Wednesday App Review: Dotello

While I enjoy matching games, I have always thought that they were a little on the boring side. After all, it’s the same basic problem repeated over and over and over. Regardless as to the challenge, eventually I tend to get fed up with such things. Dotello, however, is a slightly different take on your traditional matching game, and the added elements make this a great little puzzle game. At its core, Dotello is exactly what you’d expect: you manipulate the dots in order to line up the matching colors and accrue points. Each level is a little different, and you have a set number of moves in which to reach a point goal. However, to make things a little more difficult (and strangely satisifying) there are dots which are special, pinned dots, and extremely restrictive layouts. Some dots have to be matched twice while others cannot be moved at all. There are dots which can clear an entire row, or even push other dots and objects away. The permutations are endless, and it only took me about fifteen minutes to be hopelessly hooked. The graphics in the game are very simple and pleasing with a very basic white background and colored dots which you can drag and drop wherever you like on the board. There is no timer, so you can sit and ponder as much as you like. And, in fact, the game rather seems to encourage taking the time to really think about what you’re doing with some of the challenges. I found it quite enjoyable and unlike most other similar games which try and pressure you into making a mistake. Of course, developers are always looking for ways to make money off of players and while there are ads, I found them way less intrusive and easy to dismiss, unlike some games. Additionally, there is a limit to the number of lives you have. The lives do return over time, or you can pay to refill them. Personally, I don’t think that I’d actually pay to have the lives refilled and I found the necessary break between playing the game to actually be beneficial and improve the play-ability in some ways. It’s not a game you’ll be able to waste hours on (unless you’re just really good) but that doesn’t detract from the actual game itself. I played quite a bit and never spent a dime on it. Dotello is available on Google Play and the iTunes App Store for free. There are around 195 levels in the game, with more being added on occasion. While I definitely didn’t beat the game, I can say that if you’re a fan of the old-fashioned match three games, then you’ll absolutely love Dotello.]]>