Family Enjoyment With Where’s My Water! (Swampy)

I recently made a rapid survey of the the latest games I had noticed on iPhone, and quoted Beat Sneak Bandit, Forget.Me.Not, Blocks of Pyramid Breaker, and I finished with:

But it is obviously Swampy (iOS, Android) which is the most popular at the moment, especially when played by several players, whatever their ages :-)

This led to a few exchanges from which I will extract the most essential elements here. First of all the title of the game:

It is in fact the name under the game icon which is called Where’s my water!  in English and Jetez-vous à l’eau ! in French. Swampy is the name of the main character, a crocodile...

Then the gameplay:

What you have to do to pass on to the next level is to make some water get to Swampy’s shower. At the beginning it is simple enough. You just have to dig a little through the earth so that water can flow to its destination. Then the gameplay becomes more complex, with hot water, doors, pressure control, movements, etc. It is rather progressive, clever, based on real world physics so that even young children can reach rather complex levels with great pleasure.

I have seen few video games of this type able to reach this quality of family enjoyment. You can play it on your own or with your family, with one other player or more. Previously, I had identified Kiko, a game that had this feature:

I enjoy some games meant to be played individually much more if played with one other player or more. It is the case of the excellent Kiko!

But Where’s My Water! has attracted my interest for another reason too: it contains another story which implies a reversal in the gameplay. Indeed, some levels introduce another character, Cranky, to whom hot water must be conveyed, which changes quite a few elements of the game.

As a matter of fact, I will soon come back to reversals in the gameplay or even reversals of the gameplay concerning other games like Smasheroids or some other topics that I discuss with my students.

iPhone Games, My Selection

Dark Nebula Episode 1 (0.79 €): You have to move a ball forward in a futuristic environment. View from above and control with the acceleration meter and your finger (excellent!)

Rolando (2.39 € or free): You have to guide some characters towards the exit. They are driving in an environment of coloured platforms, some of which you can control. Side view and control with the acceleration meter (excellent!)

Soosiz (1.59 €): You have to guide a character towards the exit in an environment where each platform or planet has its own gravity. Side view and control with a virtual joystick (excellent!)

Eliss (3.99 € or free): organise the universe...

StoneLoops! of Jurassica (unavailable for the moment): You have to create gatherings of balls that are advancing on a path according to their colours.

Crayon Physics Deluxe (3.99 €): You have to draw the missing elements so that a ball can reach a star.

Tiki Towers (0.79 €): You have to build a structure that enables monkeys to go through a level as they are eating bananas.

PocketBall (0.79 € or free): You have to build a structure that enables balls to fall into boxes corresponding to their colour.

Geared (2.39 € or free): You have to arrange gears wheels so that all those of one given level can turn.

ColorBlind (1.59 € or free): You have to pass ribbons through spots corresponding to their colour.

LinkLines (0,79 €): Coloured balls have to be gathered by fours, horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Elementz (1,59 €): You have to inverse coloured balls horizontally or vertically to gather them in threes horizontally or vertically.

Traffic Jam 2 (unavailable at the moment): You have to drive out some vehicles blocked in a car park.

Jet Car Stunts (1,59 € or free): You have to drive a car a certain number of laps on a circuit constituted of platforms.

Pinball Fantasies (4,99 €): Pin-ball game.

Commodore 64 (3,99 €): It’s a Commodore 64 emulator enabling you to play Nebulus for example.

Sooziz, a Game on iPhone and the Pleasure to Master a System

When Sooziz was released on iPhone, I didn't test it. Its description and the screenshots I had seen made me think it was perhaps too simple. But then, recently, I noticed it was usually well rated. So, I downloaded it and began to play this platform game, just to see...

I first appreciated how user-friendly it is. Then, my progression in the game allowed me to take advantage of the specificity of its gameplay better: each platform has its own gravity. From level 2 of the second world onwards, the different levels enable you to enjoy it better: they are more elaborate, you make great leaps, you open passages, etc. You master, then, a system that obeys to different physical laws from those we have on Earth and you can take a great pleasure in that.

So, for me Soosiz joins games that I particularly appreciate on iPhone like Dark Nebula and Rolando.