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  • Average Rating:
    3.7
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  • Reviews Submitted:
    4712
  • First Review:
    December 10, 2012
  • Most Recent Review:
    April 24, 2025
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Cooking Trip Collector's Edition
Cooking Trip Collector's Edition
Prepare stunning dishes in the best restaurants in this culinary time management adventure!
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Overall rating 
Disliked it.
2 / 5
61 of 69 found this review helpful
MARY & JOHN...or is it Katy & Bob?
PostedApril 16, 2019
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromIf this was offered as a new Katy & Bob game in the series, everyone would be upset that it's the same game as last time, so why is it okay to offer the same game with a different title? ⚘
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Poor
2 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Poor
2 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Poor
2 / 5
Storyline 
Poor
2 / 5
I have to agree with the reviewer who said that this is an exact replica as the Katy & Bob Safari Cafe game because it is EXACTLY the same, there's not one single thing different! To make matters worse, they throw in a Strategy Guide that can be found online for free, add 5 Music Soundtracks and 10 character pictures, double the price tag and call it a day!
The story is exactly the same, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent...paying customer who bought Katy & Bob. The restaurant layout is exactly the same, starting out with 3 standing room only tables on the left, a fence around the entire tiki hut restaurant, a grill where John continuously flips steaks at a break-neck pace, a condiments station to the left of the grill, rectangular tables for fruits of various types on the bottom portion of the screen, a freezer on the right-hand side, next to the grill, to turn those fruits and veggies into a frosty cold beverage, and eventually, 2 different restaurants with similar Katy & Bob themes. Does any of this sound familiar? Of course, it does, which is the MO for all games by this dev, all they ever do is change the Title and the Characters names.
This is a Point & Click, Time Management game where you serve customers for tips. You simply click the customer to give them a menu when they arrive and then click on the items they order, (pictured items are shown in their thought bubble) and re-click the customer to deliver those food items (exactly as pictured) The good news is that you don't have to drag anybody or anything, an annoying feature some TM games incorporate. When the $ sign appears, you click the customer a final time to accept payment and then scan the cursor over the coins to receive the tip. (Coins? I don't think a few coins add up to a 20% tip!?!) Each customer has a Green Smiley over their head which turns Yellow, and eventually, Red if the service is too slow because they lose patience. Their patience level also directly affects the amount of tip they are willing to leave, with either Gold, Silver, or Bronze Coins. The "Expert" Goal amount is shown before the start of each level, and there are Bonus Goals available (but not required) which are shown at the bottom, such as collecting money from three consecutive customers simultaneously.
As you progress, the Menu items increase and become more complex, such as a Steak with several different condiments or sides. The tips you earn are used to purchase Upgrades from the Shop to help you achieve level goals, such as Extra Serving Stations, Decor to help stabilize the customers' mood or earn more money by Increasing the cost of food items.
There are 60 Levels and 12 Trophy Achievements to earn as well, but other than a Strategy Guide, a handful of character Concept Art, and 5 Music Soundtracks, there's really nothing offered here that make this game Collector's Edition worthy, especially at twice as much money. If you love the Katy & Bob series, you'll surely love Cooking Trip because it's exactly the same game with slightly better graphics, however, I would suggest you wait for the Standard Edition version if possible. The SE will more than likely still have the Achievements, and it appears that the 60 levels are part of the game as is, none of them suggest that they are CE extra levels!
by: 8 Floor Games Ltd.
+53points
61of 69voted this as helpful.
 
Fantasy Mosaics 34: Zen Garden
Fantasy Mosaics 34: Zen Garden
The penguin family is back and they've discovered a new way to play mosaic puzzles!
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Overall rating 
Loved it!
5 / 5
31 of 41 found this review helpful
THE NEW ZEN MODE IS REALLY COOL!
PostedApril 16, 2019
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromThe Penguins offer some of the best Griddlers in the ocean! ⚘
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Excellent
5 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Excellent
5 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Excellent
5 / 5
Una Penguin has discovered a Zen Garden and has given us a new way to play our favorite Fantasy Mosaics griddlers! The Zen Mode is perfect for those of us who prefer to solve the griddlers without all the hand/flipper holding. In Zen Mode, the numbers aren't crossed off but Mistakes aren't counted against you either, because chances are, you'll have to edit some of the cells as you switch colors. You can delete crossed off cells by right-clicking, and once you complete an entire Color grouping correctly, the color bubble will place a checkmark on that color bubble. I have to agree with MrsBen on her assessment that it can become really confusing if you make a mistake because there's no "safety net" to say you got something wrong with a giant Red X mistake penalty, but I loved the added challenge.
The Zen Garden is similar to the Inventor's Workshop Harry Penguin discovered in the last Fantasy Mosaic game, where you can click to open the door to go inside or return to the Zen Garden outside. There are 20 Zen Locations, and each location has 5 Griddlers each, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover challenging mosaics right from the start, so if you are new to this genre, you may want to start out with one of the earlier Fantasy Mosaic games and work your way towards this one. I would recommend any of them from number 14 and up because I believe that that's when they started offering the multiple Color Griddlers. (#14~4 colors, #16~6 colors)

I love the vibrant color pallets they have chosen, they make the finished image really pop, and they are very Spring-like. as always, the pictures you create are easily recognizable, but if you don't "see it" right away, the pop-up score window will show the completed image with a titled description. Fantasy Mosaics have mastered the art of the Grids themselves, each Row and Column is highlighted when you hover the cursor on one of the cells, and the cell itself will be highlighted with the current color you are working with. Unlike other Griddlers, these are always based upon Logic, so you'll never have to guess or use a power-up!
You can choose from 7 different tile sets, ranging in color vibrancy and styles. Locked Colors can be disabled in the Settings menu, otherwise, some of the colors are locked and unavailable until you uncover color specific keys that are hidden beneath some of the filled-in cells The Eye feature allows you to hide the grid to get a look at the puzzle without all the grid lines, and there is a reset icon that makes it much easier to restart the level if you make a mistake.
In addition to the new Zen Mode, you can also choose to play in a Casual Mode which crosses off the tiles one by one, or the Advanced Mode, which only crosses off tiles once the entire row and column have been filled in. You will earn a Gold trophy if you make no Mistakes, a Silver trophy if you make one mistake and a Bronze trophy if you make two mistakes. You will also earn up to three gold Stars if you don't use any Hints, one star is deducted each time you use a hint. Therefore, it is possible to make a mistake or two but still earn 3 stars as long as you don't use any available hints.
Mosaic Griddlers may seem overwhelmingly complicated at first glance if you've never played a game from this genre, but please don't let these games intimidate you because they are really fun puzzles to solve. I've had several people tell me they never played these puzzles because they thought it was a Math-based game at first glance, but other than counting cells, there's no math equations involved, lol. There are groups of numbers located on each column and row of the grid, each group of numbers must be separated by at least one blank or crossed-off cell. Sometimes it's easier to cross-off cells that can't possibly contain a filled-in cell, which will reduce the number of cells and narrow the playing field down a bit, when you get stuck, you can switch colors and work back and forth until it's solved. Some of the cells contain bonuses such as extra hints, extra mistakes allowed or an extra pickax which allows you to choose which cell you want a hint on, and some cells contain keys to unlock colors (unless you disable this feature in settings) There is a Sun icon as well that when fully charged, will give you a mega-hint, filling in or crossing off a 3x3 area of your choice.
FANTASY MOSAICS SERIES LIST
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
1-Fantasy Mosaics (May 6-2014) 4.0
2-Fantasy Mosaics (May 27-2014) 4.1
3-Fantasy Mosaics (July 2-2014) 4.2
4-Fantasy Mosaics: Art Of Color (September 2-2014) 4.2
5-Fantasy Mosaics (December 1-2014) 4.1
6-Fantasy Mosaics: Into The Unknown (January 19-2015) 3.9
7-Fantasy Mosaics: Our Home (March 3-2015) 4.1
8-Fantasy Mosaics: New Adventure (April 21-2015) 3.7
9-Fantasy Mosaics: Portal In The Woods (July 8-2015) 4.0
10-Fantasy Mosaics: Time Travel (October 7-2015) 4.8
11-Fantasy Mosaics: Fleeing From Dinosaurs (October 7-2015) 4.0
12-Fantasy Mosaics: Parallel Universe (January 6-2016) 4.3
13-Fantasy Mosaics: Unexpected Visitor (February 16-2016) 4.5
14-Fantasy Mosaics: Fourth Color (March 29-2016) 4.6
15-Fantasy Mosaics: Ancient Land (May 17-2016) 4.3
16-Fantasy Mosaics: Six Colors (July 6-2016) 4.0
17-Fantasy Mosaics: New Palette (August 31-2016) 4.5
18-Fantasy Mosaics: Explore New Colors (December 5-2016) 4.1
19-Fantasy Mosaics: Edge Of The World (January 19-2017) 3.8
20-Fantasy Mosaics: Castle Of Puzzles (March 20-2017) 4.7
21-Fantasy Mosaics: On The Movie Set (May 8-2017) 4.6
22-Fantasy Mosaics: Summer Vacation (June 12-2017) 4.4
23-Fantasy Mosaics: Magic Forest (July 24-2017) 4.7
24- Fantasy Mosaics: Deserted Island (September 18-2017) 4.2
25-Fantasy Mosaics: Wedding Ceremony (November 13-2017) 3.8
26-Fantasy Mosaics: Fairytale Garden (January 22-2018) 4.0
27-Fantasy Mosaics: Secret Colors (March 5-2018) 3.6
28-Fantasy Mosaics: Treasure Map (April 23-2018) 4.1
29-Fantasy Mosaics: Alien Planet (June 11-2018) 3.7
30-Fantasy Mosaics: Camping Trip (August 13-2018) 3.9
31-Fantasy Mosaics: First Date (October 15-2018) 4.1
32-Fantasy Mosaics: Santa's Hut (December 24-2018) 4.4
33-Fantasy Mosaics: Inventor's Workshop (February 25-2019) 4.3
34-Fantasy Mosaics: Zen Garden (April 15-2019) n/a

by: Match Gems
I recommend this game!
+21points
31of 41voted this as helpful.
 
The Love Boat™: Second Chances Collector's Edition
The Love Boat™: Second Chances Collector's Edition
Get ready for a new time management adventure with the Love Boat crew!
 
Overall rating 
Disliked it.
2 / 5
65 of 67 found this review helpful
THE SO-CALLED MINI-GAMES MAKE THIS GAME AN ABSOLUTE CHORE
PostedApril 14, 2019
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromDid they change devs? ⚘
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Poor
2 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Poor
2 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Poor
2 / 5
Storyline 
OK
3 / 5
Although I prefer a Strategy-based Time Management resource game, I'm a big fan of the Delicious Series and some of these spin-offs. I grew up watching The Love Boat weekly, but I couldn't complete this demo because of the ridiculous mini-games every few seconds. They don't require any skill whatsoever, click these boxes, drag this passenger, lift off this cover, pick these exact brochures, man, what a chore. I can clean a closet and have more fun!
There's nothing Exciting or New aboard The Love Boat cruise, but I will say that I don't remember the graphics being this unappealing in the first episode. The characters are flat with no dimensional features, especially when they move, and their hands look weird, like claws?? The boat parts obviously need a good oiling too, some tasks, such as lifting the cover off of the kiosk or dragging the poor passengers, would take several attempts before my mini-game movements were accepted. This is unacceptable because I had those same issues in the first game too!
As with all "customer-based" Time Management games like this, the passengers arrive requiring a particular service as shown in their thought bubbles. You click on the customer to deliver their specified requests, and to check them out, this time all you have to do is click the elevator button. Unfortunately, almost all of the passenger requests involve some type of excessive fast-clicking or dragging of something or someone. Some of the stocked items require restocking, some tasks require combining several items to complete.
Chain or Multi-tasking and fast service also give you bonus points, the goal is to keep the customer happy to earn more money. If you provide excellent service, the passenger will earn a Gold Heart and will no longer lose patience. Each level has an optional additional Objective Quest that will reward you with diamonds for completing them. Carl the Mouse has climbed aboard, everyone was expecting him to, because he's actually the star of this show and all of the other spin-off TM games like this one. You will earn extra points if you click on his tiny little mouse head when he pops up on every level unexpectedly.
You can earn up to 3 Stars per level when you achieve expert status. You must earn at least 1 Star to progress to the next level, and when you earn all 3 stars, it unlocks the Challenge Levels. Challenge Levels allow you to earn more Diamonds. The Diamonds are used to Upgrade and Level-up the Crew Members with special abilities. The cash you earn is used to purchase features that help you progress, such as earning more points, restocking items faster, or reducing the time it takes to pick up & deliver products. I wish it had an option to disable the mini-games!
THE LOVE BOAT SERIES LIST
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating 
1-The Love Boat (December 17-2017) 4.3 
2-Second Chances (April 13-2019) n/a
by: BoomZap Entertainment
I don't recommend this game.
+63points
65of 67voted this as helpful.
 
Bridge to Another World: Gulliver Syndrome
Bridge to Another World: Gulliver Syndrome
Can you find Gulliver and escape Lilliputia in time?
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Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
38 of 50 found this review helpful
DID I JUST BECOME A GIANT OR DID EVERYONE ELSE SHRINK?
PostedApril 14, 2019
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromThis is an awesome storyline with plenty of plot twists! ⚘
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Good
4 / 5
Storyline 
Good
4 / 5
Completed CE game approx. 4.5 hours
(including CE Bonus Chapter & all mini-games)
Completed Demo of SE version

Dr. Thumble must be really good at hypnosis techniques because this session seems incredibly real. One minute I'm at the shrink's office, the next, everyone else has shrunk! I hope the good doctor doesn't expect me to pay for this office visit, what a nightmare! I wake up to find myself shackled and held prisoner by little tin soldiers the size of the rice crispies I ate for breakfast. To make matters worse, the shrink keeps telling me to find Gulliver if I want to wake up from this jolly green giant fairytale nightmare and some smart-donkey (if only lol) just stole my compass, I am not paying for this shrinking giant session, I'm not even the only giant on the block!
There's yet another Gadget, (only used 5x's) an Organ that plays movie clips to progress the background story, once you find the cylinders. For some strange reason, gadgets seem to come in waves, every game will have them at one point and then none of the games will have them. I can't understand why they add a gadget or helper which automatically cuts the targeted audience in half. Most gamers won't choose a game because it HAS a gadget, but they will choose to NOT play a game because it has a gadget!...just saying...
The Collector's Edition version has Morphing Objects and Hidden Key Silhouettes in most of the scene locations. I found myself staring at some of the scenes quite intently searching for some of those keys, so kudos my 4Friends! The Morphing Objects morph at a decent enough speed to make them fairly challenging to find, however, I wish devs would be a little more creative with my all-time favorite feature, and hopefully, they will read my suggestions here (as a general overall scenario)
The location of the morphs always seems to be located in obvious places, I shouldn't be able to anticipate where it will be the second I enter a new scene (and of course, it's always there) They always morph too fast and the flashing grabs your attention before you even start to look for them in the usual spot. Lastly, but most importantly, don't have a mushroom morph into a white baseball or any other object that isn't related to the mushroom or the scene's surrounding theme! If all you have to do is glance at the scene to scan for an out-of-place fast-flashing object what's the purpose?
There are 14 Hidden Object Scenes in the Main Chapters and 6 within the CE Bonus Chapter. Most of the HOP's are just average Listed Item Finds with an occasional slight interaction to perform on one or two objects. I felt like the scene locations could have been a bit more colorful and more thought should have been applied to their creativity. Towards the last few chapters, the Hidden Object Scenes are repeated in the same location which didn't impress me, but in all fairness, I'm rarely impressed by HOP's nowadays. There are also Multiple's of the Same Object Finds, Pictured Item Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, and Related Pair Finds. One HOP I did find creative required using a magnet to locate items you couldn't see until the magnet picked it up, and that same scene was repeated shortly after to find several colorful flowers.
There are 17 Mini-Games in the Main Chapters and 5 within the CE Bonus Chapter, and 4Friends got it right. The mini-games start out easy and uncomplicated but become increasingly more complex as the game progresses. Not to the extreme extent of being mind-boggling frustrating, just more intricate. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games I found interesting:
1-Prevent the donkey from escaping by destroying bridges to trap him.
2-Adjust segments of arms & legs until they land on letters.
3-Select blue buttons to flip over the indicated stained-glass pieces.
4-Find related pairs by flipping over 2 cards which swap if incorrect.
5-Use directional arrows to gather seaweed in a specified number of moves, using portals.
6-Swap pie-shaped pieces in groups of 3 to complete the image.
7-Swap tokens to their matching image by changing path directions.
8-Move the sphere through a honeycomb grid & avoid cannonball shots.
The CE Bonus Chapter goes back in time slightly and is centered around the timeframe when Gulliver was imprisoned by the Lilliputians. The main characters are Gulliver and Rose, and it helps to fill in the blanks of the Main Chapter's storyline gaps. There are 6 Hidden Object Scenes and 5 Mini-Games within this average length chapter, consisting of 8 Scenes (about the length of any of the main chapters, not too long, not too short, in my opinion) You will pick up the remaining 8 Key Silhouettes which unlocks the Treasure Chest to award you with a handful of mini-game puzzles. You will also find the remaining 8 Morphing Objects that unlocks the final 2 Pond decorations as well.
The Collector's Edition version has 12 Wallpapers, 16 Concept Art Pictures (before/after) 4 Screensavers, 6 Music Soundtracks, 29 Re-playable Movie Video Cutscenes, 12 Re-playable Hidden Object Scenes, 14 Re-playable Mini-Games, 21 Achievements to Earn (12 achievements have 3 categories) 27 Hidden Key Silhouettes, 33 Morphing Objects, 5 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter and a Built-in Strategy Guide.
BRIDGE TO ANOTHER WORLD SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-Burnt Dreams (April 27-2014) 4.0
2-The Others (April 26-2015) 3.8
3-Alice In Shadowland (September 2-2016) 4.3
4-Escape From Oz (June 30-2017) 4.6
5-Through The Looking Glass (July 6-2018) 4.2
6-Gulliver Syndrome (April 14-2019) n/a
by: 4Friends Games
I recommend this game!
+26points
38of 50voted this as helpful.
 
Whispered Secrets: Cursed Wealth
Whispered Secrets: Cursed Wealth
Can you find the truth hidden behind the castle walls?
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Overall rating 
It was OK.
3 / 5
29 of 36 found this review helpful
FYI: THE COLLECTOR'S EDITION VERSION HAS SOME REALLY COOL COLLECTIBLE'S AND MORPHS!
PostedApril 12, 2019
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromBeautiful graphics GrandMa! ⚘
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
OK
3 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
OK
3 / 5
Level of Challenge 
OK
3 / 5
Storyline 
OK
3 / 5
Looks like something fishy is going on in Masonville and it's up to the good detective to uncover the truth of just who murdered Mary. The list of suspects is long, including Mary's very own sister Giselle. One by one the suspects are narrowed down until the culprit has been nabbed, but sorting out the evidence in this dysfunctional family may prove to be harder than you ever thought possible.
I'd like to clarify a few things in my review, first of all, I loved the muted pastel graphics, I don't recall GrandMa Studios using this type of graphics before. The storyline is good, I loved the CE Morphs and I loved the CE Sin Cards which I found to be well blended into the scenery, but I hated the Evidence Box Gadget. It felt like a chore to have to endure watching as the detective penned all the evidence down for every suspect then the evidence box would start jiggling and sparkling, which took me out of the storyline zone. To make matters worse, I had to pick up all the evidence I'd collected and place them into the box, not by using my deductive skills, but rather by simply placing them where the highlights appeared. If they had made this scenario a mini-game where I actually had to figure out where each piece of evidence went, I think it wouldn't have been so bad. This was just an annoyance for me personally, and I realize others may very well enjoy this added chore. I didn't mind the Photo Scene Matching because this is what Whispered Secrets is famous for and it's a quick task. So the bottom line is, if you don't mind the Evidence Box scenario, this is a great game.
The Hidden Objects Scenes are varied with Interactive List Finds, Multiples of the Same Objects, Keywords in Sentence Finds, Replacing Items into the scene and Progressive Interactive Finds. There is an alternate Match 3 Game if you don't like HOP's. I loved the stained glass HOP where you had to rotate circular discs, but it would have been much better if the items weren't so large and easily spotted.
Some of the Mini-Games are complex but for the most part, I felt that they were way too simplistic and not really challenging, but this is just my personal preference. I also liked that some of the games were available in an Easy or Hard difficulty mode. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games I enjoyed:
1-Use rotational arrows to slide tokens along lines to matching slots.
2-Arrange the gears on the board so their matching symbols touch.
3-Swap and rotate tiles so they complete the image when they move along the paths.
The Collector's Edition version has 9 Wallpapers, 12 Concept Art Pictures, 8 Music Soundtracks, Re-playable Movie Video Cutscenes, 15 Achievements to Earn, 20 Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces to assemble 1 Jigsaw Puzzle (w/in zoom zones) 52 Sin Cards (reveal 7 Goblets of Sins: 8-Gluttony, 7-Pride, 8-Wrath, 7-Envy, 7-Lust, 7-Greed, 8-Sloth) 20 Morphing Objects, 4 Chapters +Bonus Chapter +Epilogue Chapter III (find all Sin Cards to unlock) and a built-in Strategy Guide.

WHISPERED SECRETS SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-The Story of Tideville (November 3-2012) 4.1
2-Into The Beyond (December 11-2013) 4.3
3-Into The Wind (November 2-2014) 3.5
4-Golden Silence (September 4-2015) 4.4
5-Everburning Candle (April 29-2016) 4.4
6-Song of Sorrow (December 21-2016) 3.1
7-Forgotten Sins (October 1-2017) 4.0
8-Enfant Terrible (August 3-2018) 3.7
9-Cursed Wealth (April 12-2019) n/a
by: GrandMa Studios
I recommend this game!
+22points
29of 36voted this as helpful.
 
1001 Jigsaw World Tour: Australian Puzzles
1001 Jigsaw World Tour: Australian Puzzles
1001 Jigsaw World Tour: Australia is an exciting jigsaw puzzle game and tour guide with 500 high-quality photos
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Overall rating 
Disliked it.
2 / 5
69 of 83 found this review helpful
CHANGE...SOMETHING...ANYTHING!?!
PostedApril 11, 2019
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromI'm sending ESP thought waves, can you hear me? ⚘
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Poor
2 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Poor
2 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Poor
2 / 5
Here we go again, another featureless puzzle game that is exactly the same (except for the country) It didn't work on the last puzzle, or the one before that, or the 30 before that, so here I go again! By now surely everyone knows the routine, same music, same useless features, same tools, and the same pictures that have just been recirculated from the different puzzles they offer. I guess they think that what's good for one is good for all~time. I'll give it 5 stars if you change something! You don't even have to add a normally standard feature!
Once you finish the puzzle you get to see a brief glimpse of the picture before it disappears forever, it's so brief that if you blink you will miss it! You can't save them as screensavers, you can't even revisit them in a gallery, but that shouldn't be a big shock, because these puzzles never have any cool or interesting option features. As long as they continue to spew out these games without making an attempt to offer features that avid puzzle geeks want, I will continue to ask for more, but unfortunately, I'm not allowed to say what features I'd like to see them change, so I guess they'll never be able to know what needs to be changed or be added, but if you change something...
In 1001 Jigsaw World Tour: Australia, you can choose puzzles from 5 different boxes that are uncategorized and have 100 puzzles available in each. You can also earn Trophies for reaching goals such as playing a certain amount of hours, joining up to a million pieces, scoring a certain amount of points, solving a puzzle without making a mistake, solving variously sized puzzles, or solving a puzzle without using hints, sorting, or pocket features. There are also Top Scores and personal Best score tallies.
Any of the puzzles can be modified with the number of pieces, the cut shape of the pieces and whether or not you want the pieces to rotate. There are 4 different backgrounds to choose from, pink, green, blue and grey, a box to store extra pieces until needed, a Sort option a Border only option, a Hint option, and an available Magnifying glass to enlarge pieces. You can also Ghost the image of the puzzle to the background or hang a picture in three different sizes.
The problem is that these are the EXACT same features that they offer in all of their puzzle games. In this puzzle series alone the average rating went from an impressive 4.0 to a 2.4, which tells me that puzzle geeks don't have a need to buy another puzzle by this dev if they bought the first one, and rightfully so because it's the same thing with none of the features puzzle geeks actually want! I guess they will just have to use ESP to know what puzzle fans would like to see changed in their games...if it changes, I'll be the first to hop on board.
1001 JIGSAW WORLD TOUR SERIES LIST
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
1-American Puzzle (June 29-2016) 4.0
2-Asia (April 10-2017) 3.3
3-Europe (April 14-2017) 2.8
4-Great America (February 21-2018) 1.3
5-London (April 30-2018) 3.6
6-Castles And Palaces (September 16-2018) 2.5
7-Africa (January 22-2019) 2.4
8-Australia (April 9-2019) n/a
by: Somer Games
I don't recommend this game.
+55points
69of 83voted this as helpful.
 
Edge of Reality: Great Deeds Collector's Edition
Edge of Reality: Great Deeds Collector's Edition
Can you stop an ancient legend from coming to life?
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Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
130 of 144 found this review helpful
A GREAT STORY ABOUT GREAT DEEDS INDEED
PostedApril 11, 2019
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromAtlantic Puffins are small seabirds who spend most of their lives out at sea resting on waves. In the winter, their beaks are a grey color, in spring they turn bright orange. They can flap their wings 400 times per minute, fly 55mph & dive 60 meters deep⚘
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Good
4 / 5
Storyline 
Good
4 / 5
Completed Game 4.5 hours
(including CE Bonus Chapter & all puzzles)
Many of the residents in this small Icelandic town believe the Legend of the Volcano, stories passed down for generations. They say the Volcano becomes active every 300 years and threatens to destroy everything and everyone. Only sacrifices by 7 Chosen individuals who have accomplished Great Deeds, will stop the devastation, problem is, one of the chosen is your very own daughter! Great Deed, indeed!
I liked this story, it's no less credible than any other HOPA game? I felt it was the perfect length to keep it from becoming long and boring. The only reason I knocked off a star was because of the Glasses Gadget that allows you to see the truth & speak with the animals, and the repetitive Chain Type Match 3 game associated with its use. The good news is, it's only used 5 times (+ 5 Match 3 games that actually weren't horrible)
One of my favorite 4Friends features is the amazing way they hide Collectibles and Morphs. There are 27 Scene Locations (+8 CE BC) and each scene has 2 Opaque Puffins, and 2 Morphing Objects (with pull out tab to keep track if you prefer) I'm rarely challenged by these hidden gems, but these are so well blended, that I had to stare intently, several times to find them, so well done my Friends!
There are 13 Hidden Object Scenes (+5 CE BC) I wasn't all that impressed with them because every scene is repeated, and they just weren't very creative. There are Interactive Listed Item Finds, Silhouetted Shape Finds, Multiples of the Same Object Finds, and Finding & Replacing Item HOP's and no alternative game option.
There are 21 Mini-Games (+6 CE BC) and they were perfectly fine. Yes, some of them are really easy, but there are plenty of more complex games too. Below are brief descriptions of some of my favorites throughout the game:
1~Swap photo sections to complete each animal in the correct locations.
2~Swap pie-shaped sections to complete animals next to their silhouettes. ღ
3~Navigate through cave tunnels, finding & using objects to overcome obstacles.
4~Follow color-coded wires & select the correct animal in order, using <> buttons to rotate. ღ
5~Place 2 color-coded push pins onto 2 tile images that will form each animal when combined. ღ
6~Place the correct # of connections to each switch, red lights=energy needed, green=energy produced ღღ
7~Create a path extinguish the volcano, every 3 moves will create an eruption.
The Collector's Edition Bonus Chapter takes place shortly after the Main game's timeframe. Officer Zack asks Willows mum for help again, when the Volcano awakens because the archaeologists refused to abandon their digging expedition. There are 6 Mini-Games, and 5 Hidden Object Scenes in the CE Bonus Chapter, and you will find the remaining 16 Opaque Puffins and 16 Morphing Objects, which unlocks the 5th Collectible Puffin.
This Collector's Edition version has 6 Wallpapers (note to 4Friends: can't we enjoy the beautiful scenery you created w/o characters slapped on them?) 16 Concept Art Pictures, 5 Music Soundtracks (one of which does seem, Irish, indeed) 3 Screensavers, 27 Movie Video Cutscenes,15 Achievements (12 available in 3 categories) 11 Re-playable Hidden Object Scenes, 17 Re-playable Mini-Games, 54 Opaque Hidden Puffins (nicely hidden!) 54 Morphing Objects (excellent challenge!) 5 Collectible Puffins (unlock with 5-10-22-37-54 Puffins collected) 5 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter, and a Built-in Strategy Guide.
EDGE OF REALITY SERIES LIST
Title***Collector's Edition Release Date***Average Rating
1-Ring of Destiny (April 28-2016) 3.8
2-Lethal Predictions (February 4-2017) 3.6
3-Fatal Luck (April 19-2018) 4.5
4-Hunter's Legacy (August 2-2018) 4.3
5-Great Deeds (April 11-2019) n/a
I recommend this game!
+116points
130of 144voted this as helpful.
 
Quadrium 3
Quadrium 3
Solve Match 3 puzzles and help the tree dwellers return to their home in the newest addition to the Quadrium series.
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Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
41 of 48 found this review helpful
IS IT JUST ME OR DOES THIS ONE SEEM LESS CHALLENGING?
PostedApril 10, 2019
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromYou can always count on new features being added! ⚘
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Good
4 / 5
Completed Games 1 & 2
(2 hours of Quadrium 3)
I love Strategy Based games so Quadrium games are right up my alley. They are very relaxing games that allow you to choose between a 2 or 3 Match Mode style. It has 135 Levels which includes Crystal Jigsaw recreation Mini-Games. I purchased and completed the last two Quadrium games released, but this one seems a lot less challenging, so hopefully, it becomes a little more complicated as I progress further.
Anyone can play this Match3/Marble Popping hybrid, it's an easy game to figure out, and there's no Timer so you can take your time to figure out the best strategy. The playing field has an infinite amount of Colored Orbs located on the Top, Bottom, Right, and Left sides (you can only see the colors of 2 Orbs in each row or column) and the object is to remove all of the Orbs by shooting an identical colored orb from any of the parameters at the Orbs to remove them. As you progress, more colors and obstacles are added, as well as Bonuses and Antibonses. To make it easier to tell what each bonus or antibonus does, you can Right-click them for a brief description, or click on the Question Mark on the bottom right to read about all of the features.
OBSTRUCTIONS:
*Glass Border Walls~breaks when hit with an orb.
*Glass Encased Orbs~the first hit breaks the glass to expose the orb.
*Chains~requires a matching colored orb to break the chain(s) another to remove orbs remaining.
*Locks~the first match removes the lock, the second match destroys the orbs.
*Wooden Crates~blocks tiles, direct hit by any orb will destroy.
*Wooden Borders/Walls~requires a hit by any orb.
*Shielded Crates~requires a hit on the unprotected sides.
*Stone Borders/Walls~can only be destroyed by Bonuses.
*Metal Borders/Walls~cannot be destroyed.
*Extra Armor~destroyed when orbs are matched in adjacent cells.
*Mist~cleared when orbs are matched with adjacent cells.
*Portals~orbs will teleport to another area.
*Arrows~redirects moving orbs.
*Hand~stops moving orbs.
*Towers~adds 1 orb on every turn, destroyed with identical orb matches.
*Crystals~removed by any orb match.

BONUSES: (tiles morph briefly)
*Flames~include in a match to detonate an explosion.
*Rocket Missile~hit with any orb to remove 3 random orbs.
*Lightning~destroys all of the same color orbs.
*Bonus Bombs~replaces 4 random shooting orbs with bombs.
*Gold Bombs~replaces all shooting orbs with bombs.
*Mines~explode when hit with any colored orb
*Cross Dynamite~explodes when hit by any orb in a T or X pattern.
*Rainbow Orbs~transforms 7 random orbs that can be matched with any color.
ANTI-BONUSES (avoid!)
*Antibonus Orbs~adds random orbs to the field.
*Antibonus Chains~throws chains onto random orbs.
*Antibonus Locks-randomly places locks on orbs when hit.
*Antibonus Orb Walls~launches a row of orbs from a random side.
They have added Crystals to the playing field that are removed by making matches of neighboring orbs. It is mandatory to remove all of the crystals because they are used to complete a Mini-Game where you swap honeycomb-shaped tiles until the crystals form a specific pattern.
CRYSTALS:
*Crystal Singles~removed with adjacent matches, required for Mini-Game.
*Crystal Stacks~group of 5, removed with adjacent matches, required for Mini-Game.
*Crystal Boxes~box of multiple crystals, removed with adjacent matches, required for Mini-Game.
QUADRIUM SERIES LIST
Title***Release Date***Average Rating
 
1-Quadrium 1 (April 20-2018) 4.1 
2-Quadrium 2 (August 20-2018) 4.0  
3-Quadrium 3 (April 10-2019) n/a
by: Flashburn Studio 
I recommend this game!
+34points
41of 48voted this as helpful.
 
Summer Adventure 2
Summer Adventure 2
Get ready to join Mary's family on their amazing summer vacation.
 
Overall rating 
Disliked it.
2 / 5
83 of 102 found this review helpful
Zzzzzzzz......
PostedApril 8, 2019
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromI think I'll take a camping Vacation instead. ⚘
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
Fun Factor 
Poor
2 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Poor
2 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Poor
2 / 5
Summer Adventures 2 is just as exciting as Summer Adventures 1. It is a simple Hidden Object Game that mirrors the popular "Vacation" games, but it isn't even close as far as entertainment and fun factors go. The graphics are large and very basic, not to mention unappealing, and some objects are hard to recognize what they actually are because there are so few details, even when you use the Zoom Magnifying Glass feature!
The Hidden Object Scenes can be played in a Timed or Relaxed Mode, and you can earn up to 3 Stars, according to the amount of time, but it doesn't seem to penalize you for misclicks or using the Hint feature. This is an old-fashioned Listed item find HO style and each scene has a zoom zone that contains the final 2 objects, but there isn't an indication for the zoom zone areas so I had to guess or use the hint to find it. I also had problems when zoomed in, I couldn't click on objects when zoomed in because every time I clicked the scene would zip over to another area! The items to find are not proportionate, a tie may be normally sized sitting next to garlic the size of a basketball.
After each Hidden Object Scene, there is a simplistic mini-game available, such as a 24 piece Jigsaw Puzzle with no rotating feature, a game of Pipes where you click to rotate square tiles to connect a path of pipes, a group of 2 or more identical image Match 3 game or a word search variation with fruit images instead of actual words, which had to selected from beginning to end, even though selecting it from end to beginning is the same thing.
The HO scenes are just plain and boring. The puzzles are far too easy so it becomes repetitive very quickly, I'll stick to my Cruise or Park Vacation and pass on this one.
I don't recommend this game.
+64points
83of 102voted this as helpful.
 
Wanderlust: The City of Mists
Wanderlust: The City of Mists
Can you uncover the hidden city and save your mom in time?
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Overall rating 
Liked it!
4 / 5
36 of 43 found this review helpful
IT'S A MAD WORLD OUT THERE
PostedApril 8, 2019
Customer avatar
pennmom36
fromI think MHG is definitely making a comeback⚘
  • Top Reviewer
Skill Level:Expert
 
Current Favorite:
The Cabinets of Doctor Arcana
4.4 out of 5(104)
 
 
 
 
 
Fun Factor 
Good
4 / 5
Visual/Sound Quality 
Good
4 / 5
Level of Challenge 
Good
4 / 5
Storyline 
Good
4 / 5
Some say the City of Mists is just a legend, after all, how can an entire island disappear and reappear every 20 years? Finding and proving The City of Mists exists has been Isabella's lifelong quest, who caught the adventure seeking bug from Granddad. When Rebecca receives an urgent letter from mum telling her to drop everything and bring granddad's Charm with her, she suddenly realizes that her mother may have just located the city no one has ever laid eyes on before!
I didn't mind the Collin character, I enjoyed his snarky arrogant personality, however, the "collin bar" feature where you can make him tell you a joke, etc was kind of lame in my opinion and more annoying than anything. The second gadget feature was also included in the first Wanderlust game, the Tool Box, that allows you to permanently keep a Knife a pair of Needle-nose Pliers, and Granddad's Charm, another gadget that controls the Iron Giants. I'm totally fine with keeping valuable tools to use throughout the game, but I was not crazy about the shaking toolbox icon. In my opinion, there should be an option to turn off the Toolbox Shake Hint.
The Hidden Object Scenes rarely interest me nowadays because they just aren't challenging, but I gotta say that MHG upped their game on these HOP's, right from the get-go! I found the objects to be well blended (for the most part) and the scenes to be located in interesting places. They are varied with Listed Item Finds, Related Image Finds, Find and Replace Items, Multiple's of the Same Object Finds, Pictured Item Finds, and Keywords In Sentence Finds. In the CE version, each scene has a Morphing Object.
Mini-Games don't require a lot of brain-power but I actually enjoyed most of them. Below are brief descriptions of some of the games I thought were fun:
1-Spot the difference one key at a time.
2-Rotate triangles until they align with various map points.
3-Move square tiles into colored slots to create 2 images.
4-Place all shapes into the board.
5-Select the blue runes in the correct sequence shown x3.
The Collector's Edition version has 4 Wallpapers, 2 Concept Art Pictures (with before/after slider) 7 Character Gallery Pictures, 10 Music Soundtracks, 10 Achievements to Earn (5 Achievements are available with 3 Categories) 18 Re-playable Hidden Object Scenes, 1 Ultimate Puzzle (place stones w/o repeating in columns or rows) 45 Morphing Objects (18 w/in HOP's 27 w/in scenes) 27 Hidden Icons, 3 Main Chapters +Bonus Chapter.
WANDERLUST SERIES LIST
Title***Standard Edition Release Date***Average Rating 
1-What Lies Beneath (March 30-2018) 3.9 
2-City of Mists (April 7-2019) n/a
by: Mad Head Games
I recommend this game!
+29points
36of 43voted this as helpful.
 
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