Tumblebugs

Put Your Puzzle Solving Skills to the Test

If you’ve ever played the colourful puzzle game Zuma, you may well be struck by déjà vu as soon as you set your sights on Tumblebugs. There is no denying that the game is heavily influenced by Zuma, but does it offer enough variation to make it sound out? Read on to find out.

People who have played Zuma before will understand how to play Tumblebugs almost instinctively and can probably skip over the instructions altogether. But just in case you are completely new to this gaming genre, the main task is to match groups of three or more coloured balls. The line of balls snakes its way slowly through a maze and players have to eliminate all of the bug-balls before they reach the end of the maze and you lose the level. The game starts off fairly slowly and the pace picks up as players advance.

The main difference between Zuma and Tumblebugs is that with this game the coloured balls are disguised as bugs. The graphics overall are much cuter, main the game friendlier to younger players. A story weaves its way between the levels and helps provide an extra dose of entertainment. There are lots of points to be scored by achieving combos and the game also provides plenty of levels to keep players occupied for hours.

However, these are really the only differences between the two games. The objectives, style of play and all of the other elements of Tumblebugs are virtually identical to Zuma. If you are able to get past this fact and simply take the game for what it is, you are sure to have fun playing Tumblebugs. But with so little to choose between this game and Zuma, purists may feel that they are better off sticking with the original and spending their time working their way through the different temples and levels to meet new challenges and new levels of difficulty.

Despite its lack of originality, there is a lot to like about Tumblebugs. The cute graphics, storyline and ease of play all combine to make the game very addictive and engaging. People who love puzzle games are sure to get a kick out of Tumblebugs and it is sure to be a hit with younger players.

Pros

• Very colourful and engaging
• Easy to play and addictive
• Cute presentation

Cons

• Very similar to Zuma