Square Master

Dan Bourque brings the full version of his Square Master to the App Store to rack the brains of iPhone and iPod touch users. Square Master is a simple game of skill and brain power that will mystify even the most puzzle savvy. The goal of the game is simple. Move the pieces so that the blue square is the bottom center of the page. It may sound easy but give it a whirl and you’ll figure out why it’s called “Square Master.”

Players can challenge themselves in more than 116 levels. Square Master is a race against time and moves. At some point you’re bound to get stuck. The game has a feature called “Artificial Intelligence” hints that appear on game pieces and reveal the next best move.

From the easiest levels which require fewer than 10 moves to the most difficult requiring at least 126 moves to win you’ll definitely feel challenged.

The puzzle app allows players to choose between three different skins — classic, paper and glass — to change the appearance of their gaming experience. Serious puzzle players will be infinitely challenged by the 50,000 different starting layouts that randomly change based on the level of difficulty.

Square Master is priced at 99 cents. It’s a more than reasonable price for the amount of gaming and challenge it offers. It has a very clean look and isn’t full of useless signage or graphics. Square Master automatically saves your games and you can play the game while your iPod’s running.

The game is great but it could be even better. The ability to play the game in landscape mode would certainly help the puzzle solving experience, the ability challenge other players and a few more skins might spruce things up a little.

Overall Square Master is a grade “A” game.