Every once in a while I come across a game that starts out fun and amusing and then quickly becomes frustratingly difficult. However, this time the experience was different because even though I became frustrated, I was compelled to play on. The game I speak of is called Hall of Stones and today we are going to check it out.
Hall of Stones follows a Monk who is on his way to eternal enlightenment, but he needs your help! To assist him, you are tasked with completing three increasingly difficult levels which require you to rotate stones into matching groups of four.
Hall of Stones is a puzzle and strategy game that challenges your skills and patience and you better make double sure that you have patience!
The game starts out detailing your task and then you choose to begin the first level of three. Once you begin the level, you will see 24 stones in six different colors all jumbled and mixed up. Between some of the stones are small gray circles called “Spin Pointsâ€.
When you tap a Spin Point, the four stones immediately beside the Spin Point will spin counter-clockwise. This allows you, through skill and strategy, to line up the stones into six groups of four where each group of four has a matching color.
You can check out a game play video here.
The first level of the game is great because it is not very difficult, but soon after comes level two and that level is a hair-pulling, swearing fun time! I cannot even imagine what level three is like. So after you master the first level and begin level two, you will notice that the Spin Points begin to change location, which makes the game very difficult as the strategy you used in level one no longer applies.
Before each level and after each successfully completed level, you are shown the Monk that you are helping. If you successfully complete a level, the Monk sits before the stones you have just correctly assembled with a smile on his face. It seems to be a constant reminder of why is it that I am doing the stones instead of him? Maybe I am enlightened. 🙂
Overall, Hall of Stones provides a challenging puzzle and strategy game that is sure to please puzzle fans. The visuals are good and the game is easy to understand and play. However due to the nature of the game, there is not much depth within the three included levels which leads a player to finish the game and then move on to something new.
Hall of Stones is scored a 4 out of 5.
Hall of Stones is available in the iTunes App Store for $0.99.
