if you are new to the game, by all means enjoy it, the series is still one of the best working, and completely logical, but, on second thoughts, if you are new to the game, you already have 30 chapters to discover, so, please, devs, will you throw in something new for us all?
Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Match 3, Puzzle
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
2/ 5
The game works just fine, and has also a good number of new ideas. You will find minigames on the map that will help destroying obstacles (the first of them being a zombielike mummy), pharaos eager to lend a hand in exchange for money, Cleopatra willing to exchange money for resources and so on... all very funny, cute and in bright colors. My only complaint, and it is a matter of personal taste, is that the only difficulty you find in otherwise very easy m3 schemes, is that they are limited time and limited moves. There is no option to change either thing, but beating each and every level is imperative, or you will find your way to the next level blocked very soon, if you do not acquire all the prizes granted for completing the scheme in the shortest time possible. By the end of trial time I was already beyond frustrated.... but give it a try if you do not mind limited time and moves, because it looks like a very good game overall.
This game, like others in the serie, has simply adorable graphics. But, for me, that is pretty much all. The grids are way too easy to solve to be interesting, and the only difficulty you can regulate switching among game playing modes is if you want to play against an easy to beat timer, a hard to beat timer of play without a timer. Since I personally hate timed puzzles, this is just not my piece of cake. Grids are so easy that you basically just have to fill up the tiles left to click on at each changing color. I would not find it entertaining even if I had to do it real quick to beat a timer. Even mazes, where you have to drive a ball to the exit, have basically just one way to go. Since others mentioned it, I investigated a way to disable the little flashing numbers, and found two. One is to go to the custom mode in the 'change difficulty' menu and disable it from the 'show segment lenght' button. The other is to click the button in the low right corner of the grid screen, just beside the big question mark. Of course, try for yourself if you like the game with its beautiful graphics and do not really care about more challenge, or even if you want to practice the genre in a relaxed mood!