Stack! is a minimalist game where you have to stack tiles on top of each other and create a tower from the tiles as high as possible.
While the concept sounds simple, the game trims the size of the blocks when they are not perfectly stacked on top of each other. It can get a little nerve-racking when you have to stack the smallest sliver of a tile.
Available for Windows 10 Mobile, the free game turns out to be a fun time waster to have on your phone.
Stack! is a simple and beautifully designed Windows 10 Mobile game. The minimalist graphics is paired nicely with an equally minimal layout. The primary menu offers you the option to play the game, view the global leaderboard, view additional games from the developer, share the game and rate it in the Windows Store.
Stack! does need to access your location settings for the Global Leaderboard, where players are identified by Country. Speaking of the Global Leaderboard, you begin gameplay with Stack! listed as a generic player (e.g. Guest 1234abc). To customize your player name, go to the leaderboard and tap on the player icon at the top right of the display (it is the button next to the refresh button). This pulls up a profile window where you can enter your custom player name.
Gameplay with Stack! is not very complicated, but it can give you fits. Once you tap to play, a large tile slides into view that needs to be stacked on a tower base that sits in the center of the screen. Tap the screen to stack the tile and ideally, it should be stacked squarely on the base.
Your instinct is to tap the screen as the tile makes its first pass at the base. This is where patience comes into play with Stack! in that the tile swings back and forth over the base. If you miss the ideal time to drop the tile on the first pass, give it a second and you may have better timing as the tile swings back over the base.
If you miss placing the tile on the base, whatever portion of the tile is off-center gets trimmed away. The next tile matches the size of the tile that remains stacked on the base. You continue the process of stacking the tiles and for each tile not squarely matched on the base, the next tile becomes a little smaller. Eventually, the game gets to the point where you are stacking toothpick-sized tiles.
The goal of Stack! is to pile your tiles on top of one another for as high as possible. You earn one point per tile, and if you miss the stack completely with a tile, the game is over.
To give the game a slight competitive edge, a random player's best score is selected and displayed at the top of the gaming screen. While you work towards establishing a new best score for yourself, you can also work towards beating the other player's score as well. You can view your win/loss record in the Global Leaderboard section from the main menu.
Stack! is not a very difficult game to pick up and play, but gameplay keeps you on your toes. The minimalist graphics offer a nice clean appearance and the subtle color shifts help the game look good. Mechanics are simple, but you need a sense of timing to be successful with Stack!
Just a quick housekeeping note before we close things out. There are several variations of this gaming concept in the Windows Store. This version appears to be the first version of the game to land in the Windows Store and was chosen after receiving a few tips about it. We also liked the leaderboard competition feature where you are not only battling to beat your own score, but also the high scores of other gamers.
Slack! is a free game is available for Windows 10 Mobile and is an entertaining way to burn a little down time with.
Download Stack! from the Windows Store
