Electric Boogaloo : Break the Grid arrives on iOS, Android

Not as dull as it looks

Back in the early 80’s, our family received a Merlin handheld electronic thingee and it quickly became one of my favorite toys. Yes, kids, before the Internet, a red plastic phone that played tic-tac-toe was as good as it got. When my brother and I pulled ourselves away from another round of Mindbender, I would use the device to play Magic Square in which you were trying to turn every light in the grid out by pressing buttons. As you pressed a button, it would turn the lights around it on or off. As a 10 year-old, I found it to be an incredibly difficult problem to solve. As I got older, not so much. Break the Grid reminds me of that old Magic Square game quite a bit. In Break the Grid you have a5x5 grid and you’re trying to turn every box in the grid “off”. The big difference between Break the Grid and the old Magic Square is that Break the Grid is tough and fun.

Its difficulty comes from the randomly drawn cards which indicate a pattern of squares you can toggle. This randomness makes a simple puzzle into a struggle that can, sometimes, border on frustrating when you just need a certain pattern to clear a board. On top of that, you’re only given 20 turns per puzzle to succeed and those 20 turns go by extremely quick. There are 10 different challenges you can aim for, like finishing with all the squares off except the corners, or leaving an “X” pattern lit through the center of the grid. I have yet to actually complete any of the challenges, and I’m imagining the only way I’ll do so is by sheer luck.

Break the Grid is another one of those puzzle games that works great as a five minute time waster, like Threes or Rules. Unlike those, however, Break the Grid is free to play with ads, which can be removed via a $2 IAP. There are also “Power Points” which you can spend on power-ups. You can buy those via IAP as well, but you earn them as you clear each grid so, you could always grind for more if you feel like you really need the power ups (you don’t).

Break the Grid is out now for iOS Universal and should hit Android devices next week. Trailer after the break.