Chuzzle Review

Chuzzle, available from PopCap games, can be purchased and downloaded, or a free version is also available to play in your web browser. It's my new favorite computer game when I want hours of puzzling fun.

The Premise

Like Bejeweled and so many other simple computer games, the basic concept of Chuzzle is that you're trying to match like colors. When you make a match, those Chuzzles pop and others slide in to take their place. You can slide rows of Chuzzles horizontally and vertically to make these matches. As the game progresses new challenges are placed in your way. Giant Chuzzles slide onto the board that are more difficult to maneuver and match. Locks appear, rendering entire rows immoveable until you can make a match. However, when you find yourself with no more moves on the board, all is not lost. You have two more chances; the Chuzzles are shuffled in a motion reminiscent of a Vegas slot machine, and you continue with game play.

What's a Chuzzle?

I'm glad you asked. Here is a pack of Chuzzles in their native habitat:

Every once in a while, a trend-setter will show up wearing sunglasses. They're a talkative bunch, making little noises as you move them. They even seem to enjoy being popped because I swear they're saying "Whee!" each time I create a match.

Game Play

There are four styles of gameplay. Standard Chuzzle is the basic game described above. Speed Chuzzle is played this way, but locks are added if you don't make a match in a certain amount of time. Zen Chuzzle allows for continuous play with no locks. Mind Bender is a puzzle game. Instead of trying to make matches, you're trying to create pre-determined patterns with a mixed board of Chuzzles. But this can be more difficult than it seems since you can only move the rows horizontally and vertically, and for every Chuzzle that you move to the right place, another slides just out of reach.

Fun Stuff

The makers of Chuzzle have included a few little treats in the game, just for fun. For instance, check out what happens when you move a row of Chuzzles back and forth vigorously. There's also a surprise in store for you if you click on a Chuzzle several times in a row (make sure you try this on both the regular and super-sized Chuzzles). And if you let your mouse cursor linger too long on a single Chuzzle, you'll get an annoyed shake of the head, such as it is.

The game has also kept me interested after repeated play by introducing trophies. Some trophies are simply matters of endurance, such as playing long enough to pop 1,000 Chuzzles. Others are achievable through skill and experience, such as playing an entire game without needing hints. The trophies aren't a prime component of the game, but they add a nice bonus and improve the overall game-playing experience. Even if you're feeling like you've hit a block in your puzzle-solving abilities, you can still feel accomplished that you're working your way towards the million-Chuzzle trophy.

Overall, I think this is one of the best entries in this genre of puzzle games for the PC. Definitely worth your time, especially since there's a free version.

Play Chuzzle

• Go ahead, play Chuzzle!

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