Triple Town – Unique title both Puzzler & Strategy game… it really draws you in!
by Paul Wilks
Mar 7, 2012 10:47 AM –
Install
Triple Town is an original and challenging puzzle game for Android devices. Part puzzler, part strategy game the aim is to build a little town. You build by grouping matching items together; bushes, trees, houses, cathedrals and so on. The game is wrapped in beautiful graphics and features leisurely and fun gameplay. A true original, Triple Town is massively engrossing and hugely satisfying to play.
Price: Free
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Original, fun and engaging!
- Absorbing gameplay!
- Very cute graphics and animations!
- Really easy to play!
Cons
- Sucks battery.
- The game is might not supported on custom ROMs i.e. Cyanogenmod or MIUI.
Features:
It’s really nice when a game with such originality comes along and Triple Town is certainly that. It blends well-known puzzle concepts- group three of a kind together, with canny strategic gameplay; build items together to create buildings and develop your town. I have to admit when I first downloaded the game I just started playing without really checking out the instructions or the point of the game at all. Despite playing with very little purpose I was immediately engrossed. It’s relaxing yet incredibly immersive.
So, you have grass, bushes, trees, houses, graves, cathedrals and castles. Collect 3 of each to move up: 3 grasses make a bush, 3 bushes make a tree and so on… The higher you go the better your town will be. Giant bears (albeit very adorable giant bears) often get in the way and terrorise the local people. You’re tasked with killing them by blocking them into one spot. Doing so creates a little gravestone and 3 gravestones make a church.
Sometimes it’s a little tricky to work out what you are doing, but the more you play the more strategic it gets. You have a limited amount of turns before having to wait for these to restore, but there’s the ability to make an in-app purchase for unlimited turns. However, the threshold is very high and you can play quite a bit before you hit this. If you play casually, you might never reach the turn limit. The game is surprisingly low pressure and very relaxing and is able to suck you into the cute environment.
The game isn’t supported on modded ROMs, so Cyanogenmod and MIUI users might have a problem. That said, I’m using CM7 and it works absolutely fine on my Desire HD. I did notice that the game enjoys eating battery so you might need to be careful playing for prolonged periods of time away from a charger. This aside it’s immensely entertaining and riveting title that is both original and satisfying.
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Triple Town – Level beginning
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Triple Town – Bunch matching items together
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Triple Town – Bear becomes gravestone
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TripleTown – Trap the bears!
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Triple Town – Near the end of level
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Triple Town – Level complete
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Triple Town – Instructions
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Triple Town – Welcome back page
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Triple Town – Buy extra items
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Triple Town – Options
Fun Factor:
Triple Town is bags of fun. It’s great to gradually build your town whether you fail miserably, make just patches and patches of grass or collate a fine gathering of cathedrals and castles. It is one of the most immersive games I think I’ve encountered on the Android platform and gameplay is ingenious.
Addictive:
It’s an odd one to call. While I spent quite a while playing the game, and found it both distracting and time-consuming, I didn’t have that burning need to fire it up again. Scoring is done via OpenFeint so if you have a community of fellow players there is some motivation to play for high scores. I’m certain many people will strongly disagree with me and declare Triple Town a hugely addictive puzzler but, while I really enjoy playing it, it didn’t ‘grab’ me.
Graphics:
Graphics are highly detailed 2D in a kind of grid shape. The animations are superb and watching the giant bears roam around is quite cool. The various menus are also very polished and interactive. For a mobile game it’s absolutely ideal.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
There isn’t really any music but plenty of sound effects. Things beep and ting as you place and build items. Brilliantly, roaming bears make lovely little growling and scratching sounds which make it even harder to commit them to the grave.