Ro is a classy-looking, yet simple, puzzler but I just can’t get the hang of it. That’s not the app’s fault. It’s just how my brain doesn’t work.
Ro, from Roamular, is one of the most innovative apps I’ve come across in the App Store. It’s the “easy to learn, but a life time to master” kind of puzzle game.
The object is to reassemble a geometric puzzle picture composed of concentric rings. The rings rotate left or right, in 90 or 180 degree increments. Some rings rotate in sync while others remain stationary. The idea is to line up all the rings to restore the puzzle.
Ro has four levels of increasing complexity, not that I would know that first hand. I’m still on the first level, muddling my way through. I don’t mind so much, however. Ro is entertaining and I look forward to polishing it off while on my death bed because it will be such a distraction.
The challenge is to complete the puzzle with the fewest number of moves and in the least amount of time. The big idea is that you can always go back to each puzzle and try to do better.
You rotate each ring, or rings, using a finger. You have to place you finger at just the right spot or you’ll find yourself moving a ring that you didn’t intend to move. That’s the game’s biggest shortcoming. The rings are narrow for largish digits. It can be frustrating at times, even when you know what you’re doing because of that tiny pimple on an otherwise elegant interface.
Ro provides a few tips on its support page to give you a better idea of how to solve its puzzles.
