Here's the thing about Strata, a beautiful mobile puzzle game created by Graveck: it can be tough to wrap your head around. On the surface it seems simple enough, as all you have to do is swipe to lay fabric-like strips of color. Once you sit down and see even the simplest of puzzles, though, you'll realize how the game creates a nightmare out of order and sequence. Not the bad kind of nightmare, of course. The good kind that makes you want to sit and stare until you figure everything out.
Levels in Strata feature a slanted grid with one or more cells shaded with different colors. The bottom of the screen shows you what kind of color strips you can use, each one corresponding to blocks on the grid. By swiping the edges of the grid you can draw these lines one at a time. In order to complete the level, you need to cover each square with the same color of fabric. Fabric always covers the entire grid, and only the topmost piece counts as "touching" the square below. The challenge is figuring out which pieces to lay first so the last move you make sets everything to completion.
The description is pretty simple, but Strata very quickly shows you what it's capable of doing. Massive grids with multiple colors quickly becomes an exercise in pattern recognition and logistics. It's never difficult to figure out the solution, however. It's just a matter of learning the tricks and utilizing them in the proper order. There's a quick restart button and the ability to undo moves one at a time, but apart from that, it's just you and a bunch of strips of fabric. Good luck!
NOTE: This game was played and reviewed on the iPad 3. Game was available in the North American market at the time of publication, but may not be available in other territories. Please see individual app market pages for purchasing info.
3x3 is easy. Then it becomes 4x4, and suddenly the difficulty rises a lot. And let's not mention the bigger grids.
This game is truly evil. I love it.
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