The Guides Axiom – One Cool Puzzle Game

Developer – Kevin Bradford LLC

Cost – Free (Hacks are extra)

The Guides Axiom – Overview

The Guides Axiom is a unique, fun, thought inducing mobile puzzle game. The game requires you to solve a series of puzzles, ciphers and codes that will push your patience and stretch your creativity.  Currently, there are 50 total puzzles with the developer promising many more.  The game has a unique, low bass, slow, brain feeding music that is fitting for slow paced puzzles.  The screens are simple and fall on a dark backdrop inviting you to take a closer look.  It is evident the developer, Kevin Bradford LLC, put a lot of time into this game.

There is limited instruction, if any, for any given clue (I only follow instructions when it is too late anyways). This can be both frustrating and fun because the app forces you to think outside the box and sometimes just pushing buttons and seeing what happens is the best approach. The cool part is, each screen is a standalone puzzle which requires completion to continue, but each individual screen may have clues, patterns, or codes that are required sometimes much later in the game.  At times when stuck, I would sit down the phone and just continue with my day, all while the gears in my ADD mind somehow continued to turn, and until hours later, it would just hit me.  The puzzles are unique and rarely are themes or puzzle style repeated.

Tips and Tricks

I found keeping a pad of paper to scribble down notes was helpful. Take a screen shot of each puzzle as patterns and codes from earlier puzzles are required in later puzzles.  When you get stuck, and you will, take a break and come back to it in a couple of hours.  It was actually beneficial for me to try to look at it from a different angle.  If all else fails, you can buy clues called hacks to help you proceed.  At times during the gameplay, you will be provided with the option of reviewing previous puzzles which is usually a good sign that the code is buried in a previous puzzle.

Final Thoughts

The Guides Axiom is definitely not for the masses, but if you enjoy Sudoku, chess, and crossword puzzles, this could become one of your favorite puzzle apps. . Expect your production at work to slump.  The developer even states in the app description that the puzzles aren’t easy and progressing will be difficult.  The difficulty is there, but not impossible and completing a challenging puzzle is extremely rewarding.  Unlike a lot of mobile games, the required duration of time to complete the game is long enough so you may not be searching for  new games anytime soon.  It is rare in the mobile gaming world to find a completely unique game that requires your complete concentration.  While not as addicting as the repetitive games like Family Guy or Candy Crush, it’s worth a download especially for those child prodigies who scored high on the ACTs or SATs.