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Click!

Published by FobTi interactive
Price $3.99
Download
Primary Genre Secondary Genre

This week I have been confronted with a grid of squares in a range of different types. My aim - to eliminate them all, quickly and without leaving any behind. But no matter how hard I try, I could never quite finish them - I'd start out removing large chunks, but ultimately I'm left with a few oddments in the corners and I'm just aimlessly pushing them around without getting anywhere. I give up! I'll never finish off this box of chocolates. Let's take a look at the next game for review instead...

Click! Removing large chunks of squares leaves bonuses to collect. But don't take too long setting them up!

Click! is a simple yet sneakily difficult puzzle game. You have a grid of coloured squares, the central square of which is empty, and your task is to clear the grid by clicking (or maybe click!ing) on groups of three or more. You can move any adjacent square into the empty space by clicking the right mouse button on it, and this can help you to construct better groups. But beware! When squares are cleared, the spaces they occupied are filled with dark squares that cannot be moved. You may end up trapping yourself. Oh, and did I mention that you've got a time limit for making your next match? Don't hang about!

Bonus items are dropped when clearing squares - fruit and coins provide bonus points, while bombs will restore the square beneath them. This is a double-edged sword - it may allow more matches by restoring movement, but it could also lead to a single square in the middle of nowhere that cannot be matched and prevent you clearing the grid. But to be honest, I've no idea what happens when you clear the grid. I never have. It's surprisingly difficult! Each match you make will reset the timer, so you may need to make a few smaller matches in the middle of setting up a big one if time gets tight.

Click! features some bright, clear graphics in a range of colours, so it's usually clear what you're clicking on, and the squares are a good size. If you're bored of plain squares, or if you have some form of sight impairment, you can change the theme - numbered squares are ideal for the colour blind, or you could have silly faces or flowers. Get a high score and see fireworks! Sound is understandably limited but does well within the confines of the game - there are clicks for moving squares, booms for bombs, pops for squares matched and two music tracks - one for the title screen and one for the game itself. Sound effects and music can both be individually toggled on or off.

There's only one game mode here - I'd have quite liked a few options, such as smaller/larger grids, or a more relaxed mode without the timer. Still, what we have plays nicely to fill up a bit of free time. One quirk I've discovered (unless this is deliberate) is that the timer pauses when the game window loses focus. I can spend as long as I like planning my next moves simply by playing about in Notepad. Not that this really helps much - you'll have to be actively playing when you're moving those squares about.

Click! is a fun way to spend a few minutes here and there, and there's certainly a challenge waiting for anyone determined enough to clear the grid (if you manage it, please let me know what happens). This is not a game you can spend hours on at a time. The lack of variability is a black mark against Click! - a few more game modes and some options to vary it would be good. Some general tips on strategy might be helpful too - though I think I've picked up on one or two ideas, as I'm getting a lot further than I was at first (hint - try to clear matches in the corners...)

Though it's a little too simple to score highly, Click! is a well crafted game with a lot of potential for expansion. I hope to see more ambitious efforts from this developer in the near future, and I hope that Click! is the focus of many coffee breaks in the meantime.

Graphics 70%
Sound 75%
Playability 70%
Longevity 60%
Overall Score 65%
Bronze Star

Published on 07 Dec 2012
Reviewed by Andrew Williams

Keywords: click! review, fobti interactive reviews, fobti interactive games, click! scores, pc game reviews, indie game reviews, independent gaming.