Review: Kakuro Mania
Game: Kakuro Mania
Format: iPhone/iPod Touch
Developer: Boyan Kolev (Independant)
Publisher: Indie Developer Consulting/Boyan Kolev
I’d never consider puzzlers as my favourite genre of games. Maybe it’s because when I sit down on a Friday evening to get really stuck into a game, a puzzler would never even come to mind over an action, RPG or adventure game. If it did, I’d have to go straight out and buy a cardigan, brown trousers, tartan slippers, put on 4 stone and become my Grandad 30 years too early. But saying that, I’ve probably put as many hours into mobile puzzle games as I have any other kind. They are just so damn convenient and I love the challenge. So put on your thinking socks, do your finger stretches and warm up those logic muscles (I recommend a hot water bottle hat – my own invention!) and get ready for Kakuro Mania!
In the past I have been a massive Sudoku fan. I whole heartedly recommend Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training on the Nintendo DS as the best version of Sudoku. My other favourite puzzler is Picross; also on the DS. These are the kinds of games that Kakuro mania is going to be compared to because they are in the same genre, but it should also be considered that as an iPod Touch/iPhone app, it only costs £1.19, a fraction of the price of those classic Nintendo games.
You may not think this is pretty but to a mathmetician, it's heaven
If you haven’t played Kakuro before, then like me, you may find the learning curve a little steep at first. But, this is because there are no kind of instructions in this app (what the hell?) and I had to auto-solve a few puzzles and test a few things before fully understanding the rules. I’ve put a little guide in the forum for those who would like a little help getting started on Kakuro. Basically, it’s a crossword puzzle mixed with a bit of Sudoku where numbers are used but logic is more important than numeracy.
However, unlike Sudoku there is a little maths involved and you will soon learn to recognize all the different ways of adding digits together to make specific numbers (don’t be afraid of the maths, I’ll explain why this isn’t important later). It seems the developers didn’t trust the numeracy skills of the nation so simply highlighting the top of a column or end of a row reveals all of the calculations you’ll need. Put your calculators down and stop writing 58008 on them.
The developers did not originate the puzzle type, so judging them on this is perhaps a little redundant. I’ll therefore talk about the usability and options of the app instead. My first impression was that the game loads up straight away, with no delay, which is always a plus on a mobile platform. It will also come back to exactly where you were last time you played the game, so you don’t have to worry about completing a puzzle in one sitting.
The aesthetics are also clean and clear, if a little boring, but I prefer simplicity than too much colour and animations that make the app run like a treacle covered sloth (don‘t ask, it was an experiment and it didn‘t work out).
It's hard to think of anything witty to say about this
The problem with the interface, is that there is no structure. No menus, no list of puzzles to complete. This is my biggest problem with Kakuro Mania. When you complete a puzzle, there is no reward, but a time (in seconds, no less) appearing on the screen. You then have to press ‘New’, and any record of the puzzle you just spent a whole cross-country train journey completing, is lost. The puzzles, as far as I can see, are randomly generated, which does provide a large amount of constantly varying content, but isn’t the best way to go.
It would have been much better to provide between 50 and 100 puzzles at each difficulty level. This way there are still a massive amount of puzzles to complete but there’s also more of a sense of achievement. A set puzzle bank would give an aim to the player (completing them all) and there would be a reason to do every puzzle instead of skipping over ones that look at you funny.
Besides the structure, the set-up is good with many options for customizing the difficulty and loads of hint systems for those of you who are less strict with themselves than I. The numbers for entering into cells are below the grid so you don’t have to keep bringing them up every time you need them. They are a little small for fat fingered men such as myself, but that’s not a big issue. At the end of the day the app is there to facilitate a great puzzle game, Kakuro, and it does a good job.
For my Kakuro beginners guide follow this link to the forum.
Review Round Up
Graphics: 3/5 – Functional and responsive.
Sound: 0/5 – How good is your iPod library? There is no sound. Some satisfying button press and completion sound effects should really be in there.
Gameplay: 5/5 – A very functional game for Kakuro. Menu systems and some kind of completion recognition should be in there. This is a good way to kill a lot of time.
Longevity: 4/5 – Randomly generated puzzles and customisable difficulty means there’s potentially no end. But a large puzzle set would give more of a reason and challenge to drag you back.
Overall: 1 + 2.5 = 3.5 out of 5 – I’ve filled many journeys, got through boring meetings and spent a lot of good toilet time on Kakuro in the last few months and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a solid mobile puzzle game.
[starreview tpl=16]
Did anyone else know we could do half stars? Is that ok with you @Kamiza?