SHARP MINDS A puzzle game which sharpens your mind Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel Hi everyone, A small indie team released Sharp Minds - mobile number puzzle game. Sharp Minds is simple, fun and is a great exercise for your brain. It is aimed at players who love to think a lot while they play. Use unique addition mechanics to solve hundreds of levels. Overcome increasing puzzle difficulty and master variety of powers available. Unlock new characters and chapters, collect stars and compare scores with people around the world. Sharp Minds is available worldwide and is FREE, without ads or in-app purchases. A puzzle game which sharpens your mind Our Website: http://www.dreamvis.com/SharpMinds Sharp Minds Sasa Stublic ***** 'It’s a little slow to start, but Sharp Minds is a pretty satisfying math puzzler' - 148apps.com ***** 'A cool ma… Free Buy Now Watch Media Details***** 'It’s a little slow to start, but Sharp Minds is a pretty satisfying math puzzler' - 148apps.com ***** 'A cool math puzzle that’s easy to play yet challenging… A great app to have fun with adding numbers!' - funeducationalapps.com ***** 'I would wholly recommend parents who allow their kids to play on their smartphones to let them play this game instead of Angry Birds or Candy Crush - the game educates effectively without feeling forced like purebred learning games, something like Sudoku' - Horace Wallpool Do you want to get your cognitive juices flowing? Are you getting bored playing all those „puzzle“ games in which you don't need any concentration? Want to see how much you can focus? Do you enjoy solving puzzles? Do you like to keep your psych sharp? This number puzzle game might be just the thing for you! Solve unique and challenging puzzles by adding numbers! How difficult can addition up to ten or twenty be? Find out in this fun puzzle game which really drains your mental energy completely. Achieve OM and Zen playing Sharp Minds! Free. No ads. No in-app purchases. No hidden charges. Also no matching, crushing or flapping! Just blue and yellow squares with numbers inside J Requires the ability to count to twenty and at least one finger. :) Sharp Minds features: - Hundreds of levels - Increasing difficulty and variety - Unlockable characters and chapters - Global leaderboards - Special power-ups Start training your brain with this cool math game! ___________________________________________________________________ Follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook for the latest news: https://twitter.com/SharpMindsGame https://www.facebook.com/SharpMindsGame http://www.dreamvis.com/SharpMinds ___________________________________________________________________ A big THANK YOU goes to everyone who played Sharp Minds! Information Seller:Sasa Stublic Genre:Board, Puzzle Release:Feb 12, 2015 Updated:Jul 09, 2015 Version:1.2.32 Size:171.3 MB TouchArcade Rating:Unrated User Rating: (1) Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal y2kmp3 Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2010 1,784 3 38 #2 y2kmp3, Feb 16, 2015 Are these levels procedurally generated? Is each level solvable with a single/unique solution? NikolaBarun Member Sep 17, 2014 22 0 0 Zagreb, Croatia #3 NikolaBarun, Feb 16, 2015 Levels are predetermined in game, but were procedurally generated during development. There are multiple solutions since after the initial setup of each level (which is fixed), subsequent numbers that show up are random. The entire process of level generation, choosing the levels and setting their difficulty was a big part of our development. If you'd want to know about this in more detail, please voice your interest at our developer's blog which we've just started writing. I'm sure Sasa would be happy to write about that in depth. y2kmp3 Well-Known Member Jun 25, 2010 1,784 3 38 #4 y2kmp3, Feb 16, 2015 I have trouble understanding the core mechanics of this game. Are the "replacement" tiles truly random? Or do they depend in some ways on the values of the neighboring tiles and/or the tiles that were just merged? If the tile values in these replacements are random, wouldn't it be too easy to get yourself into a situation in which the level becomes unwinnable because none of the tiles could be added to form the needed sum or sums? Does the solution for a level need to depend in any way on a replacement tile? Or is each level always solvable using ONLY the tiles that are shown when the level is started? This is important because the random nature of the replacement tiles means that any solution which depends on a replacement will sometimes fail if the value of the replacement turns out to be different from what you want. slewis7 Well-Known Member Apr 6, 2011 3,768 41 48 Male Retired! Houston, TX #5 slewis7, Feb 16, 2015 Hi Nikola! I am enjoying Sharp Minds. It is a simple, but clever numbers puzzle game and is very well presented. I am curious as to what motivated your team to put so much work into a game without monetizing it? By the way, thank you! Sasa Stublic Member Jan 6, 2015 5 0 0 #6 Sasa Stublic, Feb 16, 2015 Hi! I am developer and designer of the game (there's three of us), so I'll help out with these questions Random numbers that appear in empty tiles are truly random and don't depend on anything. Nature of the puzzles is that their difficulty is increasing - that also means that statistically there is greater chance for level to be unwinnable even if played optimally. However, this becomes relevant pretty late in the game. Initially, levels are completely solvable with just the starting numbers on the board. Later on, it's statistically insignificant for a level to be unsolvable in a given number of moves (even with 3 stars) if played optimally. This changes in levels in high chapters where this chance increases. We've played a lot with this, and I had a prototype with 'exact' puzzles, but they all turned out not to be fun. Too straightforward - either you see solution on the first move or you don't. Random numbers give replay value and force you to rethink your moves and approach to finishing a level after each move. I hope this clarifies things a bit. If you have more questions, I'll be happy to answer - as you can see I love talking about it Sasa Stublic Member Jan 6, 2015 5 0 0 #7 Sasa Stublic, Feb 16, 2015 Last edited: Feb 16, 2015 Hi! I'll jump in again. Many people ask about this and I intend to write an article on our new blog explaining just that. In short, it has to do with two things: 1. My experience on previous mobile project where we succumbed to current trends and made a game with lots of in-app purchases. Just because. We were accused of being greedy and with some shame, I have to admit it was true. It did conflict with my beliefs even then and I'm now kinda clearing my conscience (I know it sounds like personal mumbo jumbo, but it's true) 2. Our belief that if you make something good and people like it, money will follow. People will actually want to give it to you (I've been fortunate enough to experience this as well). And we're not even sure that we can do something worthwhile for people to love that much. That's why the first step is to learn how to make such a game. Everything else is irrelevant until you learn that. Heh! This is already part of my blog post! Hope I answered your question Cheers! Valentia Well-Known Member Patreon Gold Jan 20, 2009 618 1 18 Female Retired! California #8 Valentia, Feb 16, 2015 Good for you! I appreciate this and, in fact, that statement is what persuaded me to download the game. I'm glad I did. It's extremely polished and attractive. The graphics are clear and sharp, which is always really important to me as my eyes are becoming very fussy as I get older. The game is fun to play. The action is smooth and fluid. New elements of play are introduced in a very easy-to-understand way. In short, I like it a lot and look forward to progressing through the levels. I'd definitely pay a few bucks for an attractive, enjoyable game like this. NikolaBarun Member Sep 17, 2014 22 0 0 Zagreb, Croatia #9 NikolaBarun, Feb 17, 2015 Valentia, thank you very much, such kind words and positive feedback really motivates the entire team to keep up improving the game. If you or anyone else enjoys the game, you can support us by rating it in the beginning of this thread. Valentia Well-Known Member Patreon Gold Jan 20, 2009 618 1 18 Female Retired! California #10 Valentia, Feb 17, 2015 Done. NikolaBarun Member Sep 17, 2014 22 0 0 Zagreb, Croatia #11 NikolaBarun, Feb 17, 2015 Thanks! I wish you lots of fun hours playing the game Sasa Stublic Member Jan 6, 2015 5 0 0 #12 Sasa Stublic, Feb 18, 2015 I have also started a development blog (my first *shudder*), mainly regarding this game. If any player or fellow indie developer is interested in reading about any aspect of this game, drop me a note. I'll happily share everything we know and learned Sasa Stublic Member Jan 6, 2015 5 0 0 #13 Sasa Stublic, Mar 9, 2015 As promised, a blog post explaining in more detail our reasoning for making a game without any form of monetization: Don't monetize your games Read at: http://www.dreamvis.com/blog/dont-monetize-your-games/ This community already proved extremely helpful while we were making our game (icon choice and is mostly thanks to TouchArcade!). So I'm very curious to hear what are your thoughts on this topic? ThumbSnail Well-Known Member Jan 13, 2015 102 0 0 One-Man Game Developer Under a Raincloud #14 ThumbSnail, Mar 13, 2015 Some thoughts after finishing the first 25 levels or so: I agree that this is polished and well made. I really like the look and feel of the game. And I can see where you could create some very interesting puzzles! One thing I'd prefer (and perhaps other people, too) is having the option to skip a lot of the first chapter since the puzzles are super easy. I don't mind being taught the mechanics and the rules of the game, but there were so many easy puzzles that I was losing interest and almost quit. Chapter 2 introduces a cool idea that makes me want to keep playing, but it just takes too long to get there. Sasa Stublic Member Jan 6, 2015 5 0 0 #15 Sasa Stublic, Mar 14, 2015 Last edited: Mar 14, 2015 Thank you for this useful feedback. During design we were very careful not to ramp up difficulty too quickly, before players get used to mechanics, but we've been getting several comments similar to yours. We will do something about it in the update. Probably introduce additional mechanics earlier/ramp up difficulty more quickly. Also, your idea for skipping first chapter is an interesting one. We'll consider that too. Game gets extremely difficult at later levels, so it would really be a shame for players to quit because it seems too easy early on. Thanks again! NikolaBarun Member Sep 17, 2014 22 0 0 Zagreb, Croatia #16 NikolaBarun, Jul 23, 2015 1st update! Hi everyone, We are proud that we released first update of our game. A great help in deciding what to improve in the new version came to us from our players. We have over 10k downloads, which is a very good base for making decisions on what to focus. For those who want to know more, or maybe try the game here are links: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sharp-minds/id915786949 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dreamvis.sharpminds (You must log in or sign up to post here.) Show Ignored Content Share This Page Tweet Your name or email address: Do you already have an account? No, create an account now. Yes, my password is: Forgot your password? Stay logged in
Levels are predetermined in game, but were procedurally generated during development. There are multiple solutions since after the initial setup of each level (which is fixed), subsequent numbers that show up are random. The entire process of level generation, choosing the levels and setting their difficulty was a big part of our development. If you'd want to know about this in more detail, please voice your interest at our developer's blog which we've just started writing. I'm sure Sasa would be happy to write about that in depth.
I have trouble understanding the core mechanics of this game. Are the "replacement" tiles truly random? Or do they depend in some ways on the values of the neighboring tiles and/or the tiles that were just merged? If the tile values in these replacements are random, wouldn't it be too easy to get yourself into a situation in which the level becomes unwinnable because none of the tiles could be added to form the needed sum or sums? Does the solution for a level need to depend in any way on a replacement tile? Or is each level always solvable using ONLY the tiles that are shown when the level is started? This is important because the random nature of the replacement tiles means that any solution which depends on a replacement will sometimes fail if the value of the replacement turns out to be different from what you want.
Hi Nikola! I am enjoying Sharp Minds. It is a simple, but clever numbers puzzle game and is very well presented. I am curious as to what motivated your team to put so much work into a game without monetizing it? By the way, thank you!
Hi! I am developer and designer of the game (there's three of us), so I'll help out with these questions Random numbers that appear in empty tiles are truly random and don't depend on anything. Nature of the puzzles is that their difficulty is increasing - that also means that statistically there is greater chance for level to be unwinnable even if played optimally. However, this becomes relevant pretty late in the game. Initially, levels are completely solvable with just the starting numbers on the board. Later on, it's statistically insignificant for a level to be unsolvable in a given number of moves (even with 3 stars) if played optimally. This changes in levels in high chapters where this chance increases. We've played a lot with this, and I had a prototype with 'exact' puzzles, but they all turned out not to be fun. Too straightforward - either you see solution on the first move or you don't. Random numbers give replay value and force you to rethink your moves and approach to finishing a level after each move. I hope this clarifies things a bit. If you have more questions, I'll be happy to answer - as you can see I love talking about it
Hi! I'll jump in again. Many people ask about this and I intend to write an article on our new blog explaining just that. In short, it has to do with two things: 1. My experience on previous mobile project where we succumbed to current trends and made a game with lots of in-app purchases. Just because. We were accused of being greedy and with some shame, I have to admit it was true. It did conflict with my beliefs even then and I'm now kinda clearing my conscience (I know it sounds like personal mumbo jumbo, but it's true) 2. Our belief that if you make something good and people like it, money will follow. People will actually want to give it to you (I've been fortunate enough to experience this as well). And we're not even sure that we can do something worthwhile for people to love that much. That's why the first step is to learn how to make such a game. Everything else is irrelevant until you learn that. Heh! This is already part of my blog post! Hope I answered your question Cheers!
Good for you! I appreciate this and, in fact, that statement is what persuaded me to download the game. I'm glad I did. It's extremely polished and attractive. The graphics are clear and sharp, which is always really important to me as my eyes are becoming very fussy as I get older. The game is fun to play. The action is smooth and fluid. New elements of play are introduced in a very easy-to-understand way. In short, I like it a lot and look forward to progressing through the levels. I'd definitely pay a few bucks for an attractive, enjoyable game like this.
Valentia, thank you very much, such kind words and positive feedback really motivates the entire team to keep up improving the game. If you or anyone else enjoys the game, you can support us by rating it in the beginning of this thread.
I have also started a development blog (my first *shudder*), mainly regarding this game. If any player or fellow indie developer is interested in reading about any aspect of this game, drop me a note. I'll happily share everything we know and learned
As promised, a blog post explaining in more detail our reasoning for making a game without any form of monetization: Don't monetize your games Read at: http://www.dreamvis.com/blog/dont-monetize-your-games/ This community already proved extremely helpful while we were making our game (icon choice and is mostly thanks to TouchArcade!). So I'm very curious to hear what are your thoughts on this topic?
Some thoughts after finishing the first 25 levels or so: I agree that this is polished and well made. I really like the look and feel of the game. And I can see where you could create some very interesting puzzles! One thing I'd prefer (and perhaps other people, too) is having the option to skip a lot of the first chapter since the puzzles are super easy. I don't mind being taught the mechanics and the rules of the game, but there were so many easy puzzles that I was losing interest and almost quit. Chapter 2 introduces a cool idea that makes me want to keep playing, but it just takes too long to get there.
Thank you for this useful feedback. During design we were very careful not to ramp up difficulty too quickly, before players get used to mechanics, but we've been getting several comments similar to yours. We will do something about it in the update. Probably introduce additional mechanics earlier/ramp up difficulty more quickly. Also, your idea for skipping first chapter is an interesting one. We'll consider that too. Game gets extremely difficult at later levels, so it would really be a shame for players to quit because it seems too easy early on. Thanks again!
1st update! Hi everyone, We are proud that we released first update of our game. A great help in deciding what to improve in the new version came to us from our players. We have over 10k downloads, which is a very good base for making decisions on what to focus. For those who want to know more, or maybe try the game here are links: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sharp-minds/id915786949 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dreamvis.sharpminds
