Only 1 idle game this month!? Yep, luckily the other 2 are puzzle games so not too different to usual.

For this post I’m trialling moving screenshots above the wall-of-text review. Seeing the game before reading me yapping about it might make a better sales pitch!

#1: TED Tumblewords

TED’s Tumblewords, free with Netflix, might be my favourite word game of all time. No timers, no adverts, just solid spelling gameplay.

Screenshots

All screenshots are from version 1.1.1:

Main screen Banking topic level 9-letter word Post-level fact
TED Tumblewords main screen TED Tumblewords banking topic level TED Tumblewords 9-letter words TED Tumblewords post-level fact

Review

I’ve reviewed a few of Netflix’s games before, and recently took another look at their Developer page on Google Play. For some reason, there are plenty of games there that aren’t listed within the Netflix app itself! One of these is TED Tumblewords. The gameplay has some similarities to Word Salad, but instead of being a puzzle with a solution, it’s a 1v1 turn-based game with many answers.

The goal of each level (regardless of which game mode, or whether you’re playing a real person or a bot) is to spell high value words by connecting the letters within a 2x3 / 3x3 grid. There are a few complexities, such as some letters providing bonus points (yellow), and starting your word with the last letter of your opponent’s word giving a massive 100 point bonus.

However, you’re primarily always going to be trying to see long, high value words. Earlier on in the game, the 100 point bonus for using the correct first letter will be essential, but when you’re hitting 300+ a word it’s merely a suggestion.

You can “shift” a limited number of rows or columns per round, letting you line up better words. This can be a little mind-melting, especially when trying to shift letters to spell a particularly long word! Luckily even when you’re out of shifts, you can “shuffle” the entire board. I admit there’s been a couple of occasions where I’ve had to tap shuffle 50+ times until I get a lucky layout that lets me spell an excellent word!

Whilst “connect letters to spell words” isn’t anything new, it’s presented in a smooth, engaging, and enjoyable package. For example, whilst player vs player is available (more on that later!), the core of the game is a single player campaign. TED’s educational influence runs throughout, with 10 “Topics” (e.g. Business & Economics), each consisting of 3 “Packs” (e.g. “Stock Market”) with 10 levels of 3-6 rounds each. This gives a total of around 300 core levels, with each topic having a different colour scheme and opponent.

Each of these levels is realistically pretty similar, although the opponent AI difficulty will differ. The easier AIs will be beatable with minimal thought, whilst the most difficult might take a couple of tries. Somewhat sneakily, each level has a fixed set of letters, so if you get crushed by an amazing word from the AI, you can use it against them when you try again!

The gameplay itself is enough of an incentive to work through the campaign, however there is a reward I absolutely love: A related fact is shown upon completion. These facts are genuinely interesting, and almost all have been new information to me. Completing all the levels in a Pack rewards a new player badge, a purely visual change.

So, a core campaign with a few hundred levels of solid, relaxed word-based gameplay. Is that it? Nope! There are a few additional gamemodes, each of which has a new level every day (plus the usual streak indicators). These are:

  1. “Daily Match”: A standard match against the AI opponent.
  2. “Daily Six”: You play 6 words by yourself, aiming for the highest score.
  3. “Daily Ladder”: You play as many words as you can, aiming for the highest possible total score.

I’m not particularly into daily games, but these 3 do a great job of ensuring there’s a bit of variety. Additionally, every past level is playable at any time, avoiding any fear of missing out. In fact, each 2-week period also has a unique player badge if all Daily Matches are completed, so I’m intending to work my way backwards until the very first (July 2024).

The ability to play past daily levels freely is a small thing, but indicative of the entire game. Everything seems designed to let you have a fun time, instead of trying to make you pay, get you addicted, etc. Little things like different AI character designs for different topics, or Santa when playing Daily Matches from Christmas, make it a game I actively want to play.

Finally, there’s Player vs Player. I’m usually strongly averse to competitive gameplay, but in this case it’s still turn-based and still follows the same rules as the main game, so it’s really just a more challenging gameplay experience. Since each player can take as long as they want, a 4 round game can take 10 minutes or 10 days. Luckily, since no context is needed (you can see all the letters), there’s no downside to having many games going at once.

There’s no interaction between players, so it’s necessarily a safe, laid-back experience. In fact, all you can see of your opponent is their name, their player badge, and their current level. Since level is based entirely on your overall XP, this is a good indicator of roughly how good they will be.

I didn’t experience any obvious cheating (looking up the best words would be trivial), and it’s extremely satisfying playing a far better player 3-4 times in a row and finally getting a win!

Monetisation

There’s none! If you have Netflix, it’s entirely free.

Tips

  • Have your word planned before you start shifting the board, as you can only undo 1 shift.
  • If you can’t see any decent words, try shifting a row or column at random, you might see a new letter combination.
  • Some quick mental maths can be useful for the last round, to work out exactly what score you need to beat your opponent. For example, if you’re already ahead and it’s your last turn, playing any word will win.
  • You can exit and resume a level at any time, so don’t feel obligated to finish it in one sitting.
  • There are 24 achievements, with 3 requiring a 7-day streak. As such, I’d recommend playing all the daily matches for a week to complete them.
  • I have a theory that many levels have a single possible 9-letter word. As such, taking a second to see if you can spot it can often win you the game on the very first round.

#2: Mystery Digger

Another game found via a developer’s posts on r/incremental_games! Mystery Digger is a relatively simple auto-digger, and a short but high quality experience.

Screenshots

All screenshots are from version 1.0.9:

Early game Mid game Late game
Mystery Digger early game Mystery Digger mid game Mystery Digger late game

Review

As you might have guessed from the screenshots, the gameplay is pretty consistent. Your digger… thing drives right, grinds rocks, and earns you money.

Along the way you’ll upgrade everything you’d expect to speed up your progress (disc size, power, spike size & count, rotation speed), whilst occasionally refuelling / repairing your digger (a simple tap). The repetitive gameplay will be broken up occasionally by fairly passive enemies, including a multi-armed alien, or mystery items (envelopes, balls, gems) hidden in the rock wall.

These occasional gems are used to purchase ammo for your gun. Whilst you get basic ammo for free, sniper, shotgun, or laser ammo will destroy far more rock / deal far more damage. However, you’re unlikely to be using your gun much as your digging machine is far better at getting through rock.

This rock wall varies in density, with your digger slowing down if it’s not upgraded enough to speed through the rock. Balancing your machine’s power versus speed adds a small amount of strategy to the otherwise linear gameplay.

You’ll have 3 quests available at all times, completable for some bonus cash. These are fairly predictable, mostly based around distance, time, upgrades, speed, etc. They’re worth doing though, since it’s all progress that will need to be made eventually.

Finally, a story is told via some of the items found, with a conclusion when you finally make your way to the end. Whilst it isn’t a complex story, it is surprisingly mature and different from typical “dig because it’s your job” or “dig to defeat evil”.

Monetisation

Fairly typical “watch an advert” for a boost. This can either be doubled income for a few minutes, some gems, or multiplying the amount in a chest, however I never found these particularly worth doing. There are a few quests that require using boosts, so watching a few optional ads is useful for clearing space for new quests.

The game also has a link to the developer’s buymeacoffee page, where you can optionally donate (I did!).

Tips

  • I only used the sniper ammo, since it’s very cheap and can easily drill or shoot fast moving enemies (e.g. a star).
  • Keeping the resistance entirely in the green section (by upgrading power and similar aspects) will keep you moving quickly, ultimately earning more cash per second.
  • Keep an eye out for sparkling rocks, and use sniper bullets to access the gems, chests, or story items hidden within.
  • Upgrading your maximum speed / rotation also seems to increase your current speed / rotation, so it’s worth doing regardless of whether you are near the maximum or not.
  • It’s a very linear game, so you can’t make a bad decision, don’t worry!

#3: Arranger

Yet another solid game from Netflix, one that outsmarts me!

Screenshots

All screenshots are from version 1.1.14:

Dungeon Overworld Comics
Arranger dungeon Arranger overworld Arranger comics

Review

Arranger is a game about swiping tiles. For example, swiping up moves your current “strip” of tiles up, with the current top tiles appearing at the bottom. This simple gameplay mechanic is used to transport items around, move objects to destroy other objects, and various other puzzle-y problems.

These puzzles are all in one world, with various areas to enter, and the only objective being to continue on and find the next bit of the story. I’ll admit I’m not very good at it, with some of my solutions coming from semi-blindly swiping until things start looking the way I want them to!

There’s additional story through dialogue and comic-esque cutscenes, but it’s usually pretty clear where you’re trying to go, and there’s no strategy or complexity besides solving the puzzle in front of you.

Gameplay is very relaxed, with as much time as you want to move, and no ability to “fail” an area. You’re just slowly working towards a solution, taking as long as you need. Whilst this is good, as I hate timers, it does mean there’s little incentive to progress besides the somewhat arbitrary story.

I found navigating around to be slightly painful. Each navigation requires a swipe, with a longer movement requiring a swipe and hold. This sounds fine, but due to the rotating nature of each vertical or horizontal “strip”, you’ll need to change direction frequently to actually get anywhere. You’ll also likely need to shuffle around various items on the way, with a fairly complex chain of swipes required for any meaningful progress.

Overall it’s clearly a good game, and one that has far more depth to discover, yet I keep bouncing off it after a few minutes. I’ve also experienced minor progress losses, with the game not necessarily saving your exact progress, but instead restarting you to the beginning of the current room.

Monetisation

None, it’s a Netflix game!

Tips

Honestly I don’t think I’m good enough at the game to offer any tips! All I’ll say is it is safe to experiment and shuffle tiles around a bit, which can help reveal some useful progress.