Gemocide

Gemocide is a puzzle game that is available on Apple devices. You can probably get it on other fancy phones too. I first played it on the 30th of April this year and found that it caught my attention immediately.

You complete screens by moving coloured gems to their designated places on the 'board'. When the coloured gems touch, they often change into other gems or disappear completely (but not always!) Learning the combinations of gems and how they interact is a key part of solving the puzzles. You can get the gems moving with a swipe of your finger, but they won't stop until they meet an immovable object or another gem.

I was a little dismayed to find that I was forced to play a tutorial. I often prefer to get stuck into a game and, if I find I'm struggling with it, then try a tutorial. Anyway, that's a minor complaint.

The instructions on their own are REALLY confusing to me. In fact, I would say there's not much point in reading them before you play. However, the instructions make a lot more sense once you've seen the game in action. I have found myself referring back to the guide more and more as the game gets harder. However, now that I've reached the final level, I still don't feel as thought I've learned the rules. (Perhaps this is more to do with me than the game: EG I've played hours upon hours of Pokémon games and I'm STILL not sure which types are strong/weak against others etc.)

I think the game would benefit from different sound effects. The one 'ding' noise for the moving gems quickly becomes tiresome and I muted it after a few minutes.

A week after I first started playing I let Lucy play it with no instructions at all. She thought she couldn't do it at first but then seemed to enjoy it. It certainly passed ten minutes on a train.

I'm getting more addicted to Gemocide and tI'm rying to play a sneaky level or two during the day, even at work.

I'm still having to use the help menu to remind myself how the different gems interact, but I do seem to be starting to learn some of the rules.

 

 

While playing the game, I've encountered more than one level where I've been almost convinced that there is no solution. I've been very close to giving up and contacting the game's creator to complain! However, I've stuck at it and have been very pleased to crack these almost impossible levels. Another great thing about Gemocide is that there is often (if not always!) more than one way to complete a puzzle. After completion of a screen, the game lets you know if you found the most efficient way of doing things (ie the fewest number of moves) This adds an additional challenge to an already addictive game! To sum up, Gemocide is an engrossing puzzler suited to people who like to think things through and who get the buzz of satisfaction from finding solutions to problems.

 

Recommended!

Coughton Sunburn

Having done little cycling since the Dynamic 100 (unless you count 14 miles off-road at Cannock Chase) I felt it was time to get back on the road.

 

This morning, I covered myself in factor 30 suncream and took the Specialized out into the blazing sunshine. For the first 27 miles I attempted to follow the Dynamic 100 route which I had studied on Jonnie's Strava. I managed this to varying degrees of success - going the wrong way at least three times and having to resort to using the map on Strava. Eventually I got to the Salt Way which meant I would now start to head East towards Aston Cantlow. This meant 12 miles or so on roads I had never cycled along before. This second part of the route was put together a couple of days ago on Google...And it turned out great!

I saw some genuinely beautiful views and passed through lovely little villages. I even got wolf-whistled by a van driver (but he wasn't my type). I had my lunch ( a breakfast bar and a mouthful of water) on a bench in Sambourne - a place so picturesque that normal people (non-cyclists) were driving there to have their sandwiches and hold hands and that sort of carry-on. I whooshed past Coughton court and thought what a pretty place it was.

The route eventually joined up with the last 15 miles of my usual training ride. On the way back I was suffering like a dog and only stubbornness got me up Tom's Hill.
I met a group belonging to Shirley Roads Club on their Wednesday run. All of them senior citizens, some of them appearing to be twice my age, they were still making good progress in the heat and already had 36 miles under their belts when I met them. I got talking to the fella at the front and he told me an amusing story:
His mate has 7 bikes, but his wife thinks he has only one. How does he do it? He only buys blue bikes and keeps them in the shed where she isn't allowed to go! All she ever sees is him wheeling his blue bike out of the shed...
Not sure if it's true or not but it made us chuckle.

In other news: my brother is already a fit and healthy guy but has recently decided to have a go at cycling. He got himself a good Specialized and set about putting in the miles. In his first week he was the victim of a hit and run by a van driver in London. My bro is tough enough to recover from his bloodied knees and elbows, I just hope that this doesn't put him off cycling.

Finally, I am just about to finish reading Bikie by Charlie Woods. It's an exceptionally interesting book and really well-written. A word of warning though: the author assumes you are an informed reader and are well versed in road-cycling lore and it's idiosyncrasies. He uses a lot of cycling terms, particularly about bike parts and racing, without bothering to explain them!