Most match three puzzle games forego a deep and involving story in favor of getting players right into the stuff-swapping thick of it. Owloh's WizSchool: Magic Book Puzzle layers on the lore and colorful characters to create the a truly engrossing puzzle adventure.
I downloaded WizSchool on my Transformer Prime tablet on Friday afternoon, lured by those colorful characters and the promise of an extensive match three adventure. Cast in the role of a new student at the Elandryl Academy, I was soon brewing potions, playing rounds of magical Poker and dueling deadly enemies, all via well-crafted match three puzzles.
Lulled by the lovely music and bright, personality-infused visuals I must have played for an hour straight that first session. What started as a simple, relaxing experience soon grew more difficult. The enemies became more powerful, the clock on timed ingredient-collecting potion brewing missions seemed to tick by faster (there's a casual setting for those that don't perform well under pressure).
I played over the weekend. I played this morning. I purchased special items using in-game coin to enhance my game, increasing the chance of item multipliers and special power-ups appearing. I'd still be playing right now, were I not writing this.
The truest measure of WizSchool's success is not me, however. My wife-creature caught me playing on Friday and instantly downloaded the game to her iPad. There are very few games she will take a chance on, and all it took was one look.
This morning I discovered the game's casual mode, and I let her know it existed, in case she was having trouble. "Oh, I finished it yesterday. I had to grind a bit to earn money to buy items I needed to take on the final guy, but I eventually kicked his ass."
That was the most game-centric conversation she and I have had in months. I'm calling it a success.
WizSchool $1.99 [Google Play]
WizSchool Free [Google Play]
WizSchool $1.99 [iTunes]