sepapu

Beautifully zen and meditative game with clever puzzle design

Although I am not an expert on the 8 Queen puzzle, this is a very nice little puzzle game, with lots of little pieces, each with a different rule that you must arrange correctly, taking into account that the order you place them in has its importance. There is no dialogue or tutorial, it simply presents the puzzles in a graudually complex way. It may not be very clear at first glance what each of the pieces do, so careful analysis is required (I usually get it after using it for one or two levels). Difficulty is not too high; I'm getting stuck at times but I'm not very good at these puzzles, yet I didn't need a walkthough or help (for now). Also, the art direction is really nice! You choose a level the same way you play it: by taking and placing little runes in the right place. The sand effect is nice, and your cursor is a little guy that walks and rolls around the sand when you click! :D One small request: I couldn't find a Quit button in the menu. It's either not there, or too well hidden. Alt+F4 works fine, but it's a somewhat "rough" way of exiting a game (and you're never quite sure if a game will save your progress correctly when you do that).

Satisfying and atmospheric puzzle game with lots of fun surprises along the way!

High production quality, great vibe / atmosphere, pleasingly tactile and clever puzzles that are tough but not too tough. Worth the asking price for certain, doubly so if it goes on sale. It does lock you into one puzzle at a time - I'd prefer if you could at least look ahead in each "series" by half the number of puzzles you've solved (a balance between sequentially forcing the easier learning puzzles and allowing choice among the harder exam puzzles, so to speak). The puzzles have a certain chess puzzle feel to them, in a good way: you're moving one piece at a time to change the board, meaning the order of the moves matters. This isn't an obfuscated nonogram or minesweeper variant, in other words. Will update after getting farther into or finishing the game. UPDATE: It is somewhat short. Not unsatisfying (better than overstaying its welcome or padding with filler), not changing the recommendation, but worth knowing it's about a three-hour experience.

10/10. Beautiful, peaceful, and an ingenious main menu.