Puzzle games are a well-established mainstay of iOS apps, especially those which are easy to pick up and play for a quick blast. Hundreds, the latest app from Semi Secret Software, has arrived and is looking to join the ranks of must-have puzzlers.
The premise of Hundreds is pretty simple. The screen contains one or more circles, each with a number, floating around. Tapping the circle increases its number, and correspondingly its size, and the level is complete when the numbers on all of the circles add up to 100. This is easy at first, but the difficulty increases as you move through the levels with new obstacles being introduced to hamper your progress. While you’re tapping a circle you can’t let it touch any others – this gets pretty tricky as the circles get larger and start flying around the screen at high speed. Then the game introduces “saw” obstacles, which reduce a circle’s number back to zero if they touch it. There are a variety of circle types to get used to, such as bubbles which pop and disappear when tapped, and others which start or stop moving when tapped. 
While the design is minimalist – the colour scheme is grey, red and white, and almost every screen element is a circle – this makes for a beautifully clean appearance. The experience is a bit of a curious conflict – the basic gameplay is very calm, helped by the relaxing soundtrack and effects, but it can prove incredibly frustrating when you see your carefully crafted circles bursting on a saw, or when trying to avoid touching circles when the screen is full of them. It all combines to make a brilliant game which can be picked up for a quick 5-minute shot, but is so addictive that you’ll find yourself still playing it an hour later.
Hundreds is currently £1.99 in the App Store – this is a launch offer running until January 10th when the app will move to its regular price of £2.99. Semi Secret have also confirmed that an Android version is in the pipeline. For a look at some of the levels, check out the launch trailer below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM0Vo7neVpw
Whenever I play this game I feel like I’m in a sexy nightclub decked out in Nordic Design, with a Pomegranate martini and everything. Bravo sirs and ma’ams.