Entering the World of Fairy Tales

Everyone grows up reading some of the most popular fairy tales of all time. These classics have been handed down through the generations, offering universal lessons to the children of the day. However, up until now, the experience has largely been one of passive consumption. It's time to dive right into these fantasy worlds.

And that's exactly what happens with this particular title. The protagonist is thumbing through her favorite book of fairy tales when she discovers she is not reading the story at all; she has been pulled into the very environments where the tales take place and the book has been transformed into her journal. The only way to escape and return to the real world is to solve the appropriate puzzles.

A Puzzle of Logic and Reasoning

In order to escape from the fairy tale world, you must collect the tiles related to that exact fairy tale. These elements eventually combine at the end of the story, allowing for your return. Each fairy tale typically consists of about ten separate tiles and, thus, ten separate puzzles.

The actual gameplay is quite unlike most other puzzle games on the market today. Instead of swapping gems or looking for hidden objects, this adventure involves logic-based puzzles. Looking at the grid, you will see numbers above each column and next to each row. These numbers indicate the number of consecutive tiles that must be placed in their respective rows and columns.

For instance, a row may show "3 2" next to it. This means that, somewhere along the row, there will be three consecutive colored tiles, followed by at least one empty space, followed by two consecutive tiles. When the row consists of ten possible spots, you can see how many possible combinations would fulfill that "3 2" requirement. To figure out the right one, you must ensure that the numbers for each row and each column are satisfied.

In this way, the gameplay has some elements that are similar to the logic behind Sudoku or Minesweeper. To this end, you can use the left mouse button to mark a tile and the right mouse button to "chisel" at it, indicating that it should be a blank. Through a methodical process of elimination, you can solve the puzzle.

Piecing It All Together

Each puzzle that you complete will reveal one of the new tile combinations and this will result in an image related to the current fairy tale, whether it be The Frog Prince or Snow White. These elements are accompanied by a snippet from the story.

You may already be familiar with some of the tales, but it is still richly rewarding to have the tale retold from a slightly different perspective. You are, after all, being a part of the tale in the role of the protagonist in this game.

An Enchanting and Engaging Diversion

It really is refreshing to see that there is still some innovation and new ideas coming through in the casual game market. This title offers a fresh take on the puzzle genre, while offering a great nostalgic look at classic fairy tales. It's engaging, relaxing, and enjoyable.