Innovation is scarce in the casual game market these days, and when it does appear, as often as not it is in the form of a new blending of two or more known game types. This is certainly the case with Enkord’s Zodiac Tower, a sort of mix between a classic match-3 dynamic and a Tetris-piece puzzle-inlay game. Imagine that Big Kahuna and Puzzle Express went somewhere and had a secret love child, and you’d be able to imagine the game. If your mind works like that.

The way it works is you have the same big map full of tiles to match. But instead of clicking on the tokens to match, you pick Tetris-shapes from a conveyor on the left, and lay them over matching pieces. It’s interesting challenge, and is a good bit more cerebral than the normal “find three and drag your mouse over them” challenge. For people looking for a more challenging matching game, this is it, and it’s a lot of fun.

Also deserving mention is the very cool main game map screen- a beautiful tower full of rooms that the player climbs room by room. It’s a small thing, but implemented beautifully. The rest of the graphics for the game are passable, maybe a bit chunky and rough in places, but certainly better than average for an indie-developed game. The music is tolerable and the sounds are solid, if slightly forgettable.

On the down side, this game mechanic has a lot more mouse clicking. In a game like Bejeweled or Jewel Quest, you solve a single set with 2 mouse clicks or a single click plus a drag. This rewards the player on a 2-for-1 ratio to mouseclicks, which is part of the core appeal and addictiveness of these games. In Zodiac Tower, the reward for a single set comes after choosing a piece, clicking on it, finding a spot and clicking again – which is a substantially longer process with a lot more mouse movement. Your arm will get tired of dragging back and forth between the conveyor and the game board pretty quick. Furthermore, if you include the clicks for rotating the piece, you each piece is substantially more work, leading to “puzzle game fatigue”. For people who want a deeper, more challenging game, this is a good thing. For people who just want to zone out and click shiny things, this may end up being too much work.

Also, one very particular gripe: when I installed the game, it created a shortcut in my Quickstart toolbar. I’m cool with a desktop icon and a spot on my start menu, but inviting yourself into my quickstart bar with a demo game is a little like a first date showing up at your house with a toothbrush and clean set of underwear. Let me get to know you a little bit first, okay? I wouldn’t mention it, but I am hoping other developers will see this and stop this foolishness before it gets out of hand.

That being said, I loved the game, and thought it was a great and original addition to Enkord’s already great library of games. It’s a real attempt at innovation that should be rewarded. Seriously, go check it out.

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