If it seems like the App Store is full of Puzzle games for the Iphone and Ipod Touch it’s because puzzle games work so well on the platform. Puzzle games usually aren’t about quick movements and precision of input is not usually a huge factor because of this. With so many puzzle titles out there to choose from a puzzle game has to do something particularly well to be noticed by the Iphone and Ipod Touch gaming community. One can only hope that Dapple does just that. Dapple is a game where you have a paintbrush that changes the colors of paint splotches on the game board. Your goal is to match four or more of these to clear out the paint. To add to the mix, the color of your brush changes each time you move. Dapple’s base game mechanics is deceptively simple but has multiple layers to it and is one of the best puzzle games yet available for the Iphone and Ipod Touch.

To start with Dapple is a game with bright graphics and a great soundtrack. The colors of the paint splotches are bright and easily distinguishable from one another. In addition each one is a definitive shape. This becomes important in Dapple’s colorblind mode. It’s not every day that a developer takes the time to include a mode for those who are colorblind and it’s great that they thought to include this group. Because Dapple is a game focused on colors its great that the developers thought of a way to make sure those usually turned off by color based puzzle games could participate too. What’s also great about Dapple is it’s soundtrack. With most Iphone and Ipod Touch games I’d rather turn off the music but Dapple has a couple of songs that it cycles through as you play and all of them are wonderful. The songs could almost be used in a Zen soundtrack and work as an effective background in Dapple.

But back to the gameplay in Dapple, not only are you going to be mixing paint colors to make matches, you’ll also be trying to clear brown on the board. As you get to higher levels certain tiles become trapped in brown goo that stops them from being able to change colors, and thus be cleared. To clear a brown tile you have to change the tiles around it to the same color so you can match it out. To help with this there are also items that you can match with board clearing effects. These two items are the Diamond and the Rain Drop. The diamond clears all the tiles on the board with the same color and the Rain Drop destroys the gems immediately surrounding it. These two items help clear out the brown tiles. These items are also useful for performing combos and board clearing effects but by and large I found that this happened more by luck than my own skill.

 

When I first started playing Dapple I had a hard time with the color-mixing mechanic. There is a quick reference guide that you can pull up at any time you’re playing but as time went on I found that it was unnecessary and that I was getting better at matching the colors. You can also tap a tile and get a preview for what color it’s going to change to. Dapple is the kind of game that is easy to pick up, but hard to master. It’s the essence of a great puzzler. In addition to the classic mode where the game just gets harder and harder there is also a two-player mode where you pass the game between two people and a timed mode to test your reflexes. Dapple is a great game and at a $5 price point it’s a highly recommended game. If you’re looking for a quality puzzle game look no further than Dapple. It will quickly become the most played game on your Iphone or Ipod Touch.