Blendamaze adds color to a traditional wood labyrinth game

Blendamaze 2

Back in 2010, I remember getting really excited about iOS wood labyrinth games. My grandmother had a real one one that I loved playing with when I was growing up. So, having one on my iPad was just too cool.

Blendamaze is a wood labyrinth style game that adds the element of color. Not only do you have to get the ball into the hole, but you also have to make sure that it matches the exit portal color by dipping it in paint first…

Design

The game has a faux wood look to it. All of the borders and walls look like a real wood labyrinth. Instead of a traditional steal ball, like the one that comes with the physical game, this one is white. Players change the color of the ball by rolling it into holes with paint in them. The ball will pop out in a different spot and when you roll it again, it will leave a paint trail on the board until it “dries out.”

There are six different sections that each deal with a different spectrum on the color wheel. For example, the first section relates to primary colors and features red, blue, and yellow paint. The second section deals with secondary colors and includes orange, purple, and green paint. Each new section features additional colors.

Blendamaze 1

Gameplay

When you start the first few levels, you’ll be given a brief tutorial that explains how to move the ball and how to add paint to change the color. After about four levels, you will be mostly on your own.

To move the ball around, tilt your device. Just like a real wood labyrinth, the ball will roll toward the direction you tilted. To speed up or slow down the ball’s movement, add more or less angle to the tilt.

On each board, there is at least one color of paint, but often times three or more. There is also a portal that looks like a wooden button. This is where the ball comes out after being painted. There is usually a couple of buttons and dropping the ball into different colors of paint will send it to different portals.

When you drop a ball into the paint, it will be coated. If you drop it into two or three different colors, it will change to match the combination. For example, if you drop the ball into a yellow hole and then into a blue hole, it will come out green. If you drop it back into a yellow hole after that, it will turn light green. You can recoat the ball multiple times and it will turn different colors with each coat.

Depending on how the labyrinth is set up, sometimes, you will have to paint the ball in a specific order in order to get it pop out of the right portal. For example, if the blue paint is next to a portal and they are both inside a room on the labyrinth with no exit, you can enter the room through the blue paint hole that pops the ball out into that portal. Then, dip the ball into the yellow hole and it will pop back out of the room.

To complete a level, the ball must be a specific color. The exit portal will be that color. There will oftentimes be multiple exit portals. Players match the color of each portal. The ball will revert back to white so you can match the next color. When you’ve matched all colors, you’ve successfully completed the level.

You earn extra points for color accuracy. For example, if the exit portal is reddish purple, you will need to dip the ball into blue once and red twice. If you accidentally dip it in the wrong color or add too many coats, your accuracy score will go down.

As the levels increase, the puzzles get harder. There are more labyrinth walls, paint holes are in awkward spots, and the exit portal colors get more complex, requiring multiple layers that must be applied in specific order.

If you just want to mess around with paint colors, there is a free paint feature. This level includes 12 colors, the primaries, the secondaries, and the tertiaries. You can dip and re-dip your ball as many times as you like and see what colors appear.

Blendamaze 3

The Good

I love how challenging this game gets after about 10 levels. At first, it seems too easy, but as you keep playing, the goal becomes more and more difficult. It will definitely keep you on your toes.

I also love the way the paint comes off of the ball as it rolls. It even gets lighter over time, implying that the paint has dried. It makes the wood labyrinth board look pretty cool.

The Bad

I couldn’t seem to get the game to properly set to my devices’ gyroscope. It seems like, no matter how flat I laid my iPhone, the ball would always roll off to one side or another. This made it more difficult to properly tilt the device. Sometimes, I’d have to tilt it at a 45-degree angle in the opposite direction just to keep it from rolling into the wrong paint hole.

http://youtu.be/ieYtv06F2G4

Value

Blendamaze weighs in at a hefty $2.99. If it weren’t for the fact that the game comes with more than 150 levels, and more in the works, I’d say it is too expensive. This game is plenty fun, but casual puzzle games usually cost a third of that. I recommend this game, but it is pricey.

Conclusion

Even though I think this game is about a dollar too expensive, I still believe it is a good buy for fans of labyrinth type games. It is more than just a maze with a ball that you roll around. The added element of mixing colors in order to complete a level gives it a fun challenge that will keep you coming back for more. Blendamaze is available for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Download it in the App Store today.