Coloroid

The Good
Not much

The Bad
Broken mechanics

The Bottom Line
If you've already played a lot of puzzle games, you may think that good graphics and sound are all you need to have a satisfying intellectual experience. Coloroid, however, proves that if the puzzle itself is inherently flawed, no amount of technical flourish can save it (not that this game has a lot of technical flourish.)

The game concept seems original to me -- at least, I haven't seen quite anything like it before -- but it does not work that well. First, the "par" value is always the same for a given level size, which can be a problem; on the lower levels, the game can sometimes generate a puzzle which is impossible to solve within the move limit. (Here's an example.*) This doesn't happen that often, but it is a problem because the game keeps track of your win/lose quota. Such an unwinnable puzzle may permanently mar your statistics through no fault of your own.

Meanwhile on higher levels (larger boards), it's possible to figure out a simple way to win every time (I've sent it to the "Tips & Tricks" section), at which point the game becomes pointless.

On a side-note, the game suffers from a strange problem on my Android: the menu rotates with the device, but the game itself does not--it only works in one orientation. So you'll often find yourself pressing "Play" only to see your screen suddenly turn upside-down.

In short, Coloroid is the proof that some puzzles are just inherently flawed. If you're looking for a good puzzle game to pass your time, try looking for something with more thought put into it.

• In case the link expires: the layout in question is a 4x4 playfield, with four colors (Red, Green, Blue, Cyan), arranged like this: first row = R, G, B, G; row 2 = C, B, R, C; row 3 = B, R, C, G; row 4 = B, R, C, C. Try solving that in 5 moves or less. I checked all the possible combinations and found out it's impossible.