Shape Escape: Block Puzzle

I first started this type of game with one called Block Jam. A fun game that was very similar, but was clearly revenue-focused rather than customer-focused. You only had 5 lives and were racing under a timer of less than a minute to progress to the next level or have to wait until enough time had passed to continue playing unless you paid for it. I frustratingly paid for an ad-free version and was still annoyed because I just wanted to relax and play a puzzle game. I decided there had to be SOMETHING out there similar enough to the game that was causing feelings of anxiety and went on a Google search. I came across Shape Escape and it was exactly what I needed. Self-paced, unrestricted by a timer or number of “moves..”just a great brain game. They do offer an ad-free version which to me is a little pricey, but I’d rather watch an ad and play leisurely than be highstrung over an iPhone game. Sometimes the app will glitch or not be as responsive as I expect it to, but that could be due to how often and long I’ve played it now. I do wish there was more value/reward tied into winning levels because sometimes ya gotta use a power up and those are obtainable, but I like to use what I win or opt for a quick ad watch to earn it. Overall, this is a great puzzle app that offers mini challenges and daily rewards. I deleted the other app altogether and play this one daily.

Obviously I have enjoyed solving these puzzles since I have done nearly 500 of them but it is not without great difficulty. First of all, I choose to solve the puzzles WITHOUT THE POWER-UPS. I’m solving them for my brain, not the horrible rewards you offer. Since I take my time to solve them correctly, I feel I am penalized for doing so, and always get just 1 star for each, even though a player should get more for doing the hard and extra hard puzzles. I do give you 2 stars for the fact that the puzzles are doable and that they are absolutely fabulously constructed. I give no stars for the horrible rewards or for the special events which always originate in Fantasy Land. But this is usually normal since developers always find it against their nature to help a player progress or win a reward. To them a challenge usually means out of reach. Just like the recent jigsaw puzzle. I solved way over a hundred puzzles but still came short - not every puzzle had a jigsaw puzzle piece - 100 is too many. And by the way, in addition to wanting to solve the puzzles without power-ups, there is a glitch such that the puzzles only work when the ads below are working - which is rare. And may take not only many seconds to move a single piece into place, it may take 20-30 minutes (or more) to solve a puzzle. It’s a wonder I am still solving these puzzles, but I keep coming back - and thus, the third star. I would hope that the developers would take note and make some changes (stars for solving without power-ups, more stars if hard or extra hard, less requirements for special events, etc). But I’m not holding my breath because there’s about 100% chance they won’t. So if you like spatial puzzles like this, solve the puzzles like I do and forget all the falderal.

Everyone seems to agree that not having a timer is great! I really like these types of block puzzles games but I've always hated the timers. I downloaded this game a few days ago and was super happy with it. And yes, there are a lot of ads but I haven't had the issue of ads covering the gameplay that other people have mentioned. The ads are somewhat annoying but not having a timer balances it out for me. Also the piece movement was really smooth. At least in the beginning. I'm currently on level 157 and now the pieces are moving glitchy. I have to keep reloading the game but smooth moving doesn't last long. I'm still giving it five stars because not having a timer, which I really hate, but I wish they would fix the 'glitchiness' so that the pieces moved smoothly like it did when I first started playing. And, I almost never buy games but I would totally spend money for an ad free version. Especially if I could move the pieces smoothly.