Zen Training Preview

Zen Training invites players to promote Order and Harmony under a magic maple tree.

Most puzzle games encourage players to go harder and faster in a never-ending quest to rack up the points. Zen Training may very well do the same thing, but it might not, too. Why? Because it’s got the word “Zen” in its title, for one thing, a none-too-subtle suggestion that this is a game that will help smooth you out, not wind you up.

Zen Training features a Japanese Maple in the middle of a classic Zen garden, surrounded by five colored “mana stones.” As symbols fall from the tree, your job is to rotate the screen to ensure that they land on their corresponding stones.

The entire game can be controlled with just one finger, presumably swiping left and right, and an infinite number of levels means you’ll be able to get as zen as you like with Zen Training. Despite the simple premise, the game boasts a lush, colorful 3D environment and a rich soundtrack that changes alongside the game’s graphics and mood. Five “funny” bonus levels open the door to even more points and fun, and high scores can be shared (and challenges issued) through both Twitter and Facebook.

I don’t know how zen Zen Training will actually be, but if the launch trailer on YouTube is anything to go by, this could be the sort of game that soaks up an awful lot of time. Look for it to hit the App Store on January 17.

Andy Chalk

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Long-time PC gamer and shorter-time freelance writer, with work at Gamezebo, The Escapist, PC Gamer, Joystiq and parts unknown. Owner of many cats, drinker of fine beers, eater of too much. A steadfast javelin in a flaccid world.