My friends at Pogo sent me a few of their download games to try out. Unlike other casual gaming sites I have used, the games downloaded at Pogo maintain a connection to the Pogo online environment. If you’re online and logged in, you can chat with others and earn tokens while you play. Even your Mini sticks around for the downloaded games. You can try most of the games out for an hour before decided if you want to buy them. With casual games, this is usually plenty of time to decide if you like the game. It’s also time to decide if a game is worth the money. There have been a few casual games (not on Pogo!) that I had halfway finished before the time ran out. That’s obviously not a good value for your money.
One of the games I received from Pogowas Pictureka! Museum Mayhem. I didn’t know anything about it, other than a vague recollection of a board game named Pictureka (which I may have to buy). I was in for a nice surprise. Pictureka! is a picture finding game. In the video game version, you have a board with all kind of illustrations on it. The pictures are all in black, blue, white and red, so there’s plenty of challenge in finding objects. The game shows you a card that has a topic like, “Things You Can Eat” or “Things that Can Swim.” You then click on pictures that match the category on the card. If the picture is a match, that illustration is removed from the board and a new one is added in its place. It’s a very dynamic game because the board is always changing. The topic cards specify a number of objects to find ranging from one to six (or maybe seven). Once you’ve completed a card, it’s removed and you get a new one. As the game progessess, you earn the right to play with up to three cards at a time with bonuses for items that match more than one card. For example, a fish is something you can eat and also something that can swim.
The backstory in the game is that you are trying to create exhibits in a museum while there are thieves trying to steal artifacts. As you complete exhibits and catch thieves, you progress through the game. Every so often, one of the thieves makes a robbery attempt. Along with other players in your room (if you’re logged on to Pogo as you play), you work through special cards to thwart the robbery. The player who finds the most pictures on the gold thief cards gets a special bonus.
Pictureka! Museum Mayhem is a fun and challenging game. I tend to be good at finding hidden pictures, but these can be tough. Sometimes you also have to use some creativity. “Something in Outer Space” might include a planet, an alient or a rocket ship. It could also be one of the many stars littered around the screen. I enjoy finding creative interpretations of the clues (looking for teeth? try a comb or a saw!) and just checking out the zany illustrations. I’m also pretty competitive when it comes to the golden thief cards. I always want to win the bonus!
The game isn’t without a few drawbacks. The backstory, which I tend to skip when I play games, is a bit tedious. You are forced to wait as the cut scenes play out and there doesn’t seem to be a way to make them go faster. Also, the thief attacks happen at somewhat regular intervals, but it’s not exact. The timer on those continues as you wait out your cut scenes, so occasionally you miss the attack, or arrive halfway through. I found that incredibly frustrating, but have become better at dragging out a game when I think an attack is about to happen. Lastly, I sometimes have problems clicking on items, especially smaller pictures. When you’re in a hurry, it’s annoying, especially when you get a time penalty for clicking on the wrong picture.
I haven’t completed the storyline, although I am most of the way through. Pictureka! Museum Mayhem has provided hours of enjoyment on my end. It’s the kind of game you can pick up and play for a few minutes and then stop, or play for a couple of hours until your eyes get bleary. As I mentioned above, I might have to run out and pick up the board game version as well. I think it would be a blast at family parties!
Disclosure: I received Pictureka! Museum Mayhem for free as part of my relationship with Pogo.com. It came with no strings attached. Although I have agree to write about Pogo as part of my sponsorship, the content matter is at my discretion. All opinions stated are mine, unless explicity stated to the contrary.
