With his permission, his reply is quoted below: So I decided to ask Chris Park, the founder of Arcen, about how useful Arcen finds discounting. AI War, Arcen’s first title, is deep, intricate and indie, but it and its expansions also frequently sell at a discount, and AI War’s base price of US$20 is also much lower than the typical price for AAA retail releases. But I was also curious about the pricing strategy followed by another company, Arcen Games. Matrix and Shrapnel keep prices high and discounts rare, while Paradox titles are discounted far more frequently and have a lower base price once they’ve been out for a while. I expect this to be my “quick break” game for some time to come.Ī few weeks ago, I wrote about the differing pricing strategies that Matrix Games, Shrapnel Games and Paradox Interactive use for their respective catalogues of niche strategy games. There is logic to this game, and routine, and the knowledge that those routines will ultimately solve the puzzle. So far, I’ve been content to gradually work my way up - I prefer my puzzles on the soothing side!Īnd it is soothing. There are several ways to increase the challenge: turning hints off (as I did in the screenshots), trying different game modes, and playing larger, more complex puzzles.

Most of the puzzles I’ve played take around five minutes to solve. This is the same puzzle, almost complete: The same puzzle, nearly complete. At the start, there’s enough information to identify the first few squares that I should (or shouldn’t) fill in: Near the start of a Picross S2 puzzle.Īfter marking the relevant squares, I can use this new knowledge to identify the next set of squares, and repeat. The numbers on the sides tell me how many squares should be filled in each row or column.

Each puzzle is an iterative process, beginning with a few clues.

It is relaxing and at the same time, challenging enough to keep me entertained. In the last few weeks, Picross S2, the latest in a long-running family of puzzle games, has become a regular part of my gaming.

Zen bound 2 switch