Kyodai

One Of My Very Favorite Games

Every now and then you get so jazzed about a game that you just want to share the joy. That’s what I’m going to do here about an amazing tile game called Kyodai. This is not just a game, but a labor of love, and it continues to get better and better with each update, making it one of the best values this side of Serious Sam.

Kyodai is an ongoing effort. A game that is continually updated to take advantage of some of the latest 3D advances while adding a boatload of excellent gaming features. Graphically, the game has become a marvel to look at, as can be hinted at by the “Welcome” screen below-left. I keep finding new and wonderful tile sets in each release, like the excellent “Seasons” set shown in the below-middle and below-right images. There are many themes and tiles to choose from, as well a great selection of music to help bring you into the game.

The Welcome Screen

The Clicks Game

The Addictive Slider

There are game play modes in Kyodai that I have not even tried to figure out yet, but as the images above and below show you, they each have their own personality and look. The “Clicks” and “Slider” games are particularly addictive and can eat up hours of your time if you are not careful. “Clicks” has the goal of removing connected groups of similar tiles from the board until there is nothing left. Of course, you must plan carefully so that the tiles that fall after the removal leave you in a good position to remove more connected groups. “Slider” adds tiles to the board while you try to create a connected group of five or more matching tiles in the horizontal, diagonal or vertical orientation. If you can eliminate tile sets faster than they can be replaced, you will have a very high score indeed. The traditional “Mahjongg Solitaire” game is included, as are a few others, for a good overall selection.

Traditional Solitaire

The Tetris-Like Hashira

Kyodai Is Highly Configurabl

One of the excellent things about this game is how configurable it is. As the screen above-right shows, the menus are long and detailed, allowing users to tweak just about anything they may wish to. There are defaults for turning all the 3D effects on or off to make it a bit easier, but anyone who likes to tinker will be ecstatic over the level of detail put into customization. Give this great game a try by downloading the demo ( www.kyodai.com).