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Sponsored feature: Five steps to puzzle nirvana

We look under the hood of some of RealArcade's brain-bending mobile games

Sponsored feature: Five steps to puzzle nirvana
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Five steps to puzzle nirvana sponsored feature Real ArcadeIf there's one thing we love on mobile, it's an addictive puzzler. You know, the sort of game that you can dip into for a five-minute blast, but just as often find yourself hypnotised by for an hour or more.

RealArcade has set out its stall as a puzzle expert, bringing some of the most successful puzzlers from its online RealArcade service to mobile. Think Luxor or PileUp!, for example, which are both Pocket Gamer Silver Award winners, or Gem Drop, or the upcoming 7 Wonders.

These games have sold millions of copies as PC downloads, so what makes them work so well as mobile puzzlers? We've come up with five reasons:

1. Immediately familiar objectives
Pile Up image for Real Arcade sponsored featureMatching three or more objects to make them disappear is a tried-and-trusted gameplay mechanic on mobile. For example, Gem Drop has precious stones dropping from the top of the screen, which you have to place in groups of three or more.

Luxor sees you firing coloured balls into chains of other balls to make three-of-a-kind, and 7 Wonders has you swapping blocks to create strings of three. PileUp! involves rotating coloured balls into groups of four or more, but the principle is the same: you can grasp it in seconds, even if you're not a hardcore gamer.

2. Intuitive controls
Chainz 5 steps to Puzzle Nirvana featureThe hallmark of a successful puzzle game is simple controls that don't have you scrabbling across your mobile keypad, or racking your brains to remember which key does what.

RealArcade clearly realises this, as all its puzzle games rely on four-way movement and firing. You don't have to struggle with the controls, enabling you to concentrate on the frequently fiendish gameplay.

3. Instant rewards...
Gem Drop - 5 steps to puzzle nirvanaAt the risk of sounding like impatient thrillseekers with the attention span of a goldfish, we want instant gratification from our mobile games, baby! It's no good having to play something for 20 minutes before feeling a sense of achievement. This ain't War And Peace.

The ideal mobile puzzle game should reward you within 30 seconds of starting to play. This doesn't have to involve a courier turning up at your house with champagne and flowers either (although it's a thought). It can be the simple thrill of seeing something happen, or getting an unexpected bonus.

That's what you get the first time you swap and match blocks in 7 Wonders and see them disappear, for example. Or the first time you make some PileUp! balls vanish, and see those above them tumble down according to proper laws of physics. Even the simple kick you get from firing a ball in Luxor and seeing it hit its target.

4. ...but Long-Term Challenge
Luxor - 5 steps to puzzle nirvanaAll this instant gratification is all very well, but it would soon get boring if that was all there was to a puzzle game. The best ones take seconds to grasp, but weeks or even months to truly master.

Consider the way RealArcade spices up its puzzlers. In Gem Drop, you soon learn that when you remove blocks, the rest tumble down, creating combos which score more points. As you learn, you'll find yourself thinking three or four moves ahead.

Meanwhile, PileUp! has all manner of bonuses and special powers, including Weasel Bombs and Whirly Bombs that help clear the screen faster, as well as more different-coloured balls appearing on later levels as you progress through the game, to keep the challenge fresh.

Luxor also has bonus powers, such as 'Sharp-shooter' which provides you with an aiming line to make your shots more accurate, and 'Slow' and 'Reverse' which do exactly what you'd think. Oh, and lightning, fireballs and bombs. Which is always nice.

Finally, 7 Wonders includes corner stones, plus more fireballs and lightning, which you'll learn to use to help you complete levels faster, rack up points, or just get you out of a tight spot.

5. Cool incidental details
7 wonders - 5 steps to puzzle nirvanaIf every mobile puzzle game was just about swapping balls or blocks on a plain background, the world would be a dull place indeed – and life on Pocket Gamer would make us weep hot, salty tears of boredom. Thankfully, that's not the case. RealArcade's games all have extra touches to make them stand out, or just make you smile.

7 Wonders is based on the ancient seven wonders of the world, for example, slipping in fun facts about them as you play, leaving you educationally enriched. (Well, that's our excuse for extra long sessions).

Meanwhile, PileUp!'s physics and unlimited levels are a neat touch, although you'll have to be amazingly fast-fingered to put the latter claim to the test. Finally, the Egyptian-themed Luxor has rich backgrounds and suitably comical scarab beetles waddling around the screen to keep your attention.

And finally...
That's our five steps to puzzle nirvana. But you can check for yourself, by reading our reviews of PileUp! and Luxor, and by watching this space for a first look at 7 Wonders when it comes out in November. Happy puzzling!

Stuart Dredge
Stuart Dredge
Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)