Abstractica 2

Before getting to this week's entry, I want to ask a favor. I would like you to email me (jmsmith4@yahoo.com) a list of the five best, in your esteemed opinion, logic/puzzle games which I have not previously mentioned in this blog. I will compile the results and report back.

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Title: Abstractica 2
Author: MJK Games
License: freeware
Website: http://mjkgames.com/abstractica2.html

Most logic games are set in a small, usually finite, world with well-defined rules. The goal is easy to understand even it is hard to get to. There are no gray areas. You know when you have succeeded. Pejoratively, logic games require thinking inside-the-box.

Abstractica 2 is just the opposite. It requires thinking outside the box. Each level consists of a picture and sometimes sound. All you have to do figure what answer the level designer was thinking. The picture is your only clue.

For example, the answer in this one is "banana". Type it in left text box and click on "Try It!" Opps, wrong answer. Hmm... Stuck? Click on "Tip" and "Read that text carefully :D" appears in the text box on the right. Thinking outside the box and making a few more wrong guesses, you try "very easy". Woo-Hoo, the right answer. On to the next level.

Let's try another one. All you have to do is figure out the mathematical pattern. After flailing about for a long time, I finally typed those 5 numbers in a search engine. It turns out that those are the product numbers for 5 different Noika cell phones. The answer is "Noika".

Abstractica 2 requires many different skills and sometimes some inspiration. Using the Internet to research an answer is fair game. Sometimes you have blow up an image using some paint tool to determine the secret. On one level, I had to use Audacity to slow down the audio.

This is a great game to play with multiple people, all throwing out ideas. Each person with their different strengths adds to the whole. Plus, you might learn something about your friends. When you really get stuck, there is a forum for hints.

There are 250 levels. You can skip three levels and get hints for fifteen. The level quality varies greatly. Some levels are real groaners. The most logical answer is not always the right answer. It can be frustrating. One annoying feature of Abstractica 2 is that it only saves the game every five levels.

Abstractica 3 is available for $8.50.