Colorbind, a maddeningly simple-looking puzzler from Nonverbal, is now available from the app store. With its minimalistic theme and addictive ribbon-weaving gameplay, Colorbind will twist your mind, tickle your fancy, and have you coming back for more.
Colorbind Pros:
- 84 different puzzles
- Stylish look
- Smooth controls
Colorbind Cons:
- Confusing and rudimentary achievement system
Each board contains a variety of colored dots and ribbons whose colors match the dots. By dragging your finger across the screen, you must cover the dots with the similarly-colored ribbon. Covering all of the dots completes the level. It sounds easy, but there are some rules. Making 90 degree turns requires folding the ribbon over. Dots cannot be collected at a corner. You also cannot fold a ribbon on top of another. Ribbons can cross, with the darker horizontal strips underneath the lighter vertical strips. Dots that are crossed by two ribbons must match the one on top. There are 84 different puzzles across three difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard. There is a tutorial that takes you through all of the necessary details you’ll need to understand to play the game. Only the Easy mode is unlocked from the beginning. Medium and Hard will unlock once you’ve made your way through the previous modes.
Graphically, the game has a stylish look based on its appealing color schemes and absence of bells and whistles. There is no music, but playing songs from your own collection prior to launching will allow you to continue listening while playing. Controls are mostly touch-based and exhibit smooth behavior. Dragging your finger pulls ribbon from the starting point across the board, automatically folding over at corners. Dragging back on the ribbon on screen will undo the portion that you trace. Shaking the device resets the level and double-tapping on screen brings up the menu which also allows you to reset the level.
There is a rudimentary achievement system, though it’s unclear what needs to be done to achieve most of the awards. Several of the explanations simply have question marks instead of text. There are also statistics, such as levels completed, levels reset by shaking, rollbacks, and distance covered. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but it may be of interest to some. Replay value is pretty good, as the more difficult puzzles will likely stump you on the second and third time playing, too. At $1.99, you’re certainly getting your money’s worth from this 5-Dimple brainbender.
