App of the Week: Threes! may be the unluckiest app of 2014. Developers Asher Vollmer and Greg Wohlwend spent almost a year and a half developing the mechanics of their addictive swipe-and-combine gameplay. However, its gameplay was copied within six days of release on iOS by free clones that quickly outsold Threes!, which costs $1.99 to download. The first clone, 1024, advertised itself with the line “No need to pay for Threes!”
That is a shame because Threes! is a great mobile game. The time and care the developers put into the game shines through in its simple, charming animations and enjoyable gameplay.
Threes! gives the player a grid of blank spaces. Every turn, a new number tile appears. Swiping up, down, left or right moves all the tiles on the board one space in that direction. Tiles collide when one bumps against the wall or another tile.
The graphics are surprisingly inviting for a game about combining numbers. Different types of number tiles have tiny faces on the bottom and different “personalities.” I enjoyed creating higher-level tiles if only to read the funny descriptions about how the 48 tile is a born aristocrat who loves swimming pools.
The player makes larger tiles by moving two matching tiles over top each other. I put together many tiles with a 1, 2 and 3 into a 192 tile before running out of moves and losing in my first game.
Threes! is enjoyable because it presents a good level of difficulty. Players can enjoy it and move numbers around the board with ease, but only the best players can advance to the highest levels. It’s simple to learn, hard to master.
Finding the most efficient way to move tiles around the board and score the highest tile is fascinating. I often found myself opening Threes! whenever I had a moment to spare and had pulled out my phone. It’s easy to play in short bursts.
Threes! is also worth playing over free clones because it’s better balanced. Other versions of the game are too hard (1024) or far too easy (2048).
Threes! is available to download on Android and iPhone for $1.99.
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