Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Word
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
2/ 5
Generally I shun Match 3 games as I find them boring. I needed to use a free game code that was expiring ( why does BFG impose a time limit on free games ??) so I took a gamble on Palais Imperial based on review I read about the CD version. To put it in a few words this is a great game.
fromWherever you are, stay at home. When you must go out ( hopefully only for groceries ) wear a mask and gloves and diligently observe the distancing rules. Stay safe
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Word
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
2/ 5
Storyline
2/ 5
I didn't play or even trial the CE version and after wading thru this demo I'm glad I did not. For starters why is it that the characters introduced into the game all talk like Americans save for a few that sound British? Next bit of mess, when the detective makes deductions they are all word for word the same as what is found by the player, such redundancy is uncalled for. Furthermore all of the HO segments and all of the puzzles are routinely way to easy to finish. Where is the challenge? Pennmom in her review lamented the sameness found in oh so many " new " games. Truer words cannot be spoken.
LIke so many of the veteran gamers wading thru these not at all new games, I am saving $$$ by replaying previously purchased editions that have meat on the bones. Dark City is an apt title as the game sheds absolutely no light in the PC arena.
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Word
Fun Factor
1/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
1/ 5
Level of Challenge
1/ 5
Storyline
1/ 5
There are tons of mosaics available and Match Gems, even though there are way too many of them, is still head and shoulders above the rest. Winter in New York is a blizzard of incompetence. I slogged through 18 grids before realizing that continuing would not be worth my while.
On top of everything else that's bad, BFG chose to offer a WINTER TIME game in SPRING. Talk about dropping the ball!!
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Word
Fun Factor
3/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
1/ 5
Storyline
1/ 5
I'll give props to BFG for finally giving us something somewhat new given the overwhelming majority of new games that are nothing more than rehashes of what we have seen for more than a decade. For those of us who relish simple games that offer some very nice pictures this paint by numbers can satisfy. For me personally I got bored after doing 4 segments. I want games that stimulate the gray matter and this does not fit the bill. I recommend the game for players who are content to complete pretty pictures. I cannot endorse this to players who want a brain exercise.
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Word
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
2/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
2/ 5
A couple of the prior Bonfire games were decent but this episode does not equal or even come close to its predecessors.The story line is thin with another monster that can be subdued by nitrogen canisters sometimes. Caroline is the main character and she is searching fir Alan who as is the case in so many games tells her to go away as the demo ends.
A redeeming feature of the game is the better use of hidden object scenes as some are cleverly obscure. A major downside ( at lest in the demo ) is the use of a find the difference puzzle. These devises should never be used in any game anymore as they really stink.
Most of the puzzles are retreads and we get to find collectible skulls. It's unfortunate that in 2020 developers are using the very same themes and means of play that were common 10-12 years ago. While I realize there is not a whole lot of novelty available anymore, developers can at least try to make the stories more interesting. In the interim I am not spending money on this repetitive claptrap, so that is in and of itself is a good thing.
For folks new to HOPA style offerings this game can be appealing, for the thousands of veteran games, just stay away
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Word
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
3/ 5
I am not a big fan of mah jong. I completed the trial since I have nothing better to do right now. I did enjoy the hour. I found Fishjong to be rather easy and I got to level 24 as the trial time ended. I recommend the game for those players who like an easygoing serene atmosphere.
fromThanksgiving is over and we're still getting turkeys. If still available try an old game called Banana Bugs which is still lots of fun and try not to pull too much hair out when you get zapped.
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Word
Fun Factor
2/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
1/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
1/ 5
I am not a big fan of the one up or down solitaire games and I usually will play the trial if I have nothing better to do at the time such as now. I don't like any holiday themed game wherein the player must defeat some evildoer in order to save a day like Christmas. Furthermore this solitaire game is to busy with bad guys stealing card during a snowball fight and whatever will follow since I quit the demo with about 20 minutes left. So if you enjoy this nonsense grab it and growl. Otherwise it goes straight away into the trash bin.
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Word
Fun Factor
3/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
3/ 5
Storyline
2/ 5
..................it's the end of 2019 and Room 18 is no different from the great majority of ghostly games and/or haunted houses or hotels. Here we have brothers at this hotel stemming from an invitation with other invitees yet to arrive. Of course lots of paranormal events take place, we have a hotel receptionist who is obviously a ghost herself with nefarious intentions. A black mist pervades the hotel and we would need to be as dumb as a red brick not to realize the mist is also up to no good. The HO segments are similar to 1000s of other games and the same can be said of the puzzles. As is almost always the case, morphs and collectibles are in the offing. The best aspect of absolutely no originality in HOPA games is my wallet stays closed. Like most players of these games I own hundreds and it's often more rewarding and certainly less costly to revisit already purchased games rather than spend more money to just get the same old same old. BFG has always prided itself to give its clients " A NEW GAME EVERY DAY". Who's fooling who?? Only speaking for myself I have bought but 4 new games in all of 2019. I read lots of books each year yet I never reread any unless it's something read decades ago that I wish to revisit. Perhaps it's time for BFG to abandon the new game each day provision and go to a new game once per week and in so doing pressure the game makers to actually give us the audience SOMETHING NEW !! If anyone out there is a relatively recent player of these games, Room 18 gets a lukewarm OK. For all of us veteran gamers, do as I do and replay games in game histories.
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Hidden Object, Word
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
5/ 5
Level of Challenge
4/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
This Wanderlust edition scores many points. The look of the game is fantastic with realistic scenery and well defined objects. The story line though similar to hundreds of other games does have a modicum of originality. The game play is well defined as HO segments and puzzles are interesting.
Something threw me off after the opening scene where Jane learns she must travel to the Congo to rescue her brother Victor who has been kidnapped. We are shown a map of Africa and Jane is navigating via GPS through much of Tanzania, Kenya and all the way to what looks to be Lake Victoria. However none of this is nowhere near the Congo which is much further to the west and slightly north of where Jane ends up. I realize this is still just a game but MadHead usually is much more precise in game development. All in all this game is a far sight better than 95% of the games offered so far in 2019. Personally I have saved lots of money this year since the great majority of new games run the gamut from mediocre to just plain lousy. I can sink my teeth into Shadow of the Monolith so I will acquire it.
Favorite Genre(s):Brain Teaser, Card & Board, Hidden Object, Word
Fun Factor
4/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
3/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Another Clutter game is here for us. I am sometimes enough of a masochist to welcome these jumbled messes and this edition certainly fits the bill. We find the same sort of puzzles in 1000 as have been found in previous games. Some require finding identical pieces, some look the same but are different sizes, some have different colors. Then we get the scenes where no matched are needed but items traveling along a treadmill must be matched. Then there are the segments that are split horizontally and must be realigned to form a whole picture. For me Clutter can be taken in small doses of no more than 1/2 hour at a time. Anything longer and I get frustrated or annoyed. Included in this version are the small colored balls which must be clicked on to garner more hints when a player gets stuck. After each completed section we are provided with a photo ( I guess it's the game maker ) which does not tell us anything concrete to advance what the developer is suggesting. Lastly the directions to play are poor so folks new to Clutter are sort of flying blind. This is a game that I would only use a free game code to acquire and the game code would need to be close to its expiration date. ( Why does BFG limit a 2 month window to use freebies??? ) This makes no sense to me. One must sometimes relish a plain old junk pile game to stick a toe in this pond. For some the water will be too hot or cold and others will find the temperature to be fine.