OVERALL RATING		4.0
Presentation		3.5
Control		4.0
Gameplay		4.0
Fun factor		4.5
User Rating		4.0

CrossPix is a very entertaining logic puzzle game that can be deemed as a mix between Sudoku and paint-by-numbers type games.  It’s actually quite tricky to explain, but if you bear with me, you’ll find out that this is probably one of the best titles you can download for mobile amusement.

You see, you basically start out with a blank grid of rows and columns but instead of filling them in with numbers as in Sudoku, you must fill them in with color, as directed by the number(s) at the head of each column or row.  So if you’re playing on a 10X10 grid and the header reads the number 10, then it’s logical you’d fill in all of the squares in that row or column.  Of course, it wouldn’t be that much of a challenge if you always had to fill in that same number.

The tricky part is that some columns vary in numbers, so you need to cross-reference both columns and rows to figure out what squares to color in.  Additionally, some rows and columns have sets of numbers, meaning that some squares need to be grouped.  For instance, if you see 3,2 at the top of a column, this means that there are five printed squares on it, split into two groups of 3 and 2, yet you don’t know exactly where.

A very handy item is the ability to cross out squares that you know are no longer usable in the grid.  This gives you a great perspective on what squares are actually available, and trust me, if you hope to complete any of the tougher puzzles, you’ll definitely need to use it.  One other thing to remember is that you are given eight “lives”, meaning you can only make eight mistakes per puzzle or have to retry.  Also, you can select to get a hint at the start of a puzzle, but this will use up two lives.

The setting of the game places you as the owner of a new museum and by solving a puzzle, you have a nice piece of artwork for your visitors look over.  There are roughly 165 total puzzles to solve and they are broken down into galleries with different themes like sports, animals or food.  They are timed so that you can replay for better times.  There’s also a separate set of 9 mini-puzzles that form one super puzzle, plus that ability to create your own and have friends have a go at it.

Crosspix is highly addictive in its unique challenge and will certainly please anyone who decides to download the game.  I myself can’t put it down and I also do hope it becomes available on other platforms, though I do know similar titles are already available for PC’s.  Still, this game just screams iPhone.