Have You Played... SquareCells?
It's hip to be a squarecell
Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.
Hexcells is, I think I can safely say, my favourite puzzle game ever. All three games in the series were utterly wonderful, and I've replayed them so, so often. But SquareCells [official site], Matthew Brown's follow-up puzzle game, didn't grab me in quite the same way. Until now, I think. It just took me a while to catch up.
SquareCells is a fascinating combination of a number of established puzzle types, including Picross, Campixu and Pic-Pic's Drawing. And indeed a healthy does of HexCells logic. Each of a grid of squares must be highlighted or deleted according to an ever-growing collection of rules. I think it was the confusion of rule types that put me off at first, but having gone back to it a few times since release, completed it perhaps three times, it's really clicked with me. It doesn't quite have the finesse and sense of perfection of HexCells, but it remains a completely superb puzzle game well worth your time.