Mindfields 3 – Aftermath is the latest installment in the Mindfield puzzle series created by Gamesheep (Crystal Clear, Makos, Weirdville).

Your goal remains unchanged: place different tiles on a playfield in order to move a tank towards its goal! Use your left mouse button to click on the toolbox items on the right of the game window and drag tiles onto the desired position on the grid.

With 25 levels and improved graphics, Mindfields 3 – Aftermath is a nice addition to the series!

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Black Fish – Five in a Row is a Five in a Row game from FFish, similar to games like Five and Crystal Clear from Gamesheep.

The rules are identical in both games: match 5 or more blocks with the same color – here symbols – to remove them from the board.

Use your mouse to select a block and then click its destination.

The addition of a few special blocks helps keep the game entertaining in higher levels. A nice background music and a high score table would make this game better.

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Pirate Chains is a match-three type puzzle game by Gamesheep. The goal of the game is to help Barbarossa the pirate find the lost treasure. Players help Barbarossa by matching three or more of an object and getting the key to fall to the lock.

The objects that are matched disappear and are replaced by new objects from the top of the screen. Match the objects underneath the key to get the key to fall down towards the lock.

Players beat the level by getting the key to the lock or by breaking enough tiles before time runs out. Players click and drag to match the objects. Objects can be matched in the horizontal or/and vertical direction, but not diagonally. The objects all fit the pirate theme and range from gold coins to pink gems.

The levels start off fairly simple, but get more complicated as players progress through the game. The levels get more complicated in design of the board and in the fact that some of the levels require you to match two or three separate keys to two or three separate locks. Players still need to get both keys to the locks or break enough tiles before the time runs out. The higher levels start to introduce bonus items that will help you get the key to the lock, such as an item that will mix up the board making it easier to make matches. The bonus items disappear after using them.

I thought Pirate Chains was fun to play and will keep any match-three fan entertained for a while with 30 different levels. The levels get challenging, but are still fun and addicting to play. If you like match-three type games or are looking for a game to past the time, check out Pirate Chains.

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You can also play Pirate Chains with the “Load Game” option active here.

Mindfields 2 is the latest puzzle game created by the talented folks at Gamesheep (Crystal Clear, Makos, Weirdville). This game is the sequel to Mindfields 2204, a game released last December and it comes with a better design and a few new features.

Your goal here is to place different tiles on a playfield in order to move a tank towards its goal, the enemy flag! Use your left mouse button to click on the toolbox items on the right of the game window and drag tiles onto the desired position on the grid.

The gameplay is close to IQ Marathon or PiratenSpiel, and the game uses level codes to save your progress. On the downside, the music loop is short and becomes repetitive after a few minutes. It would also have been a nice feature to add a fast speed button to accelerate the process.

That being said, Mindfields 2 is a fun and really challenging game, recommended to fill a few hours during a Saturday afternoon.

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Makos is a puzzle game created last year by the team behind Gamesheep. The object here is to pull the rows or columns to group three or more Makos (in any order) of the same color and make them disappear. Fill up the bar to the right before the time limit runs out to reach the next level.

Use your mouse and hold the left button to drag a row or a column. To spice things up, two matching Makos are sometimes linked together vertically.

Use the bomb Makos to blow up up to 9 Makos instantly and try to create as many combos as you can to score more points. Press P to pause the game, and use the S or M keys to mute the sounds / music off.

With its cute graphics and its simple and addictive gameplay, Makos is nicely done and should appeal to matching tiles games enthusiasts of all age.

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Weirdville is a new platform game released today by the talented team from Romania behind Gamesheep.

The object here is to use your skill to collect as many coins as you can in each level, while avoiding traps and other obstacles. Reach the red signpost to go to the next level and don’t forget to read the password for the current level on each “pass” signpost.

Use the arrow keys to move, climb or jump and press k to restart a level (and lose a life!).

Weirdville is nicely done and includes some special features like bubbles to float on water, blocks that can be moved or trampolines to perform high jumps. On the downside, the music loop is far too short and repetitive and controls could have been more polished.

Overall, Weirville is a fun game that should keep you busy for a while.

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All passwords (bonus: hidden level 0!)

Crystal Clear Multiplayer is live at Gamesheep! Released yesterday and still in beta version, you can now play against other players from all around the world and test your skills with this new game.

Rules are a bit different in the multiplayer version: the goal here is to fill your opponent’s board with crystals. To do so, form the largest groups of crystals as possible on your own board: the largest they are, the more crystals will be sent to you opponent’s board when they will disappear.

First of all, select a zone (3 different zones are available) and then after login (no registration needed at the time of writing, just enter a user name), select one of the 4 rooms available, from Beginner to Professional.

All players are ranked, and you can’t enter in the Med (Intermediate) and Pro rooms if your ranking is not high enough. You will start with a ranking of 1200 and will earn/loose 10 points for each game won/lost. Note that if you or your opponent leaves the game before the end, you/he will loose 20 points, to discourage game abandons.

After selecting one of the two Beginner rooms, just click the “create a new game” button and wait for an opponent to join, or enter an existing game. Once a game begins, your opponent’s board is displayed on the right of the game window, and you can start playing and chatting with him.

Playing Crystal Clear against a human is a whole new story: it’s exciting and it’s fast! A round last around five minutes and is short enough to avoid abandons. Well done!

The goal here is not only to build large groups of crystals but also to keep them growing as long as possible before removing them from your board: sending 20 or more crystals to your opponent near the end of the game usually lead to an instant defeat!

As mentioned above, the game is still in beta version, and the global rankings are not available yet. But you can already create a list with your friends or preferred players, or even your private room with access protected by password.

I had hours of fun today playing Crystal Clear with other players: this multiplayer version is extremely addictive and is one of the best multiplayer games I have played so far. Simple and brilliant!

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Crystal Clear is a new puzzle game released a few days ago by Florin and his team at Gamesheep. This game is a sort of sequel to the nice and addictive puzzler Five, previously reviewed on FreeGamesNews.

The rules and the controls are identical in both games: match 5 or more crystals with the same color to remove them from the board. Use your mouse to select a crystal and move it to its new destination. 3 new crystals appear randomly on the board after each move.

A few power-ups are now available in Crystal Clear: Broken Crystals explode when they disappear, removing all the adjacent crystals and Heart Crystals change the color of nearby crystals once arrived to they destination. You will also have to deal with Locked Crystals that can’t be moved.

It’s always amazing to notice how small additions such as these few power-ups can deeply change a gameplay: it’s all now about keeping your Heart Crystals free to move and trying to build the largest groups of crystals as possible to maximize your score.

Another improvement is the Shape bonus: try to reproduce on the board the same shape as the one shown at the right bottom of the game window to get a bonus.

Everything in Crystal Clear is nicely done: the graphics are bright and colorful, the music is peaceful and I didn’t notice any flaw.

Overall, Crystal Clear is a very nice and simple puzzler, probably more addictive and much longer than Five. Highly recommended!

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Five is a nice small puzzle game developed by the Romanian team behind Gamesheep.

The object here is to group at least five balls of the same color to remove them from the board. The more balls you remove, the higher you will score. A ball can only be moved if there is a free path to the destination tile. Three new balls are added randomly on the board after each move.

The controls are with the mouse: simply click the ball you want to move and click again its final destination. The game ends once the playfield is full of balls.

For a game with such simple rules, Five has surprising depth and a significant replay value. Choosing the right ball and its destination is important, and any mistake can lead to a quick end of the game.

Graphics are simple and clean, but the music is very repetitive and you will probably find the sound option useful to turn it off. It would also have been nice to implement an undo function, even if staying focus is a part of the gameplay.

That being said, Five is a very fun and addictive game, recommended for a 15 minute break.

Have fun!