Alchemy: Test your alchemy skills by creating 380 elements from just four basic ones.
Gameplay: Based off an old DOS game, the aim is quite simple. To discover all 380 elements starting from the four basic ones: Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. New elements are combined by dragging its two constituent elements on top of one another, not all combinations reap new elements however and it is up to you to try and discover the correct ones.
The good: The majority of the combinations are fairly intuitive such as earth and fire makes lava, lava and water makes steam and stone for instance. My personal favourite is that coke and sandwich combines to make a McDonald’s. This adds a little more skill into the game as you try and think of clever conceivable combinations of elements rather than blindly trying all combinations systematically. Having said that, there are some rather random obscure combinations that would probably take a little bit of trial and error for you to create.
Alchemy comes with a nice feature where you can find out about a particular element by dragging it onto the question mark icon. It then brings up information from wikipedia which can be very informative. Did you know that Coca Cola was originally meant be a patent medicine before it became the popular soft drink?
The bad: It’s tough to criticise this simple game too much as it does what it needs to very well. However there are a few areas that it could improve upon to bring this classic game right up to date, mainly to do it’s presentation. Alchemy would benefit from a more snazzy UI with fancy animations and sound effects, especially when new elements are unveiled. This would make Alchemy a more rewarding and enjoyable gameplay experience.
Verdict: 3/5 An addictive brain and puzzle game that’s great for killing time and competing against a friend to see who can discover all elements first. If you like the challenge of using your general knowledge as well as your short term memory to solve puzzles then you will love what Alchemy has to offer.
Tips
– Try to keep a mental note of what elements were combined as you go along so that you don’t create the same element over and over again.
– When you are stuck, try the systematic approach of combining everything with everything.
– When you are really stuck check out the cheat sheet at http://www.gamefaqs.com/android/614765-alchemy-for-android/faqs/61920
Alchemy QR Code
(Click on the image below or scan the barcode with your Android phone to goto the Android Market)
Developer: Andrey ‘Zed’ Zaikin
