''Rules!'' is a 2014

educational Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also fol ...

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, Sequence, sequence solving, Spatial ability, spatial recognition, ...

co-developed by Marcel-André Casasola Merkle and Agnes Lison and published by TheCodingMonkeys. It was released for

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

in August 2014 and became the first game to be released on the

Apple Watch The Apple Watch is a brand of smartwatch products developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple. It incorporates activity tracker, fitness tracking, Health (Apple), health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates wit ...

in April 2015.

Gameplay

The player is given a board made up of 16 tiles, which contain objects or animals and a number on the top-left corner. They are given a rule in each level, and for each level they complete, the player must recall past rules. For example, when a player finishes a rule for level four, they must follow the rules from level three, then two, and finally one. Players must solve each level within a limited amount of time. To fit the small size of the

, the gameplay was reduced.

Development and release

The graphics, according to designer Agnes Lison, were intended to be

vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...

. Concepts for the icons were developed by Marcel-André Casasola Merkle. However, Lison thought it looked "flat" and opted for a

mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

-like look based on pictures on her wall. ''Rules!'' released for

on August 6, 2014, and for the

iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...

on August 20, 2014. On April 24, 2015, ''Rules!'' became the first game to be released on the Apple Watch.

Reception

The game has a

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

rating of 88% based on 8 critic reviews.

Gamezebo ''Gamezebo'' (sometimes stylized ''GameZebo'') is a website which reports on and reviews video games. Founded in 2005 by Joel Brodie, it was billed as the first website to solely cover casual games and expanded its scope to social games in 20 ...

wrote: "''Rules!'' is that sort of lightning in a bottle that only comes along every so often. I’d rank it right up there with '' Threes!'', and not just because both games so gleefully abuse exclamation points." IGN Italia said "''Rules!'' is one of that game that you can’t simply quit: it’s amazing to look and to play, engaging and challenging, even brutal if your brain isn’t trained enough. Follow the Rules has never looked so good." ''

TouchArcade ''TouchArcade'' (stylized as toucharcade) is a mobile games journalism website. It was launched in 2008 as a sister site of ''MacRumors'' by its founder Arnold Kim and Blake Patterson. ''TouchArcade'' also hosts a forum and a weekly podcast. ...

'' wrote "It's certainly worth checking out, but be warned: it might make you feel your age, even if you're not all that old." ArcadeSushi said "Rules! provides the unique experience of further developing hand-eye coordination and memory skills in each person who plays it, while giving the added bonus of plain-old having fun." Apple'N'Apps wrote "Rules! is an excellently crafted new puzzle idea that will no doubt get you to absolutely love following the rules." PocketGamerUK said "A delightfully constructed memory test that grows in complexity and appeal the deeper in you go." 148Apps compared the game to

Simon Says Simon Says is a children's game for three or more players. One player takes the role of "Simon" and issues instructions (usually physical actions such as "jump in the air" or "stick out your tongue") to the other players, which should be foll ...

, writing "Follow the rules to the letter in order to win in this simple yet tough memory game."

Awards

''Rules!'' was selected as the "best game" in the

App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...

's Best of 2014 list.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://rulesgame.net/ IOS games 2014 video games Video games developed in Germany Educational video games Indie games