Sketchcross is a logic-based puzzle that is a take on the Japanese Nonograms puzzles – by completing each puzzle you form a picture. Sketchcross is very similar to the Picross games on Nintendo platforms. The game is perfect for fans who love Suduko puzzles, as the game scratches a similar itch. Or if you like numbers games in general then look no further and read on!

Features

* 50 Puzzles
* Time Leader Boards for Puzzles
* Randomly Generator Frenzy Mode
* Hand drawn style
* 3d reconstruction of the puzzle after completion
* Touch and button controls

In Sketchcross, the numbers on the columns and rows indicate which squares to colour in, but doesn’t tell you which specific squares need to be completed. For each column and row, there might be a space between numbers, which means you must leave at least one square blank. For example, if while playing a 5×5 puzzle a column says 2 2 then you need to colour two squares, leave one square blank and then colour the next two squares.

Players that solve each grid are awarded with a short animated scene and a picture of the completed puzzle, which was definitely fun to watch.

Sketchcross comes in three difficulty settings with varying grids and sizes, and depending on the difficulty you select you will have more or less time available to solve a puzzle. Also, on easy you’ll be able to hit a button to confirm if any rows or columns you’re done with show any mistakes. Therefore, those who are new to Nonograms or picross-style games should start on the easy setting to get a feel for the game and to learn it’s mechanics. The tutorial level is very simple to understand and very informative and will get players started in no time.

The game has a leaderboards feature, so by doing your best you might have a shot at earning a place in the ranking for top players for each puzzle. Practice makes perfect, so if at first you can’t make it into the leaderboards just keep trying to shave some valuable seconds from your total time.

The puzzles in Sketchcross range in grid sizes from 5X5 to 30X30 puzzles. The game launches with 50 puzzles, with another batch of 20 puzzles to come in a free update in June, taking your puzzle grids to a total of 70. Hopefully more and more puzzle packs are released after that since I definitely want to keep playing the game!

Sketchcross also comes with an extra game mode called Frenzy which randomly produces puzzle grids of a 5X5 size that players must complete within a 30 second timeframe. As soon as you’re done with one, the game will load a new one, and you can continue playing until you can’t finish a puzzle.

The graphics in Sketchcross are very good, and the game features great controls. I am not a player who is good at this type of game, but I found it very easy to pick up and play thanks to the tutorial. I even managed to complete a number of puzzles without many mistakes! I really enjoyed playing sketchcross and cannot wait for the new content to arrive in June.

As for trophy hunters, Sketchcross has eight trophies for you to earn: three bronze, three silver and on gold. There’s enough trophies in here to keep players busy for a while, especially since one requires that you complete 100 puzzles total in Frenzy mode, and another asks that you complete every single puzzle in hard mode.

My only complaint is a lack of a relax mode so that you can play at your own pace without timers. This mode would be ideal for very young children or for players who just want to kick back with a puzzle and take all the time they need to complete it! Apart from that, this is a fantastic game.

[review pros=”Fun graphics.
Intuitive controls.
Very good tutorial.” cons=”No relax/zen mode.” score=90]

This review is based on a copy of Sketchcross provided by Spiky Fish Games.