Review: Everyday Genius: Squarelogic

At a Glance

ESRB Rating: NR - Not Rated
My Rating: Everyone
Genre: Puzzle
License: Commercial
Fun-O-Meter:
Release Year: 2009
Review Published On: May 6th, 2016
Played on: Martha & Thaddeus

Available for:

Windows

Available from:

Steam

Areas of Concern:
  • Nothing of note


How to Save and Pause:

There's no timer, so you can freely leave the game running if you need to get up off the computer for a few minutes. Otherwise, your progress is saved whenever you leave a puzzle.

Time needed per session:

This is a game that can be easily fit into anybody's day, as you're free to work at your own pace. That said, it can be easy to lose track of time while working on a puzzle like this, so plan ahead.

Does this game pose issues for Christian players?

No - this is a great game for Christians
This game doesn't have any offensive content - it's just a collection of increasingly difficult math-based puzzles.

Screenshots

[view screenshot]
Okay, I can do this

[view screenshot]
...maybe

[view screenshot]
A sign of skill or extreme boredom



Game Overview

What do you get when you mix Sudoku style puzzles with math problems and relaxing, atmospheric music?

Pretty much this.

Everyday Genius: Square Logic is a number puzzle game where you're trying to place numbers in a grid. Just like Sudoku, your goal is to place a number in every cell and keep every row and column free of any duplicates. Unlike Sudoku, Everyday Genius uses math problems to guide you in positioning the numbers.

For example, let's say that you have a group of three cells. The hint for this group is that you multiply the numbers within it to get 12. From this hint and the number of cells in the group, we can assume the correct answers will probably be 1, 3, and 4. However, if the cells are positioned right, 2, 2, and 3 is also a legitimate answer. Either set will equal 12 when multiplied, so it's just a matter of fitting them in with the other numbers in the nearby rows and columns.

This was only one example of how the hints use math to guide you. Sometimes you'll simply be told what number goes in a cell, or be given the vague hint that the cell's value is greater than one of its neighbors.

If you do get stuck, you can request help at any time. This won't solve the puzzle for you; instead you'll get a message highlighting a cell or cells you should take a closer look at. This helps alert you to things that you might overlook, and gives you enough of a nudge to let you finish the puzzle on your own without giving anything away.

This is a great little game for the math geeks, but I'm not so sure it'll be popular with the average gamer. Your milage may vary.

Points of Interest

HUGE number of puzzles

There are five regions, each of which has seven areas. Each area has eight hundred and ten puzzles in it. That means there are over 28,000 puzzles to solve. Good luck solving all of them in your lifetime!

You can skip around fairly freely

Unlocking an area within a region is simple: you just solve the area's practice puzzles. New regions are unlocked once you've opened every area in the regions below them, and once you've unlocked an area, you can play any of the puzzles in it whenever you want.

Three levels of difficulty

In each area, the puzzles are split into Easy, Medium and Hard difficulties. Additionally, the puzzles found in the earlier regions are easier than the puzzles that follow. Since each area has several hundred puzzles, you'll have little trouble finding new puzzles that are as challenging or as easy as you want.

Steam achievements

Even though this game boils down to solving large numbers of math problems, it features a number of achievements for you to earn. Some of these achievements are based on things like how puzzles you've done in a region or how many you've solved overall, but there are a few extremely hard to earn achievements like the one you get for solving 100 puzzles in a row without making a single mistake. Anyway you look at it, your effort will be rewarded.

Math. Lots and lots of math.

I really shouldn't have to clarify why this is a major turn off for a lot of people. If you're not already the kind of person to do the puzzles in the morning paper, this isn't going to be the game for you.

Concerns and Issues

None.

When a game is this simple, there isn't any room for objectionable content to find a way in. The only exception would be the Perfectionist achievement (the achievement where you clear 100 puzzles in a row without making even one mistake), because the sheer difficulty of doing it can drive a person crazy. Just remember to take a break once every so often and you'll be fine.