Review - Brickshooter

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A Game Review
by Maria O. Arguello

BrickShooter Product: BrickShooter for Mac (version 1.5)

Manufacturer/Vendor/Developer: BrickShooter (a trademark of TERMINAL Studio.)

URL: www.BrickShooter.com

Level: From kids to grand masters
Minimum System Requirements: OS X 10 or higher
Price: $14.95

Test System: PowerBook G4 1.5 GHz
Rating: 4.5 out of five apples

Brickshooter is a very addictive and challenging game for anyone who enjoys puzzles and strategy. The goal is to score as many points as possible before the field is filled with bricks. The game field is composed of a hundred squares. The game starts with some colored bricks arranged randomly in the field. Empty squares are black.

Each side of the field consists of three layers of bricks. Any brick that can be moved shows an arrow when the mouse is over it. Clicking the mouse starts a brick moving through the field in the direction of the arrow. When a brick hits another brick it stops. The brick's direction cannot be changed.

The strategy consists of joining three or more bricks of the same color vertically, horizontally, or in an L-shape. When you accomplish this, the bricks disappear and you score points: 3 points for 3 bricks, 6 points for 4 bricks, and 9 points for 5 bricks.

Emptying the field wins 100 bonus points and moves you to another level. As you move to a new level the number of bricks randomly added each time the field is cleared increases by one brick. The game ends when the player is unable to move any bricks.

There is an animated tutorial to get you started. You can set the game difficulty and add sound effects or music. I find the two annoying at times so I usually mute all sounds when I play.

This game has been enjoyed by Window users for some time; now finally Mac users can enjoy it, too. There are two versions for the Mac: Brickshooter Classic for Mac (Mac OS X) ($14.95); and BrickShooter Jr. for Mac (Mac OS X) (19.95). The latter is more graphically rich with some changes in the rules. They also offer it for Palm OS and for Pocket PC.

My highest score so far is 14,000 points. I have spent many relaxing hours playing this game. I love its simplicity because you can begin playing and enjoying it immediately. If you peruse the BrickShooter Hall of Fame, you'll see the passion and expertise achieved by the users of this wonderful game. I am a novice reaching level 14 compared to level 75 by the grand masters. I'm getting better.

I give it 4.5 out of five apples.

Reviewer: Maria O. Arguello
Maria O. Arguello is a native of Nicaragua and a naturalized American citizen. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Loyola University of New Orleans and her Master of Science degree from West Chester University in Pennsylvania. Since retiring from the Philadelphia School System as a science teacher and science department head, her newfound time has allowed her to become more involved with her Mac and the User Group Community. Maria is president and vendor liaison of the Main Line Macintosh Users Group (MLMUG), where she has also served as member-at-large and as special events coordinator. She is the Apple Regional Liaison for the Northeast United States and online groups.

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