Video Game Review: Flood It! for iPhone

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Simple to learn but fun to play for hours

Cons: Once I start, I don't want to stop playing

The Bottom Line:

Addicting puzzler

Get the board the same color

You won't want to stop

Simple Yet Addicting Puzzle Game for Your iPhone

My family now has two iPhones and an iPod Touch.  So we spent part of our Thanksgiving comparing apps and recommending them to each other.  The biggest hit of the weekend for all was a free game my brother had found called Flood It!  The game and game play are very simple, but I can (and have) played this thing by the hour.

The object of the game is to flood your game board with one color.  You start from the upper left hand side and win if you get the entire board the same color.  There are six colors in the game, and they are represented by buttons at the bottom of the screen.  You simply press the button for the color you want to choose, and the area you have created becomes that color, adding in any squares that are directly touching your space.

I don't feel like I'm being clear, so let's go with an example.  The first square is red.  It is touching blue and green.  The green square is touching a different blue on the other side.  You if you started with green, your area would be two squares.  Then if you chose blue, your area would be four squares since both blue can now be added to the flood area.

If a square is touching the flood area by a corner only, it isn't added.  Only squares directly touching the flood area by a side count.

Now, I have used square so far for simplicity.  However, there are times when several squares of the same color are right next to each other.  If you choose that color, all those squares get added at once.  In fact, it usually seems to be that the only way to win the game is to find and exploit those larger areas early in a round.

Now if the game just required you to get the board one color, it would get old quickly.  However, you have a limited number of moves based on the difficulty of the board.  A simple board (12x12) gives you 22 moves.  The middle stage (17x17) gives you 30 moves.  And the hard stage (22x22) gives you 36 moves.  I've only played the harder two stages long enough to get one win each, but I have played the easy stage quite a bit.  My win percentage there is only 42% (down from the first day, but up from a low of 37%).  It really takes some time to get the strategy down, but once you do, it becomes very fun.

No matter which level you play, the screen is basically the same.  The grid you want to flood is the same size, the squares are just smaller.  At the bottom are the six buttons for the six colors.  And if you want a different color scheme, there are twelve options that come with the game.

The controls, graphics, etc. are very simple.  You are basically looking at a box with squares in it and round buttons.  You touch one of those buttons to choose it, and it always reacts just fine.  There are no sounds with the game, so you can play it quietly and no one will know what you are doing.

After the initial download, you don't need to be connected to the internet to play, which is nice since I am the one with the iPod Touch.

I just have the free version.  However, you can pay 99 cents to get the full version with more options like undo and start the level over.  Both of those are options I wish I could have.  Additionally, the paid version has the option of racing a clock to flood a screen.  I don't need that extra challenge.  In fact, I like the game because it doesn't have a clock.  My version has an ad at the top of the screen.  I bet you don't have that on the free version, but I can't say for sure.

I was looking for some good free puzzles to play on my iPod Touch, and this one fits the bill.  I am highly addicted to Flood It!