Tangram

Simple puzzle games have a certain beauty in that while they are often easy to grasp, they can be so difficult to master, This is all very well of course, but their simplicity also makes it incredibly hard to say any more than a few words when reviewing – a cause for more reviewers' hair loss than cheap dye. Tangram is one such game, designed by those masters of fiendish puzzles, the inscrutable Chinese. Apparently it is a national pastime of our Oriental friends, who have been playing it for over 4,000 years now – quite a recommendation!

Many of the most addictive games have also been the simplest to pick up and play. Tetris, Arkanoid, Pipemania and Asteroids, to name but a few, have an elusive but addictive quality which keeps the player coming back for more in the hope of getting 'just that little bit further'. Now, from Thalion, comes Tangram, a Chinese game that is over four thousand years old.

Inscrutable games have been flooding out of the Orient, ever since piece-shuffling pastimes became popular. The ‘slightly’ successful Chess game and the vaguely popular Go spring to mind as proven games that have been converted into silicon time-and-time again. Centuries of playing though is proof positive of their pulling power. Tangram, the latest of these Chinese computer challenges, is almost unknown when compared to these other leisure legends. Does this mean though, that it does not quite have what it takes?