Review by winston on 11 Oct 2009 (Rating: 5)
Think! is a game where you, well, think. The concept is very simple - you have a 6 by 6 square playing board, and you take turns with another player or against the computer pushing in a tile from either the bottom or the right edge of the board. When a tile is pushed onto the board, everything in that row - including spaces - is pushed a square too. The first player to line up 4 tiles, horizontally, vertically or diagonally wins. If your move lines up your opponent's tiles like this, well, then they win!
There are several variants of the game - speed think, with each move against the clock. Blitz think, with a time limit per game, plus "problem solving" games - pre-set boards a bit like the chess games you see in the "serious" newspapers.
The game itself is icon driven, probably one of the earliest to be like this. It is extremely well presented - a good use of colour, fonts, and graphics makes the game clean and attractive. The game concept itself is good - there are only four rules so it's easy to learn, but there are surprising challenges and you have to think ahead. There are 7 skill levels if you play against the computer, but past level 4 or so, the computer takes quite a long time to figure out its next move. All in all, a very elegant design, and it's a pity this game didn't get more exposure "back in the day"; I only discovered it in 2009.
I suspect the game would be at its best if you find another human opponent to play against (where you can try the Speed and Blitz variants).
1985 Ariolasoft (UK)
by Tony Barber, Simon Dunstan, Don Hughes, David Bishop and Chris Palmer
Think! is one of the best puzzle games I've ever played on a Speccy.
The idea is simple, the first player to line up 4 tiles, vertically, horizontally or diagonally wins the round. You can either play against the computer or against another human player.
Options include 3 modes of play: Normal, Speed or Blitz THINKing. This modes basically revolve around clock timing, making each move more challenging.
Then there is the Problem Solving option. This means you will be able to select one of the 6 preset problems available and try to solve them. Or you can create your own problems, and apply them both to the computer or another player.
The game is easy to get into but if any difficulty arises, you can use the Tutorial included which will help clear any doubts on how to play.
Definitely one of the best puzzle games around and still up to date after decades.
