Game: Goldstrike
Language: Flash
Category: Puzzle / Arcade
Tested on: Debian Linux + Firefox
Rating: 3 out of 5
Offered by: Flash Arcade (link)
Goldstrike is sort of a cross between tetris and Frood. The object is to knock out continguous colored blocks in a wall that is slowly advancing toward you. Your character does this by skillfully flinging a pickaxe at the colored blocks. The more blocks you knock out, the faster the level is over, the more points you score.
This is a very simple game. What makes it so entertaining is the small improvements that just make it fun. The miner character does a little ho-down dance at the beginning and end of the levels, and the sound effects are cute and enjoyable. The game has a natural progression from 'slow and comfortable' up through 'good, now that one there, and those, yes, got that one, okay good!' straight through to 'ahhhh! too fast! nooo! I screwed up again!'. To me that's a mark of a well designed game. If the game gets unplayable too fast, it's no fun. If it takes too long to get into the groove, you won't want to invest the time.
