Zenned Out Special: Zentomino

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Zentomino is a Pentomino game by Little White Bear Studios. $1.99

Zentomino is the latest addition to Little White Bear Studios Zen games. This game is a little bit more challenging and takes the form as another puzzle game called Pentomino. The aim of the game is to fill in the puzzles with a selection of the twelve, five square in area, pieces. This game is alot harder as unlike TanZen there isn't one set way to complete the game and not every piece is used. There are less puzzles in Zentomino, with only 144, but I am sure as with TanZen there are more to come in updates. The 144 puzzles will still take a long time to get through. Sadly I can't write this review through the eyes of someone with no experience like I imagine most of you are, as I have had practice with a variety of the game I have played on Puzzle Pirates. I still find the puzzles quite challenging and most times I still had to resort to hints.

Like in Tanzen there is not much that can be done to the graphics without losing its simplicity. But what is in the game looks smooth and very professional. The background and puzzle pieces are simple yet effective. The side piece trays are a handy addition to stop clustering up the puzzle area. Each piece has its own original pastel themed color so when it is easy to define against other pieces. The controls again are slightly different to TanZen. The how to move the pieces are the same but rotating the pieces is different. Inside of using the 360 degree slider you just tap the piece to rotate it 90 degrees and double tap to flip the piece. The double tap is used alot more as the pieces have squares sticking out they just won't fit unless flipped. To take pieces out of the sides trays and drag it out and the same to put it away.

The sound in the game also have a strong Zen theme attached to it. The music has been altered and has a different tune to it. While this is only a small change it shows there is some dedication put into the games, as stuff isn't just being shipped from one game to the next.

The game again has no time limits, level requirements or achievements to speak of. The puzzles in this game vary in size from having four pieces needed to complete it all the way up to all twelve pieces. A great new hint system has been implemented into Zentomino as 2 hints for a four piece puzzle would not suffice for a twelve piece puzzle. The puzzles have kind of been graded by the number of hints available to use. The four piece puzzles will only show a hint for one of the pieces while the twelve piece puzzles show hints for up to four pieces of the puzzle. Another improvement from TanZen is that the pieces actually lock into place on the puzzle when you let go to them. This makes it alot easier and really means that you can't get caught by having the pieces overlap. I really enjoyed this game and even though it has less puzzles than TanZen, I found them more challenging and alot more fun.

This game is very easy to slip into a playing coma and before you know it you have missed that taxi to the airport and then your next four connecting flights. The small improvements or variations that have been made from TanZen to Zentomino make for a great gaming experience. I seriously think that this game is better then TanZen even if it won't last as long. As being an experienced player I know how to play so with this I suggest you get your own opinion of it from the lite version which is now available. This is seriously addicting and not one to miss out even experiencing how good it is. Two amazing games by Little White Bear Studios, best games of this genre that I have seen.

Gameplay- 10/10
Graphics- 9/10
Sound- 8/10
Overall- 9/10

I would recommend this game if you enjoyed- TanZen

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Thanks- iPhone_Reviews