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TouchBricks
June 17, 2004
Formerly known as TouchTris, and developed by Szymon Ulatowski, TouchBricks is a new twist on an old classic. Tetris, of course, is the game that took the world by storm quite a while back but is still played today. There’s just something about those falling bricks and that music that keep people coming back, including yours truly, so of course it stands to reason that many different developers would imitate it. But I don’t think that anyone has come up with something so uniquely different until now.
TouchBricks seems similar at first glance, with the falling bricks in familiar shapes. But this game allows you to control your action with a stylus, or even just your finger— no hardware buttons required. It’s a more natural interface that also allows for some fun tricks, like juggling multiple blocks so that you can get a better arrangement, instead of having to just take things as they come. Don’t worry about this making the game too easy, either— I’ve been playing on the Beginner level and I’m still finding TouchBricks to be quite challenging. Advanced mode ups the stakes by dropping a new brick every second.
If that were the end of the innovations, TouchBricks would be cool but not terribly unique, but there’s much more. Special bricks unleash a slew of special effects if they’re used to complete a row— lava bricks fill downward gaps, bombs destroy nearby cells, moles dig downwards, and seed bricks fill the empty spaces around the activation point. But watch out for the Ivy, as those bricks will then grow to be taller than the surrounding bricks, filling up your playing field. You can also download several replacement “skins” that change the bricks into something completely different— the Easter theme drops eggs that turn into chickens as soon as they lock into place, and the Flower Power skin drops flowers that turn into fruit. An original “Tetris” skin is also available, as well as a “Sketch” skin featuring hand-drawn shapes. The skins are free, as is a template that can help you create your own TouchTris skins.
And then there’s the video playback system that allows you to “record” the games you play and then show them later. You can even beam them to other Palm OS devices, so that your friends and family can appreciate your gaming skills! There’s also an online high score table, with an analysis of each game, as well as a downloadable video of the highest score ever achieved. Not only is it cool to watch, it may just improve your strategy as well.
I’ve been playing this game for several weeks now, and it’s rock solid, no crashes at all. The latest version adds sound effects as well, but I haven’t tried that one yet. If you’re looking for a fun puzzle game, you should definitely try TouchBricks. You can get it for $14.95 at Handango.
PocketGoddess Rating for TouchBricks: 
