Genre – Puzzle
Platform – XBone

Tumblestone is a puzzle game, through and through.  And it’s hard.  I think that’s what I love about this game most.  It really requires me to think in different ways as I progress.  It’s not for the faint of heart, so if you’re looking for a casual puzzle game to waste a minute or two, this might not be for you.

The goal in Tumblestone is fairly simple – clear the board of tumblestones.  However, accomplishing this can be difficult.  There are several modes of play and they each have their own challenges:

• Story mode is the main game.  In each level, you have a board with stones in it and you just need to clear them all to advance to the next level.  Each world has 30 levels and there are 11 total.  I am currently in world 6, after playing for about 40 hours.  Each world presents you with a new twist in the game that really makes you have to learn the strategy before you can move on.  There is a story that is cute and engaging as well.
• Multiplayer is a lot of fun.  I don’t usually play games against other people, but I happen to be pretty good at this and haven’t lost an online match yet.  There are three different types of multiplayer modes.  Battle is the hardest.  Every time an opponent clears a line, your board drops a line.  These are pretty quick matches and can be hectic.
  Puzzle Race is just that – a straight-up race to clear your board first.  The host can set rules such as modifiers and game length for all modes.
  Tug of War is my favorite of the three.  You have sections that you need to clear and as you do, other players have sections added.  This one allows for the most time to think and that’s why I like it.  I can plan ahead and then make my moves.
• Arcade is DLC, but I would recommend it if you find you’re liking the game.  There are three modes in Arcade.  Marathon is my favorite here, again because it gives you all the time you need to plan and play.  I’m currently top of the leaderboard on this one  🙂  I’m sure that won’t last for too long.
  Heartbeat is a never-ending scrolling board that makes you play as fast as you can.
  Infinipuzzle is also a scrolling board, but you have more time in this one.

The graphics are cute and colorful.  I honestly don’t notice the soundtrack much, so it’s just fine.  I do like the sound effects as you clear stones.  If you are looking for a moderately difficult puzzle game, then you will really like this one.