Oh, I get it, tap and go
As someone who has gone through several Picross apps on his iPhone, I was excited to hear about Tappingo 2, a puzzler for the 3DS in the same vein. Maybe this would be the perfect game for my long train rides.
Tappingo 2 (3DS eShop)
Developer: Goodbye Galaxy Games
Publisher: Goodbye Galaxy Games
Released: September 4, 2014
MSRP: $2.99
Tappingo takes the idea of Picross and flips it.
Instead of a grid with numbers representing how many spots should be filled in, it presents a picture that is almost finished and several blocks with numbers on them. Players then drag the numbers in any direction, so long as it fills up that many more blocks next to it. It’s a simple idea that you will pick up the nuances of in the first few puzzles.
Each of the pictures are small pixel-art representations of real-world objects, such as a penguin or a “popular gaming console.” There are over one hundred stages, each with varying difficulty. As you figure out the solution to the puzzle, the blank squares are filled in
One of the biggest hurdles to get through is the fact that unlike Picross, you want to solve as much of the puzzle in your head as you can rather than figuring it out as you go, because one false move can throw off your entire flow. The problem is that once you master the core concepts, the middle dozens of levels feel like just a grind to get through. Fortunately, by the end, the levels really ramp up in difficulty and take some serious thought.
The game offers completely new puzzles from the first as well as a feature to zoom in on larger, harder puzzles at the end. It would be nice if you didn’t have to zoom and maneuver at all, but this is a good solution to that problem.
The presentation itself is very basic. The music is easily forgettable, and the menus lack in key design areas such as having to scroll through several pages to get to where you just were. Also unfortunate is the fact that Tappingo 2 requires a stylus, as you cannot use buttons to interact with the bottom screen which you are putting moves into.
Still, my biggest complaint is the length. I don’t know what I was expecting at this price point, but I completed the game in just under three hours.
Tappingo 2 is a solid choice if you are looking for a way to kill a few hours and you have run out of other puzzle game options. I would have rather had fewer, more challenging levels overall but for $2.99 it might be worth the money.
