Hua Rong Dao is a great PC version of classic Chinese sliding-tile puzzle game with a simple premise: on a 2D board, rearrange rectangular and square blocks of varying sizes to get the biggest square block to the exit. One of the oldest brainteasers in history, the game has been played for thousands of years, and many papers and computer programs have been written on how to find the optimal solution (i.e. smallest number of moves) for any arrangement. This Windows version of the game features 70 levels, a level editor, the ability to use your own “skins” (i.e. pictures/labels to put on each block), saving the game, and more. The default skin features characters from classic Chinese literature San Guo (“Romance of the Three Kingdoms” in the West): you must move Cao Cao from the top of the grid through the enemy lines to the bottom so he could escape. Overall, if you enjoy brainteasers like Rubik’s Cube or the Towers of Hanoi, you’ll find Hua Rong Dao a fun and challenging diversion that is great for those 5-minute coffee breaks :) Thumbs up! Reviewed by: Underdogs |