Challenge your mind with Visual Connection for BlackBerry 10

When it comes to gaming on my BlackBerry Z10, I prefer brain teasers, puzzles, or strategy ones. I find they are the perfect stress reliever after a long day’s work on the train home. One such game that caught my eye in the forums involves an old concept whereby users must determine the commonality between four distinct images called Visual Connection. 

As a joint effort by popular developers Brian Scheirer (creator of Combo Pics) and SCrApps (author of Z Theme), it is not only challenging but one that cannot be put down. I admit, there were moments I was so swept up in it that I went over my allotted lunch hour at work.

Players are presented with four images bound together by a common thread. Using the field below, players must try and determine exactly what that word is in order to advance to the next round. As a guide, it does offer the total number of letters in the hidden word at the top.

Features

• 400 Levels
• Addictive
• Hours of entertainment
• Fun for all ages
• Earn/Buy coins for hints and level skips
• Extra challenging without a letter bank, so you can't just unscramble the letters
• Guest mode option to allow others to play on your device without affecting your progress/coins
• Specifically for BlackBerry, optimized for PlayBook, Z10 and Q10
• All updates will be free and all updates will be added to this application

For those who are utterly stumped, and trust me while some are quickly solved others are extremely difficult, coins are available for hints or to skip a challenging level. Three coins are awarded for each correct answer or available as in-app purchases. While the urge to use hints is overpowering at times the point of the game is to give your mind a workout.

If you are familiar with other versions of this game on other platforms, you may be wondering where the word bank is. Fret not, as it was purposely left out for compatibility with the Q10 and for offering a beautiful typing experience on BlackBerry 10. The developer also wishes to point out that their decision was also based on increasing the level of difficulty of each puzzle (not just unscrambling the letters). I do agree that having the letters at the bottom is not necessary. For me I found them to be a hindrance. Instead of discovering the connection that binds all of the images, I would instead be trying to figure out what words could be formed.

One feature I should point out is the guest mode. If you let friends, family, or even small children use your device then this mode is for you. Skips and hints are disabled which means no accidental charges to your account with unauthorized in app purchases. This also means your progress within the game remains unaffected.

The only issue I have is with the stock images. Many of the photos repeat across different levels which led me to misconstrue the exact word it was looking for. For example, the image of a knotted piece of thread appears in two different levels. Although again, this does make the puzzles harder to solve.

The Bottom Line

There are plenty of levels to keep you occupied for hours and some will drive you crazy as you try to figure out the correct answer. I'm sure fans will be clamoring for more once they've conquered the 400 included. Visual Connection is coded natively for BlackBerry 10 while the PlayBook version is in WebWorks. For only $0.99 you get an ad free version that requires no additional permissions or internet access. If you love puzzle games then this one is worth the price tag and a great way to pass the time.

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