Capsule Review: Hexologic
A simple puzzle game in which you place dots in hex cells so that each line of hexes adds to the specified total. For example, a row of two hexes may be marked with a total of four which may mean each hex needs two dots or one needs three dots while the other needs one dot. Ambiguous situations are resolved by finding the solution that satisfies all marked totals simultaneously - once all hexes are correctly filled, the puzzle is solved.
Things get a little more complicated in later levels with a couple of added mechanics - some hexes that can have more dots but which can’t be modified by the player and other hexes in linked sets that always have the same dot count. But the relatively small number of possibilities (each player-modifiable hex can only have one, two, or three dots) and fact that the grids never get that large make each puzzle pass quickly. Once you internalize a few rules of thumb, it’s easy to find a couple of hexes that must have certain values and then chain through other hexes to solve the entire grid with no guesswork.
It won’t really stretch your brain, but it works fine as a meditative exercise if that’s your thing. The problem is that it runs out quickly - there are only 75 puzzles in the game (at launch; supposedly more are on the way) and it’s unlikely they’ll take more than a couple of hours to work through.
Updated October 28, 2018: More puzzles have since been added that also introduce new mechanics. I have not yet played them but supposedly they increase the amount of content by about 50%.
I Stopped Playing When: I finished all (at the time) 75 puzzles. I’d found it a good game to relax with and was disappointed there wasn’t more. (There is now.)
Three Stars: Good. I liked the game enough to finish it (or just play it a bunch, for games that don't end). I recommend it to most genre fans.