Gerblins is a logic-puzzle game that’s equal parts Minesweeper and Tetris, bundled with plenty of grinning cuteness, a catchy soundtrack and just a touch of Mr. Yuck.
Gerblins is a logic-puzzle game that’s equal parts Minesweeper and Tetris, bundled with plenty of grinning cuteness, a catchy soundtrack and just a touch of Mr. Yuck.
The basic gameplay of Gerblins should be instantly familiar to anyone who’s ever owned a PC. The game begins with a stack of “Blergs” – cute, block-shaped creatures with huge eyes and wide smiles – one or more of whom are infected with the nasty Gerblin disease. The disease can be cured with a magical potion, and Blergs will tell you how many of their immediate neighbors are infected when you click on them (assuming they’re not infected themselves) – but applying the potion to a healthy Blerg turns him into a Gerblin.
Cured Blergs and those with no infected neighbors are taken off the board, but each Gerblin that gets away adds a new row of Blergs to be cleared. Clearing the screen quickly earns a speed bonus, but points are lost for every Gerblin that’s created or escapes. It’s an adorable Minesweeper with a twist, and without the incredibly frustrating, all-or-nothing situation that faces players when they get down to one mine and two possible locations.
The full version of Gerblins will offer 216 levels spread across six separate modes of play, while a free version with just the standard campaign mode will also be available. I’ve tried the Windows freebie release, which is actually out now (along with the OS X release) at butterscotch-shenanigans.com and it’s fantastic. This is a game that deserves to be a big hit.
Gerblins hits Google Play and the Amazon App store on September 8, while the iOS version arrives on September 12.
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