Nevertheless, I enjoyed Ziro. While it's not as simple as lining up things in groups of three-and not as addicting-it made me think in ways I'm not used to thinking. I kept wanting to play through it faster than I should have, lured by the siren-song of empty table space into thinking that the level layout was much simpler than it was. Was it a time-suck for me? No. But for a few hours, it forced me to solve problems in a new and challenging way.
Who would have thought a snowman could have such an effect on global warming? Well here's a game from kookakiki, developed by Eipix, that can offer just that. Not only offering helpful and motivational ways of saving the environment but combining it with fun puzzles that can also improve your basic math skills in a very fun and stimulating way.
And this very much epitomizes what makes a proper casual game: it's fun, it's easy to pick up and play, you can play at your own pace for as long as you like, and you can always come back for more. It isn't perfect and perhaps it isn't the best game available, but for just under $10, it is worth every penny.
Puzzle games involving sliding and matching blocks are ten a penny these days, but this is actually a pretty good variation on the theme. Ziro strikes that delicate balance between lots of game features and a realistic difficulty curve fairly well - it may perhaps be a little too easy-going for ardent puzzle fans but, if you just want to unwind at the end of a long day at work, it's pitched about perfectly.
