We love discovering fun games from indie developers. Here's one you might like. It's called Dark Way Down, a puzzle game from Daniel Fairley. It has been released recently for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. Want to see how it looks? Head past the break to watch the gameplay on the Nokia Lumia Icon.

Dark Way Down is very simple. The goal is to light up all the tiles without running out of moves. To move, just swipe on the screen. If you land on a tile that's already lit, it will turn off. As you progress into further levels, more tiles are introduced. Some levels also have barriers, which don't allow you to go certain directions. If you're on the left edge of the board and swipe left, you end up on the right side.

Instead of numbers, each level has a name. Some examples are Lost, Shunned, Lucid, Drowning, and Conformity. Dark Way Down contains 25 puzzles in total.

If you find yourself taking the wrong step in the middle of solving a level, click on the retry button on the top left corner. The options button on the top right corner lets you switch on or off the music and special effects.

The graphics in Dark Way Down is really simple. It's two-dimensional and uses monochromatic colors. It works well with the story of finding light in a world of darkness.

In a blog post, Daniel says he started developing the game after being challenged by a friend. He says he's not particularly good at puzzle games, so designing Dark Way Down was difficult. He's satisfied with how the game has turned out, but says he will steer away from the category for the time being.

Dark Way Down is a free download from the Windows Phone Store. There's no catch, either. There are no ads or in-app purchases. It also supports devices with low memory. Go download it now if you have some time to waste and share with us what you think!

Sometimes, simple is best. We love games that we can simply pick up, play for a few minutes, and then move on to whatever we need to do. WhatWay is one of those games, but you might get addicted to it. This game is about visual and spatial processing and how fast you can react. Want to see how it looks? Head past the break to watch some gameplay with the Nokia Lumia Icon.

The best way to tackle this game is to start with the tutorial. You need to swipe the direction of the appearing arrow or swipe the direction of the odd one. For example, if there are 5 arrows pointing up and 1 arrow pointing down, you have to swipe down. The idea is really easy, but you have probably heard of an old saying, "easier said than done." Don't worry about touching the arrows. You can swipe from anywhere on the screen

There's a countdown timer for a minute and 30 seconds, but it's immediately game over if you swipe the wrong way. The faster you are, the more points you earn. You don't earn points for being too slow.

At the end of a round, you see your score, average reaction time, number of arrows cleared, and the maximum streak. Our current best score is 695 points. Can you do better?

Even though we enjoy playing this game, we think the visuals need improvement. The buttons do not look very pleasing and there's something about the typography that just seems off.

WhatWay is a free download from the Windows Phone Store. It is ad-supported, so you'll see advertising in the game. If you want to remove the ads, you can get the pro version for $1.29. Have some free time? Check out Whatway and let us know you think in the comments!

Another popular game from iOS, Android, and Blackberry has just made its way to the Windows Phone Store. Sheep Up! has been a big success with over a million downloads on other platforms, and now Windows Phone users get to play it, too. In collaboration with Nokia, Microsoft, and AppCampus (appcampus.fi), the developers have included exclusive content with a new edition of the game to launch on Windows Phone. It's called Sheep Up! Black Light. Head past the break to watch some gameplay on the Nokia Lumia Icon.

Features:

• 3 Eye catching cardboard worlds with 30 challenging levels
• 1 New Cyber World with 10 new theme-based levels
• 22 Stunning and super funny Sheep Suits
• 5 New futuristic sheep suits
• Sheep suits share (NFC)
• 8 different power ups
• Localized in 10 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Russian.

Sheep Up! Black Light is a tilt-based puzzle platform game with a top-down camera view. The main character, a tiny toy sheep, has been stored inside a cardboard box together with other old toys. It needs your help to escape. Tilt your device as the sheep keeps bouncing. Each level consists of multiple floors that are navigated one at the time. The goal is to reach the exit platform and jump up to the next floor. Figure out how to find the exit and avoid falling off or jumping on pins.

As you go higher, platforms get smaller, and obstacles get trickier. To help you out, there are some power ups like clocks that freeze time and umbrellas that prevent you from falling.

Each world has its own theme. For example, the first world has a seasons theme, the second world has a food theme, and the third world has an aquarium theme. Each world has 10 levels. If you fall off a platform, land on pins, or get hit by enemy toys, the game gives you an option to continue. It costs points, so use them sparingly. If you don't click continue, you start the level again from the beginning.

If you've already played Sheep Up! on other platforms, what's new for Windows Phone is Cyber World and the futuristic sheep suits. Imagine a bouncing sheep inside a Tron world. Complete the three original worlds before unlocking Cyber World or you can unlock it with 5,000 game coins. Don't have enough? There are in-app purchases available for extra coins. For example, 5,000 coins cost $2.49.

By default, you control the sheep by tilting your phone. If you go to settings, you can change the sensitivity. If the tilting motion is not working out for you, you can change to using touch instead. Pressing anywhere on the screen moves the sheep towards that direction.

Sheep Up! Black Light is a free download from the Windows Phone Store. We think it's worth checking out. Go download it now and let us know what you think. We're sure it will at least put a smile on your face.

Thanks for the tip,ShauryaP.!

Earlier this week we mourned the loss of multiple Xbox games that were recently delisted from the Windows 8 Store. It seems that Microsoft is no longer interested in publishing mobile Xbox titles that it does not fully own. But new Xbox games for Windows 8 do still pop up occasionally, such as Microsoft Sudoku back at the end of June. And hey, they're releasing Zoo Tycoon Friends for Windows Phone and Windows 8 later this year.

Another Xbox game for Windows 8 and RT has just become available in all regions after enjoying the traditional soft launch in Trinidad and Tobago: Microsoft Jigsaw. As you might expect, Microsoft Jigsaw is another casual free-to-play title that fits right in with Microsoft Sudoku, Microsoft Bingo, Microsoft Microsoft, and other first-party Windows 8 games. Jigsaw puzzle fans and your grandmother are sure to love it.

Three ways to put it together

Microsoft Jigsaw offers three game modes:

• Classic Jigsaw: Select a puzzle and then choose to play one of four difficulties. The faster you assemble the puzzle, the higher your star rating for it will be.
• Jigsaw Jam: A faster paced original mode in which players have to quickly find one specific piece in order to maintain a score multiplier.
• Daily Challenge: Like other Microsoft-brand Windows 8 games, this one offers up different challenges to play every day. This one has three kinds of challenges: Bug Catcher, Lock Breaker and Jigsaw Jammer. The first two challenges involve surrounding a moving bug with pieces and completing a puzzle within a set number of moves. Jigsaw Jammer works just like the separate Jigsaw Jam mode.

A year's worth of challenges

The Daily Challenge mode sounds cool in theory, but Achievement hunters might scoff at the surprising time investment the mode requires. Completing enough challenges during a month to achieve certain score milestones will get you a bronze, silver, and gold medal for that month. Playing every day for a month, that's kind of a lot but not unreasonable as far as Achievements go.

That said, Microsoft Jigsaw has three Achievements (worth 35 GamerScore in total) for earning 8-12 monthly medals. Remember, players can only get one medal of each kind per month. You'll have to play pretty much daily for an entire year in order to get these Achievements. Maybe that will be fun for somebody, but I imagine most will find the grind excruciatingly boring.

For more Achievement info in general, refer to this Achievement Guide. It suffers from some grammatical errors but should still be useful for completionists.

Not bad for a puzzle game

It's easy to dismiss Microsoft Jigsaw as just another casual free-to-play game in the Xbox Windows 8 lineup. But the developers actually squeezed a fair amount of features that someone who likes jigsaw puzzles would want into this game.

The puzzle selection screen shows every puzzle as a box, just as you'd see when selecting a puzzle from the shelf in real life. Players can zoom in and out, automatically sort pieces, and manually sort pieces into trays. You can even create custom puzzles using the image files from your PC or tablet, a super simple but cool feature nonetheless.

Microsoft Jigsaw initially offers two puzzle packs to choose from. Players can spend gold bricks (premium currency) to unlock more. You can opt to purchase gold bricks or simply earn them manually by playing the game. Pretty much everything you do other than playing custom puzzles gets you gold, so it's a fair system overall. Cloud saves too.

If you like putting puzzles together, consider this game a worthwhile download. Shame it didn't launch on Windows Phone too though, don't you think?

• Microsoft Jigsaw – Windows 8 and RT – 192 MB – Free – Store Link

Thanks to Rockin' Robby Herbert for the tip!

It's better late than never. Another puzzle game from iOS and Android has just made its way to Windows Phone. Huebrix by Yellow Monkey Studios is a color puzzle game about filling spaces on a grid with paths of blocks. It has over 1.6 million downloads on other platforms, and now it's ready for Windows Phone users.

Head past the break to watch our gameplay video with the Nokia Lumia Icon.

Huebrix has over 400 levels, separated by skill level for your convenience. Solve the levels by dragging paths from blocks to fill out the puzzle grid. The blocks only give you paths of a specified length, so it's going to require your brain to do some hard work.

As you progress, special blocks appear to determine the orientation of paths, acting as clues and challenges at the same time. For example, an arrow block forces you to go in one direction. A colored block, only accepts specific colors. A block with an X ends the current path.

Huebrix appears easy at first, but it gets challenging. There's a timer on the top right corner that stops when a level is solved. It does not reset back to zero if you retry a level. We think that's a great idea because it encourages players to solve the puzzles as fast as possible.

While we enjoy occasionally playing Huebrix, we found a couple of annoyances. Pressing the Windows Phone back button exits the game. It does not properly go to the previous screen. Another problem is the screen orientation. Huebrix allows you to play the game in landscape view, but you'd want to avoid it. Huebrix will shift to one side of screen, causing two-thirds of the display to be empty black space.

Huebrix costs $1.99 from the Windows Phone Store. Unfortunately, there's no free trial in this initial version. We like this game, but the annoyances we mentioned need to be fixed. Does this game look interesting to you? Let us know in the comments!

We're always glad to see developers bringing over their games from other platforms to Windows Phone. Here's yet another one. Cut and Hack is an abstract hacking simulator. Combined with a storyline of being a hacker, the main objective is to rush and slice all the geometry shapes with perfectly drawn lines. It looks great. Head past the break to see some gameplay with our Nokia Lumia Icon.

Features:

• Test your accuracy, speed and reflexes in unique stylish game
• Hack your way through various color schemes, shapes and randomly generated cuts
• Achieve 50 levels and follow a decision-driven story

You are a hacker. Geometry shapes represent systems that can be hacked by you. Cutting along the lines inside the shapes as precise as possible, "hacks" the system. The more accurate you are, the more points you get. After every cut, the game lets you know whether the cut was poor, average, or elite.

Each round is 60 seconds. There's a timer at the bottom of the screen. You can earn more points with multipliers. If you act fast, the multipliers keep increasing. You can see your multiplier amount at the top left corner.

Scores are based on megabytes. At the end of the round, you see how much data you've hacked. After reaching a certain amount, you level up, sell data to a corporation, and face the consequences. Selling data gives you game credits. You can use them to equip augmentations to boost your hacking skills. This includes improving your precision, getting more time for hacking, and multiplying your score right from start. Credits sometimes show up in the middle of the rounds. Tap on the yellow icons if they appear.

Cut and Hack is a free download from the Windows Phone Store. There are ads, but any in-app purchase removes them. The most affordable option is 1,500 game credits for 99 cents. It's definitely worth checking out. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments!

If you like puzzle games, then you are going to like Defuser for Windows Phone. The goal is to prevent bombs from going off. There are five different button types to defuse and 40 levels that will test your skills of multitasking and puzzle solving. We've installed the game on our Nokia Lumia 930. Watch our gameplay video to see if it's your type of game.

The first few levels let you get comfortable with the game mechanics. For example, the first button that needs to be defused simply needs you to press and hold it for two seconds. Each level after that adds more difficulty. There will be more buttons and they will need to be defused differently. The next button challenge is a switch. It requires you to swipe to the other direction. There's also a speedometer that you'll need to keep tapping so it doesn't drop down below red. Another button requires you to spin it around in the arrow direction for a certain amount of time.

Part of the challenge is timing. A button can only be defused when its light starts blinking. As you progress to more difficult levels, you will need to defuse more than one button. For example, you might need to press and hold the first button for 3 seconds, while you keep tapping the speedometer.

If you try to touch a button before it lights up, the bomb explodes. If you hold a button too long, it explodes. It's easy to get addicted to Defuser, because the retry button is just one click away.

After defusing the bomb, the game shows your accuracy in percentage. That's converted into earning lightbulbs. More accuracy means more lightbulbs. You can get up to three per level.

Defuser is a free download from the Windows Phone Store. It displays ads during gameplay, but they don't get in way. It's definitely worth checking out if you're into puzzle games. Go download it now and let us know what you think!

Know anyone that sleepwalks? It sounds dangerous. In Back to Bed, you guide a sleepwalker named Bob to the safety of his bed. You don't want him to fall off a ledge. To achieve this, you control a subconscious guardian named Subob. He looks like a dog with a human head. Since Bob automatically turns right after hitting a wall and other objects, it's up to you to place things in front of Bob at the right place and time.

We've installed Back to Bed on the Lumia 1520 and Surface Pro 3. Check out our gameplay video.

Features:

• Unique surreal and artistic game universe: Mixes elements from the real world and the world of dreams
• Isometric puzzle levels: Navigate detailed 3D puzzles that defy the laws of physics
• Two characters as one: Play as the embodied sub consciousness, in the form of a small guardian creature
• Picturesque visual style: Discover the feeling of playing in a piece of art set in a digital frame

There are two ways to control Subob on Windows Phone. You can tap and hold the screen to make him move in that direction, or you can use the directional arrows. You can change it whenever you want, but we prefer the former.

You can use apples to block Bob's way and guide him back to bed. Tap an apple to pick up, and tap again to drop. The best way to solve the puzzles is to follow where Bob goes. If you see that the path leads to falling off, place an apple in front of him. Back to Bed is not that challenging, but it's worth playing if you have some time to spare.

Back to Bed is available for both Windows and Windows Phone devices. You can buy it once for $3.99 and download it for both devices. There are no trials, ads, or in-app purchases. Is this your type of game? Let us know in the comments!

• Download Back to Bed for Windows ($3.99)
• Download Back to Bed for Windows Phone (3.99)

If you enjoyed puzzle games like 2048 or Threes, you might like this new game called, 0h h1. It's a little logic game that requires you to follow three simple rules. It is free without ads, in-app purchases, social network requirements, or other nag screens. We've installed it on our Lumia 930 and Surface Pro 3. Take a look at the gameplay video.

0h h1 is really simple. Follow these three rules:

1. You can't have three tiles of the same color next to each other.
2. A full row or column must have as many blue tiles as red ones.
3. No two rows or two columns can be the same.

Simply tap a tile to change its color to blue or red. From there, just complete the grid while following the three rules above. There are 4 different sizes for the grid:

• 4 x 4
• 6 x 6
• 8 x 8
• 10 x 10

We don't have a hard time solving a 4 x 4 grid, but completing a 6 x 6 is a bit more challenging. When you fill up the grid, 0h h1 either congratulates you or lets you know if you've broken any of the rules. Need a reminder? You can tap the question mark below the grid at any time.

The undo button, exit, and tips are also placed below the grid. Tips are really helpful when you're stuck and don't know what to do.

Grids start out with random tiles. Knowing the rules greatly help you out with the planning. For example, if there's a row of 4 tiles with already 2 red tiles, then you already know the remaining blank tiles need to be blue.

If you've got time to kill, definitely check out 0h h1. It's free and you can download it on your Windows and Windows Phone devices. You can also play the game on iOS, Android, and even your web browser (ohh1.com)

• Download 0h h1 for Windows Phone (Free)
• Download 0h h1 for Windows (Free)

If you're not tired of puzzle games yet, here's another one to check out. Knox's Room is a challenging physics puzzle game, which the general goal involves causing a specific object to move, float or fall in a particular direction. It has been out for a while now, but it's worth mentioning because it is a free game that supports both Windows and Windows Phone. Want to see it in action? Watch our gameplay video on the Surface Pro 3 and the Lumia 930.

The first few levels are easy and help you understand what this game is about. Before you start a level, the goal is displayed on the screen. Some examples are:

• Put basketball in the box.
• Put billiard ball in the box.
• Pop the balloon.

In order to accomplish those goals, you have a toolbox with things like bookshelves, books, and pipes at your displosal. You can place these items anywhere on the level to help you set up a chain reaction that eventually meets the goal.

The first thing you should do is tap the play button the top right corner without using anything from the toolbox. Analyze what happens without your help. Items might drop and balls might roll without your help. Use these initial actions to help you place the other items on the level.

In addition to meeting the goal, there are also three stars placed around each level. Try to collect all three.

Knox's Room is a free download from the Windows and Windows Phone Store with in-app purchases. The one you might want is to remove the ad. The good news here is that if you pay to remove the ads while playing on Windows Phone, it also carries on to your Windows tablet.

Is this your type of game? Try it out and let us know what you think!

• Download Knox's Room for Windows (Free/In-app purchase)
• Download Knox's Room for Windows Phone (Free/In-app purchase)

With a game title like 94 degrees (94-degrees.com), you'd think we're talking about another weather app. Instead, we are playing a hot new game for Windows Phone that has been popular on iOS and Android devices.

94 degrees is an addicting game that's very easy to learn. You are tasked to find a certain item or area within an image. The closer you get, the hotter you get. Want to see it in action? Watch our gameplay video with the Lumia 1520.

Each level provides an image with a caption on top with the target. A couple examples are maps that require you to find certain countries or ropes asking you to find the half point. Tap the area where you think the answer is and a crosshair appears. Tap the green button at the lower right corner to confirm. If you get it right, you go to the next level. If you get it wrong, check the thermometer at the bottom to see how hot or cold you are. If you see the thermometer gets colder than your previous guess, go towards the opposite direction.

Players have a limited amount of pins to use. Watch the green pin number on top to see how much you have left. Next to the pin number are the amounts of coins. You earn coins when you guess right. You can use these coins for perks, which are also known as dice.

One perk turns the image into a multiple-choice test. Guess from one of the pins placed on the image. Another perk shows the direction of the correct answer in addition to how warm or cold you are.

94 degrees is a free download from the Windows Phone Store with in-app purchases. The premium in-app option seems to be available for free right now. It adds exact temperature, gives you extra pins on correct answer at first try, removes ads, and more.

We're having a lot of fun with 94 degrees and we think you will like it. Go download it now and leave some feedback in the comments!

• Download 94 degrees for Windows Phone (Free/In-app purchase)

The Bridge is a puzzle combined with beautifully hand-drawn art in the style of a black-and-white lithograph. Before we continue, let's get one thing out of the way. It costs $5.99 at the Windows Phone Store without a free trial. We've probably turned off many people by now, but on a positive note, you can buy the game once, and download it both for Windows and Windows Phone. The Bridge has also won the Unity Game developer contest, standing out from over 600 other entries. Watch our gameplay video to see it in action.

The main objective is to get to the exit door and you'll have to figure out how to do that. There will be things that get in the way such as balls that can crush you, or a vortex that warps your body. You also need to analyze the architecture of each level to understand what you need to do and where to go. A lot of thinking is required.

The controls aren't hard to understand. Tap and hold in front of the character to make him move and tilt your phone left or right to rotate the levels. If you get crushed, float off, or get stuck, you can backtrack to try again. You can do this by swiping from right to left then hold. You tilt your device to rotate levels and define what's the ceiling or the floor. There's currently no way to pinch or zoom in a level, but you don't really need to.

There are four chapters with six levels each. You can revisit these levels if you want to challenge yourself to finish them in shorter time or to find other ways to solve them.

We enjoy playing The Bridge. It's challenging, but not too hard that it will make you give up right away. It has beautiful artwork too. The price is high, but it's great that you can buy it once and download on both Windows and Windows Phone devices. Your progress does not sync, though. We've installed it on our Surface Pro 3 and play using the keyboard.

Is this your type of puzzle game? Let us know in the comments!

• Download The Bridge for Windows Phone ($5.99)
• Download The Bridge for Windows ($6.99)

The mental exercise of counting sheep has existed in the public consciousness for hundreds of years, whether or not anybody actually does it. Me, I like to fall asleep listening to a good animated comedy like Bob's Burgers, and those seldom feature any sheep. Point is, something as well-known as counting wool-coated animals makes for a great jumping off point for a game.

Indie publisher TinyBuild must have thought so, as their game Divide by Sheep involves lots of math puzzles involving innocent sheep. Players will have to move as many sheep onto rescue rafts as they can before Death takes them all in various gruesome ways. A morbid sense of humor and lots of clever puzzles make Divide by Sheep a Steam game worth playing. Find out more in our detailed review with video!

Death kindly stops for sheep

Divide by Sheep begins with a cinematic sequence depicting Death's lonely existence in the underworld. The Grim Reaper has no one to play Battleship with, so he looks to the world above for potential friends. Up there, there is so much room… And lots of sheep, pigs, and wolves for Death to befriend. The only problem is he has to kill them first!

We're too nice to let that happen, so our goal is to save as many of those critters as each level demands. In each of Death by Sheep's 120 levels, players have three life rafts to load up with animals before Death comes a-calling. The catch is that each raft can depart with the exact number of animals displayed on the left side of the screen. Load one up with five sheep when it called for four and the whole thing will sink instead of swim.

Moving the sheep and other animals around is a snap – simply click with a mouse or tap if using touch and drag to the adjacent platform where you'd like them to move. The whole group moves at once, so no picking them out individually. If you move more animals onto an island than it has free spaces, the extras will fall and drown. The goal is to save the number the level asks for, not all of them!

The sheep rescue goes dark

Some levels pair sheep and wolves up together, which creates its own challenge. If a sheep lands on a hungry wolf, the carnivore swallows the sheep whole. That wolf then becomes immobilized and can't be saved. But it won't harm any other sheep, either. These levels are designed so that you'll have to feed sheep to some of the wolves in order to get the right number of each onto their corresponding rafts.

Other hazards get even darker than simple sheep swallowing. My favorite is the laser wall. Move a group of sheep through a laser, and the animals get sliced in half. You can then move these halves around like full sheep, leaving a bloody mess wherever they land. Two halves count as one whole sheep on the raft – they get taped together and sent along with their living counterparts!

The combination of cute artwork with dark humor works in Divide by Sheep's Favor, keeping it from being just another puzzle game. This puzzle game's got guts! Not too much, just enough to be funny. But parents who don't want their kids playing with blood and guts can use the Parental Control option in the game settings to disable it. The sheep will still get sliced by lasers and the like, but it won't spill any blood.

Choose your sheep wisely

The Steam version of Divide by Sheep sells for five bucks and works on Windows and Mac. Annoyingly, the game lacks Steam Cloud support. A game like this would work great for jumping back and forth between computer and Windows tablet. It does have Steam Achievements, at least.

Speaking of playing on Windows tablets, Divide by Sheep runs almost perfectly on the original Surface Pro – just a hint of screen tearing crops up now and then. An even though this game isn't sold on the Windows Store, it works perfectly with touch as-is. All of the interactions and menu options can be controlled with single touches (or mouse clicks). If you have a tablet that can run it, I say go for it.

Counting sheep in your head is boring, but Divide by Sheep is one of the more enjoyable pure puzzle games I've played lately. It packs 120 challenging levels spread across four worlds, with a fifth world and thirty more levels coming soon. The great art and dark humor make what could have been a stale math exercise both fun and subversive. Grab Divide by Sheep and try not to divide those poor sheep into too many slices!

• Get Divide by Sheep for Windows PC and Mac on Steam ($4.99)

Pop the Lock is a simple game that is available for both Windows Phone and PC that challenges you to crack open a padlock. While simple in design and appearance, the puzzle game will test your skills at timing and reflex.

While Pop the Lock isn't a complicated game to pick up and play, it can drive you nuts with its level of challenge. It didn't take much time with the Windows Phone version to realize Pop the Lock is a fun time waster of a game.

Describing Pop the Lock as an uncomplicated game may be an understatement. The game lacks a proper menu and instead greets you with the gaming display with a menu button in the upper corner to access the game's settings.

Settings share the game's minimal approach with options to mute the sound and dial back the level where you will start gameplay. To begin gameplay, just tap the screen. Just be warned, Pop the Lock doesn't waste time and jumps right into the action.

The objective to Pop the Lock is to crack open the padlock that is displayed center screen by completing its combination. A red bar will rotate around the lock and when it passes over a yellow dot, you tap the screen to solve the combination (left-click on laptop or desktop). Much like you would spin the dial on a lock and stop it on a number to solve the combination.

Pop the Lock starts out easy with the first level of gameplay only requiring one yellow dot to hit with the red bar. As you advance through the gaming levels, additional yellow dots will be added to the lock's combination that you will need to hit with the red bar. For example, level nine will have nine dots to hit that will require you to tap on the screen nine times as passes over the yellow dot.

While the concept with Pop the Lock sounds easy, the challenge that comes into play is that your red mark is in constant motion. It will spin counter-clockwise along the lock's dial, and when you tap to stop the mark on a yellow dot, it will immediately turn clockwise towards the next mark.

The pace of play picks up as you advance through the game and Pop the Lock will keep you on your toes. There will be times when the next mark is a good distance around the lock dial and times when the mark is a lot closer. Your skills at timing and reaction are put to the test nicely.

Miss one mark and you fail that level of gameplay. You will find yourself tapping too soon for fear of missing the yellow dot or tapping too late as the yellow dot will seem as if it snuck up on you. If you fail a level, Pop the Lock will restart the game at your current level of play. You can always dial back to a lower level from the game's settings to give yourself a break or challenge a friend to see how many locks they can crack before missing the mark.

Overall, Pop the Lock is a fun and challenging game to pass the time with. It's not going to be a gaming title you sit down with for marathon gaming sessions, but for shorter bits of time, it does nicely. I liked the minimalistic approach the game offers, but couldn't help but think the game needs a little more depth. Maybe offer a variety of lock shapes to crack?

While Pop the Lock is available for both Windows 10 Mobile and PC, the game does play out a little better from your Windows Phone, mainly for the mobility. Pop the Lock does support landscape orientation from the phone, which gives you a little more elbow room.

Download Pop the Lock for Windows 10 Mobile and PC

Quadrilibrium is a mathematical puzzle game that is available for both Windows 10 Mobile and PC. The game challenges you to combine numerical tiles to create a value that matches target combinations. The difficulty comes into play with the limits put in place on merging the tiles.

Gameplay does take a few minutes to get used to, and even after the initial shock wears off, the game is full of head-scratching moments. Overall, Quadrilibrium is an entertaining title, and while the gaming style may not appeal to everyone, it's not a bad option to pick up when you need a little help passing the time.

Quadrilibrium's primary menu is presented in minimal fashion with button tiles to:

• Start or resume gameplay
• View your high scores
• View the "How to Play" screens
• Purchase the deluxe version ($2.99)
• Mute the sound
• View the gaming credits
• View your gaming highlights
• Quit the game

The gaming highlights include a series of screenshots that spotlight combinations you create that score the most points. The Deluxe Version of Quadrilibrium includes tile themes, tile shuffling and removes the ad support.

When you first launch gameplay with Quadrilibrium, the game will present you with the opportunity to play the tutorial. If this is your first time playing Quadrilibrium, trust me and go through the tutorial. The game has a decent learning curve, and the tutorial gives you a fighting chance at success.

In a nutshell, Quadrilibrium presents you with a series of numbered tiles. The large number is the tile's value, and the smaller number is the tile's rank. Your job is to combine adjacent tiles to ultimately create the combo tile displayed in the bottom left corner of the gaming screen. Each combination you create will earn you points and once you create that target tile, a new target will be created.

The mechanics of gameplay has you tapping on a tile to combine, and any available tiles will be highlighted. All that is left is to tap the second tile you want to combine with the first and the mathematical magic kicks in.

Now here's the tricky part. Tile values cannot exceed 32 and tile ranks cannot exceed 8. You can only combine similarly ranked tiles, and if you combine two identical values, the tile advances in rank.

Combining a value of 1 with any tile will add the two tile (e.g. 1 + 5 = 6) and combining differing values will multiply the tiles (e.g. 3 + 4 = 12). As you combine tiles, new tiles will be added to the mix. When you reach a point where none of the tiles can be combined with an adjacent tile, the game is over.

You do have one bonus item: a gem. It can be used to eliminate a single tile to make way for the desired combination. You have a limited number of gems and will earn them randomly throughout the game as you reach key scoring thresholds.

Gameplay with Quadrilibrium will drive you nuts at times in a challenging sense of the word. You will instinctively merge tiles of the same value thinking the new tile will be the sum of the merger, only to find the combo increases the tile's rank.

You also have the tile group shift that comes into play that adds to the game's challenge. Quadrilibrium's playing field isn't a clean, square grid of squares. Instead, it is a collection of tiles that vary in size that creates an odd shaped playing field that shifts ever so slightly as combos are created. You can pinch to zoom on the gaming display to view the entire field or zoom in to concentrate on one portion of the field.

In many ways, Quadrilibrium reminds me of 2048 with the multiplication and shifting tile field giving Quadrilibrium a boost in difficulty. Graphics are colorful, gameplay challenging, and overall I found Quadrilibrium to be a solid puzzle game for either Windows 10 PC or Mobile platforms. It is a free game with the option to upgrade to the Deluxe version for $2.99.

Download Quadrilibrium for Windows 10 PC and Mobile

Simple in concept and complex in design, Gorogoa for PC is a compelling and satisfying puzzle game that will impress its players with its beautiful art and creative direction.

Ever since its popular debut demo back in 2012, the indie gaming community has been awaiting the official release of Gorogoa for almost five years.

Now that it's here, I can confidently say that Gorogoa lives up to its hype 100 percent. Between the creative and unique puzzle designs, the beautiful simplicity of the narrative, and the breathtaking artistic direction, Gorogoa is a phenomenal work of art that inspires as much as it impresses.

See on Steam

Story: A simple, but satisfying adventure

Unlike many games that have released recently, Gorogoa opts to tell its players a straightforward story. The premise is simple: a boy sees a mysterious creature fly outside of his window and past nearby buildings. Wishing to see the being again, the boy attempts to follow it.

This idea is uncomplicated, but that doesn't make it uninteresting. In fact, the narrative's best aspect comes from the fact that the grand adventures the boy comes to experience stem from nothing more than human curiosity and the drive to seize the day.

It's a pleasant, charming and thoughtful story that touches upon the idea of achieving your goals by being tenacious and passionate.

Gameplay: Ambitious design, flawless execution

The style of puzzle solving found within Gorogoa is unlike anything I've ever seen before in a video game. You are presented with four panels, each showing a different image. In order to progress forward in the game, you have to find ways to connect the panels.

To do this, you can zoom in the images, move them around, and even move one panel onto the other in order to transfer objects between them. For example, if the boy wants to go the roof of a building from a lower floor, you'll need to zoom in on the panel that has a visible elevator on the roof and move the elevator over to the panel where the boy is. Then, when the boy gets in, you move the elevator back to the roof.

This, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg. Whether you're trying to make an apple fall into a basket or attempting to find a way to create a doorway through a wall, there's a myriad of creative ways that you complete the game by using what's presented to you within the panels.

Like the story, this idea is simple. However, the various creative ways that Gorogoa uses these mechanics in order to challenge your skills as a puzzle-solver are wonderfully complex. The only thing that I can criticize is the occasional frame rate hitch, and even then, these are few and far between.

Art: Gorgeous imagery that enhances the experience

In a point-and-click game like this, visuals are important because of how much time you're spending looking at the world presented to you. Thankfully, Gorogoa creator Jason Roberts delivers in this department phenomenally.

Creating thousands upon thousands of hand-drawn pictures, Roberts creates an appealing aesthetic that suits the simple nature of the story and gameplay perfectly.

The attention to detail is simply astounding. As good as the rest of the game is, the promise of seeing more of Roberts' artwork is enough reason to play the game alone. It's truly inspiring to see that someone like Roberts creating something so amazing and enjoyable just by doing what he loves: making drawings.

Conclusion

Gorogoa is the perfect mix of story, gameplay, and aesthetic that all come together in order to form a truly beautiful experience. Between the simple but charming narrative, the creative and satisfying puzzle design, and the breathtaking hand-drawn artwork, Gorogoa is a wonderful puzzle game that will amaze all who choose to play it.

Gorogoa will be available December 14 on Steam for $14.99.

See on Steam

This review was conducted on a PC, using a copy provided by the publisher.

At first glance, you may think 7 Pips is a 2048 clone but it's not. 7 Pips does have a slight 2048 appearance but once you get into game play, you will realize the two game styles are vastly different.

7 Pips combines simple math skills with strategic placement to create tile combinations that equal seven. When you create those combinations, the tiles are removed for points. This may sound simple but you have two tile colors that can either add or subtract from the value of other tiles.

Available for 512MB devices, 7 Pips is an entertaining, casual paced puzzle game for your Windows Phone gaming library.

7 Pips Clean Layout

7 Pips has a very clean, easy to navigate collection of main pages. The opening page lists your high score and the score from your last game. Navigation around 7 Pips main pages is tackled with a series of swipes and includes:

• Swipe Up will launch a new game
• Swipe to the left will send you to the "How to Play" pages
• Swipe to the right will send you to your gaming statistics
• Another swipe to the right will reveal the game's settings

7 Pips settings offers options to mute the sound/music and turn on/off the in-game help.

The "How to Play" section does a good job of walking you through game play and you will probably find yourself returning to this section repeatedly for the first several games.

Challenging Game Play

The gaming board for 7 Pips is a 4x4 grid where you will strategically place dice tiles. Your score is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen and your next two tiles to play will appear in the right corner. Just tap the square on the game board where you want to place your tile.

There are two colors of tiles (off-white and tan) and the goal is to place the same colored tiles next to each other where the face value equals seven. When the combination equals seven, the dice that was on the board will be removed and you earn points. The tile you placed on the board will stay in play.

To help make things interesting, any tile placed adjacent to a tile of the same color the value of that tile will be added to the neighboring tile. Tiles placed adjacent to a tile of the opposite color the value will be subtracted from the neighboring tile.

For example, a tan tile with a face value of 2 placed next to a tan tile with a value of 3 will result in the 3 tile changed to 5. Conversely, that same tan tile with a value of 2 placed next to an off-white tile with a value of 5 will result in the 5 tile change to 3.

You also have blank dice that lacks any value and will not affect the neighboring dice. However, it will turn into the dice that is placed next to it.

If you need a little help figuring out the impact a tile will have, just tap and hold on an empty game board square and the adjacent tiles will reflect how the new tile will change things. As you would guess, when you fill up the game board the game is over.

Overall Impression

7 Pips is a challenging puzzle game for Windows Phone that will challenge your math skills with a strategic flair. You not only have to search for a match of 7 but also try to plan ahead for placing the second tile that is lined up for play. It will take you a few games to get the hang of the rules and even after you get a handle on things, the game can give you fits.

I really cannot find anything to complain about with 7 Pips. Navigating around the menu pages is simple, the game has a clean appearance and once you become familiar with the game's mechanics 7 Pips can be a frustratingly enjoyable puzzle game.

If you are in the market for a new puzzle game for your Windows Phone, 7 Pips is worth a try. It is available for low-memory devices.

• 7 Pips - Windows Phone 8 - Free - Store Link

Firework Apprentice is a relatively new adventure game for Windows Phone 8 where you play the role of a firework apprentice who must work his way to the Emperor's Palace for an annual firework contest.

The game takes place in a world full of floating islands, which are filled with puzzles, colorful characters and explosive fireworks. You also have magical moon dust that can be collected and used to enhance your fireworks.

Available for low-memory devices, Firework Apprentice comes across as an enjoyable adventure/puzzle game for Windows Phone but may take you a few turns playing the game to get used to the controls.

Nice graphics and layout but mechanics requires patience

When you first launch Firework Apprentice the game will send you through a tutorial on game mechanics. You begin the game at your home village/hut where you must collect a handful of fireworks and head out on your journey towards the Emperor's Palace.

Once you complete the tutorial and return to the game, a brief menu will appear with options to continue the game, view your game achievements and access the game's options. Options cover the following:

• Mute the Sound
• Toggle between touch controls and an on-screen directional pad
• Language choice
• Re-launch the tutorial
• View the About screen
• Reset your gaming progress

Mechanics with game play has your movement controlled by either an on-screen d-pad or by simply tapping on the screen to the spot where you want your apprentice to go. The gaming screen view can be rotated and zoomed by touch. Your orientation doesn't adjust automatically so it may take a little time to get used to the mechanics of moving around the floating islands.

The Firework Apprentice has twelve levels or worlds to travel through, each with a unique environment and challenges that you have to overcome to advance one step closer to the Emperor's Palace.

You will use your fireworks to tackle some of these challenges such as destroying obstacles that block your path. Along the way you can collect Moon Powder that is hidden throughout the worlds and can be used to upgrade your fireworks.

As you move about the worlds, information panels are present and marked with a blue exclamation point. Puzzles and other obstacles are marked with a red exclamation. Just tap on the exclamation point for more information. Your objective or mission for each world will be displayed as you enter each world.

To place a firework, just double-tap the screen to place the explosive. A power meter and flame button will appear on the screen. You adjust the power by sliding up on the meter and tap the flame button to light the fuse. As with most fireworks, it is not advisable to stand next to them when they explode. You will need to light the fuse and move the apprentice to a safe distance. Otherwise, he'll be blasted into orbit and you will fail the level. Should the firework not do the trick, you'll fail the level.

Game Play - The most obvious path is not always correct path

The Firework Apprentice has plenty of puzzles that you have to solve in order to advance through the game. As you approach these puzzles, the direct approach may not be the correct answer and here is where the game drive you nuts.

For example, with your first world after leaving your home world you are tasked with clearing a few fallen trees that are blocking the path. Your first guess would be to place a firework next to the fallen trees and blow them off the path. Before you try dozens of placements for your fireworks, this direct approach to solving the puzzle will not work. If you could only blow something up that would knock the trees off the path…

The indirect approach to solving many of these puzzles adds to their difficulty. However, once you've discovered the solution, putting things into motion isn't very difficult. You just need to remember to get out of the way of the fireworks.

Overall Impression - Better mechanics needed, but not a bad start

The Firework Apprentice isn't a bad title to consider adding to your Windows Phone gaming library. It has decent graphics and has some rather challenging puzzles.

The mechanics of game play could be better though. I had difficulty placing fireworks (double-tap didn't register) and all too often I couldn't clear the area before the fireworks exploded. The ragdoll effects were nice as your apprentice blasted into orbit but definitely defeats the purpose of the game.

I would also have liked the point of view to have been more automatic, keeping the view over your apprentice's shoulder. I kept finding myself constantly adjusting the view as the apprentice moved about the screen. It often resulted in slower movement simply because I couldn't see where I was going.

The game also needs more than one firework to use to solve a puzzle. If you fail with your only firework, you have to restart the level, which can be a time consuming. If you had a second firework, you could learn from your first attempt and the game wouldn't drag on as long.

As is, Firework Apprentice is a challenging game for Windows Phone but does require a little patience. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but there is a trial version to let you try things out before buying.

The game is available for 512MB devices.

• Fireworks Apprentice - Windows Phone 8 - Trial / $1.99 - Store Link

Jigsaw puzzles are a great way to pass the time or with the larger puzzles a fun project to tackle over a few days. Tackling a jigsaw puzzle can help you relax and clear your mind.

To help fill your jigsaw puzzle building needs electronically, XIMAD, who is known for their colorful Windows Phone and Windows 8 games, has released Magic Jigsaw Puzzles for Windows 8.

Magic Jigsaw Puzzles is a casual game that has four levels of difficulty, daily puzzle challenges and three packs of jigsaw puzzles.Puzzle difficulties range from 35 to 280 pieces. In-app purchase options are available to increase your puzzle library and create new jigsaw puzzles from your own puzzles.

Available for both Windows 8 and RT, Magic Jigsaw Puzzles makes a nice first impression and if you're in the market for a jigsaw puzzle game, Magic Jigsaw Puzzles is worth a try.

Game Layout

The main menu for Magic Jigsaw Puzzles has options to take on the daily challenge puzzle, return to your current game in progress, access your account, options to buy more puzzle packs, a gallery of puzzles built from your photos and a listing of all your puzzle packs.

The Magic Jigsaw Puzzles account (free) will allow you to download free and paid puzzle packs from the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle Store. Accounts are based off your Windows Live ID and basically involves allowing Magic Jigsaw Puzzles permission to access your Live Account (for purchases).

The core game is free and includes three puzzle packs that includes pets, architecture and nature. Each puzzle pack contains five jigsaw puzzles with options to play games with 35, 70, 140 and 280 pieces.

Again, additional puzzle packs are available through the Magic Jigsaw Puzzles Store as well as the ability to upgrade to the ad-free version ($9.99) that unlocks the ability to create puzzles from your own images.

The game store packs range in price from $2.50 up and include themes such as art, motorcycles, castles, retro cars and more. You also have a handful of freebies to choose from as well.

As far as settings are concerned, the main settings from the bottom pull-up menu off the main pages cover sound and music settings. Once you get to the jigsaw puzzle you will have additional settings that adds changing the background color of your puzzle board.

Game Play

Once you have selected a puzzle to tackle and chosen the difficulty level (the number of puzzle pieces) the game screen is simply laid out. You have an ad-banner that runs along the right side of the screen, your puzzle pieces lining up along the left side of the screen and your puzzle board is center screen.

Again, you can change the color of your puzzle board in the game's settings. This option lets you create a little contrast between your puzzle pieces and the background.

To button controls are on the game page (over in the lower left corner) to help you identify the corner puzzle pieces and preview the image you are building.

Solving the jigsaw is accomplished by tapping and dragging the various pieces into the right position on the puzzle board. You can take the traditional path and build the edges of the puzzle first then fill in the middle or you can build sections and move them into place to build the big picture.

The only issue I have with game mechanics is the game board is limited to your tablet/computer screen. You cannot zoom out or scroll around to give yourself a little more elbowroom.

Once solved, the screen glitters and the puzzle pieces merge into one. Swiping up at the bottom of the screen (or down from the top) will reveal the settings but also navigation buttons at the top of the screen to go back to the main menu, view more puzzles in that category, visit the store and access your account. You can use these buttons to launch a new jigsaw puzzle.

Overall Impression

It's hard to find much to complain about with Magic Jigsaw Puzzles. The core game has plenty of free puzzles to keep you busy and the mechanics are easy to pick up on. Puzzles are challenging enough to keep you interested and if you have to leave the game, your progress is automatically saved.

The game board did feel a little restrictive and maybe you could scroll around to open up more real estate for those who prefer building jigsaw puzzles in sections.

While the free version of Magical Jigsaw Puzzles has plenty of puzzles and the ads aren't that bad, you can always upgrade to remove the ads and buy additional puzzle packs. The $9.99 upgrade fee is a little steep but does open up custom puzzle features and eighty additional puzzles. The hard part about selling the ten buck upgrade is that Microsoft offers essentially the same features free in their Microsoft Jigsaw Game.

Nonetheless, XIMAD's Magic Jigsaw Puzzles isn't a bad option to consider if you are addicted to jigsaw puzzles or simply looking for a casual game for Windows 8.

• Magic Jigsaw Puzzle - Windows 8 / RT - Free - Store Link

Puzzles challenge our minds and encourage us to use our problem-solving skills, and one of the best mediums used for giving an audience puzzles is gaming. Xbox One, in particular, is home to a vast array of puzzle games, but which ones stand out from the rest? Here are our top picks.

All of these puzzle games are excellent, but I personally enjoyed Snake Pass the most due to its uniqueness, style, and innovative mechanics. People looking for a hardcore challenge will find The Witness and The Talos Principle to be right up their alleys, while I recommend checking out Unravel or Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons if you want something on the mellow side.