Triple Trouble combines cute creature-flinging with match-3 puzzling

Triple Trouble from German developer Polynauten is a new iOS title that makes a brave attempt to marry together two disparate puzzle game genres: the physics-based puzzler and the match-3 brainteaser. It's available now from the App Store as a paid app with separate iPhone and iPad versions, and was developed with support from the gamecity:Hamburg initiative. Triple Trouble sees players taking command of a band of small furry creatures known as Triples. The Triples have been blown into a huge swirling vortex after a star exploded near their home planet, and it's up to the player to help them get home from the strange new world they have found themselves on. Triples supposedly have "magical powers" when they stand together in clumps of three or more of the same color, and thus are able to teleport themselves back home when grouped together in such an arrangement. They are apparently incapable of moving themselves around, however, which is where the player comes in. By flicking them around the level using the touchscreen, the player is able to create groups of Triples and complete the level by fulfilling a specific quota of matches. When this is accomplished, the player is graded on their performance using the ever-reliable three-star rating system, with points knocked off for Triples which fell off the level and bonuses added for collecting shiny objects. The game begins with relatively simple levels -- the player is essentially flicking the Triples into discrete "bins" to start with -- but later introduces a variety of tricky obstacles to negotiate. As the game progresses, they will find themselves having to not only deal with fans, springs and moving objects, but also determining where will be the best place to collect Triples in increasingly-complex environments. As a paid app, the game is distributed "as is" and does not carry any additional monetization, though Polynauten is clearly planning at least one content update, judging by the "Coming Soon" item that appears in the level selection menu. Social support is provided through Game Center, with separate leaderboards for the game's three "worlds" alongside an overall high score table. The game also has 27 achievements available, though for some reason they are all only worth one point despite varying wildly in difficulty. As the iPad and iPhone versions are separate apps, they are also treated as independent titles in Game Center, so players are not able to compete against friends playing on a different device. Triple Trouble provides an interesting, fun twist on two rather tired genres that we have seen a lot of on the App Store over the years. In the process, it sets itself apart as a distinctive title in its own right rather than a simple clone of other, more well-established titles. It has simple but attractive graphics and easily-grasped gameplay, making it a particularly appropriate game for children to enjoy -- a fact which App Store reviewers have already picked up on and complimented the game for. As a new title, Triple Trouble and its HD iPad counterpart are not yet listed on the App Store leaderboards, but shortly you'll be able to follow their progress using AppData, our tracking service for iOS and social games and developers.

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Triple Trouble combines cute creature-flinging with match-3 puzzling

Pete Davison

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Pete Davison