Dotsu: Match 3 Dots

I have a habit of starting games, falling in love with them and then abandoning when the going gets tough. Not with Dotsu. I just finished the highest level (so far) and the developer assured me that more levels are coming soon. I can’t wait. This is a game for true strategists. It takes a little time to master, but there is a key that explains what the powers do (you earn a free one if you check in each day) and what the markings on various spots mean. You need to figure out the best powers to use to blow up specific spots—and get them all by the countdown. Some levels are really hard, but they are not impossible. I am not particularly great at games. Sometimes winning, for me, has required saving up powers for two weeks and using them all in one play. I still practice while I’m collecting them. I hope you try it and have the patience to get addicted like I did.

This is a great game but when are new levels coming? They’ve been promised for several months now but there remains nothing. Even though inquiries are invited through the website emails are not answered. Radio silence. Crickets. Not even an automatic reply. Hopefully Dotsu masters are just too busy creating new levels to answer. One can hope. It would be more satisfying if we could replay levels while we’re waiting, which hopefully will be fixed in the update. If there ever is one…sigh.

This game is a fresh, smart, strategy puzzler that deserves a much higher user rating than it has. Maybe it had some bugs in earlier versions and got lower ratings then, but I’ve never had a single problem with the current version, and I’ve been playing it every day since I got it. This game is unique, well designed, and so much fun that I’m surprised it’s not a big hit. It’s fairly new, so it probably needs more time to catch on. It’s a simple idea, but it also has depth. The learning curve is nice and gradual, so it lets you get used to new gameplay elements as they’re introduced. I’m really enjoying this game. I find it much more fun than the “Two Dots” games, and it doesn’t have all the money-grabbing elements of many other games. I paid for No Ads because I do that with all games I like. Other than that I haven’t had to spend a cent on this game.