At first glance, you may think 7 Pips is a 2048 clone but it's not. 7 Pips does have a slight 2048 appearance but once you get into game play, you will realize the two game styles are vastly different.
7 Pips combines simple math skills with strategic placement to create tile combinations that equal seven. When you create those combinations, the tiles are removed for points. This may sound simple but you have two tile colors that can either add or subtract from the value of other tiles.
Available for 512MB devices, 7 Pips is an entertaining, casual paced puzzle game for your Windows Phone gaming library.
7 Pips Clean Layout
7 Pips has a very clean, easy to navigate collection of main pages. The opening page lists your high score and the score from your last game. Navigation around 7 Pips main pages is tackled with a series of swipes and includes:
- Swipe Up will launch a new game
- Swipe to the left will send you to the "How to Play" pages
- Swipe to the right will send you to your gaming statistics
- Another swipe to the right will reveal the game's settings
7 Pips settings offers options to mute the sound/music and turn on/off the in-game help.
The "How to Play" section does a good job of walking you through game play and you will probably find yourself returning to this section repeatedly for the first several games.
Challenging Game Play
The gaming board for 7 Pips is a 4x4 grid where you will strategically place dice tiles. Your score is displayed in the upper left corner of the screen and your next two tiles to play will appear in the right corner. Just tap the square on the game board where you want to place your tile.
There are two colors of tiles (off-white and tan) and the goal is to place the same colored tiles next to each other where the face value equals seven. When the combination equals seven, the dice that was on the board will be removed and you earn points. The tile you placed on the board will stay in play.
To help make things interesting, any tile placed adjacent to a tile of the same color the value of that tile will be added to the neighboring tile. Tiles placed adjacent to a tile of the opposite color the value will be subtracted from the neighboring tile.
For example, a tan tile with a face value of 2 placed next to a tan tile with a value of 3 will result in the 3 tile changed to 5. Conversely, that same tan tile with a value of 2 placed next to an off-white tile with a value of 5 will result in the 5 tile change to 3.
You also have blank dice that lacks any value and will not affect the neighboring dice. However, it will turn into the dice that is placed next to it.
If you need a little help figuring out the impact a tile will have, just tap and hold on an empty game board square and the adjacent tiles will reflect how the new tile will change things. As you would guess, when you fill up the game board the game is over.
Overall Impression
7 Pips is a challenging puzzle game for Windows Phone that will challenge your math skills with a strategic flair. You not only have to search for a match of 7 but also try to plan ahead for placing the second tile that is lined up for play. It will take you a few games to get the hang of the rules and even after you get a handle on things, the game can give you fits.
I really cannot find anything to complain about with 7 Pips. Navigating around the menu pages is simple, the game has a clean appearance and once you become familiar with the game's mechanics 7 Pips can be a frustratingly enjoyable puzzle game.
If you are in the market for a new puzzle game for your Windows Phone, 7 Pips is worth a try. It is available for low-memory devices.
- 7 Pips - Windows Phone 8 - Free - Store Link
