BoXiKoN 1.8.4

What do you do if you have say 60 minutes to waste? You could for example watch a 60 minute video on your Windows-powered computer. Or you could listen to some music on your Windows-powered computer. But what I would rather do is play an interesting computer game – after all that is one of the main reasons people by computers for.

One game you cold play for 60 minutes on your computer is the Shoecake Games-developed BoXiKoN, a fun puzzle game of strategy and logic. There is a reason why I keep mentioning that 60 minutes timeframe. It is the amount of time you have to play BoXiKoN free of charge. You see, BoXiKoN is shareware. This means you can play it free of charge only for a limited amount of time. When that trial period is over, you have to pay to keep playing.

Okay, so in the 60 minutes time frame at your disposal, you need but a couple of seconds to download and install the software on your computer. The download for example weighs in at less than 1 MB. Once you’re done installing the game (which should go without a hitch) you are free to play the game – at least until the trial period expires.

The developers say this is a “logic based puzzle game of strategy and forward thinking,” and that “a large emphasis on planning, organization and selection and less on arcade style quick reactions”. That is certainly true. You do have to plan ahead and you don’t necessarily need the quick reactions you would need in an arcade game.

One simple way to describe this game is this: think Tetris. In a classic game of Tetris building blocks keep falling down and you must quickly arrange them. BoXiKoN is similar to Tetris in that you have to arrange various shaped blocks on the screen. The difference is that they blocks do not fall down from up above. Various shaped pieces appear at the bottom – you have to pick one of them up and arrange it in the main window. See now why you do not need the quick reactions you would need in an arcade game? Also, do you see why you need to plan ahead?

At least for an hour, this game is an interesting distraction. Try it out for yourself!

Pros

• Interesting game
• There’s a Mac version as well

Cons

• Can be played free of charge only for the first 60 minutes

BoXiKoN has been reviewed by George Norman on 12 Mar 2010. Based on the user interface, features and complexity, Findmysoft has rated BoXiKoN 4 out of 5 stars, naming it Excellent