Grid Genius is an Android puzzle game that has been designed as a multiplayer game to play with friends and family or against challenging AI opponents. In Grid Genius, players need to complete, or “fill in” a game board. With square, triangle and hexagon shapes, players light up a single line at a time that makes up one of these shapes with their color. When a player has the option to color in a line and complete a shape, they are awarded that shape and a point added to their score, each shape completed represents a point towards someone score. The game carries on until the playing area is completely full and whichever player has the highest score, wins. Let’s take a closer look and see what this is like to play, shall we?
There are two versions of Grid Genius that players can download, the free version found here, as well as the paid version here, which doesn’t contain any ads. Whichever you choose to download will offer up the main menu when launched, with some options to choose from.
Right away, we can see that Grid Genius allows players to load a game when they’re in the middle of it and naturally resume this whenever they want. The first thing that new players should do of course is look up how the game is played, and thankfully Grid Genius offers a very nice how to from the menu.
Choosing to play a new game will bring up some options and choices as well, such as which type of shape to use, how many players, and whether or not you’re playing with other people or just squaring off against the computer.
Here, players can choose the size of the game area, as well as whether or not the other players are human or computer (including renaming human and CPU player names), and if so how difficult a challenge they’ll put up.
To get a feel for the game, I decided to go up against the computer and chose triangles to play with. As we got started, I got a feel for the computer’s tactics – I was playing against one in “easy” mode – and I could see that I had my work cut out for me.
I was finding out the hard way, that the computer would punish me for any small mistake I would make, and if I left an openining open to complete a shape, it would do so and even rack up some chains as well. The way the game plays is nice and the pacing is all fine and well, but I was so surprised at how difficult the “easy” computer player was. After some time, I was a number of points down against my robot component, but I did learn a lot about the game, that’s for sure.
Playing against the computer isn’t where the real fun is with Grid Genius however, it’s playing against other players in the same room or car, or plane, or train or wherever you might be that makes Grid Genius so much fun.
There’s a lot of flexibility in this approach as well. Using similar – or the same – colors as each other, two teams of two can face off against each other, or three players can try and take down the most challenging computer player if they wanted to. This makes Grid Genius the sort of game that is great for long commutes with friends or even road trips with the family. being able to control the grid size also helps to limit how long these games end up lasting for.
Of course, Grid Genius allows for the loading and reloading of games, which means that should more experienced players wish to take on the computer in a long Chess-like game, they can do with a larger grid size.
I had a lot of fun with Grid Genius, I’m the sort of person who likes a good board game with friends, but understands how pesky pieces can be with dogs and children, so this is a nice, laid back alternative. It’s modern, but not too modern, you can imagine this being played with different colored sticks, for instance. Flexible and challenging, Grid Genius definitely lives up to its promise of being perfect for all sorts of players. It’s easy for a parent and child to play a small grid together or a family to go for something a little larger, and those really looking to test their mettle can do so by taking on the computer across a massive game area. It might not seem all too complex a game, but all the right boxes are ticked here, and it can be a lot more challenging than you might think and the individual playing styles of your friends and family will absolutely help the game flourish as well as help some players lose some of their hair.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – The game runs well, and Grid Genius doesn’t impose any sort of speed limit upon people, which is really refreshing and great for family play.
- Theme (4/5) – Despite the dark background, the colors help the game “pop” and the interface is really simple and easy to use, as well as being flexible for different types of players and such.
- Features (4/5) – The gameplay concept here feels familiar, but thanks to the introduction of both human and CPU players, this is a truly flexible game that all ages and skill levels will be able to enjoy. It’s also a great, laid back approach to the fun of playing with other people in the same room.
- Overall (4/5) – A little gem of the Play Store, Grid Genius might not seem all that flashy or jam packed with all sorts of extra features, but its fun and fun for everyone.
Pros
- Good-looking and straightforward interface makes this an approachable title to players of all ages.
- Classic feel will appeal to players that are perhaps more used to spending time playing board games and such in person.
- Puzzle fans will have a game that has strategy and great pacing to get stuck into.
- Flexible gameplay includes different grid sizes, amounts of players and more.
Cons
- Some power-ups and extra features might help excite younger players and keep the game fresh.
- Video ads will annoy some players, but they’re short in length and the paid version isn’t expensive, either.
Grid Genius is a game that has a lot on offer and one that will appeal to a great many types of players. It’s a great multiplayer game as well as something that players looking to challenge themselves can get stuck into. With up to four human players playing together, Grid Genius is a nice throwback to when people used to actually spend time together and enjoy a good old board game. Familiar in its gameplay, yet refreshing in its approach, this is certainly worth taking a look at.