Puzzle Game Analysis + New Game Idea

When we take a quick look at the past 30 days of Mobile Puzzle Top Charts (iOS), we see that Royal Match still clearly dominates the market. However, that's not what we want to analyze; we want to look at other significant changes on the list along with their updates and chart numbers throughout the days.

Among all the changes, Rollic’s Twisted Tangle has a significant impact on the list. Upon its release 2 months ago, this game has been updated more than 20 times! Therefore, it is probably heading towards one of the most successful puzzle game releases of 2023. While using the tap mechanic in the puzzle genre is not a surprise, it looks like solving tangle ropes still has a working ASMR effect for a lot of puzzle players.

Speaking of tap mechanics in puzzles, we can't ignore the fact that Popcore’s Parking Jam 3D is listed in the top 10 almost every day. We also see that Seat Jam 3D keeps a good spot on the charts with its similar mechanic. Supersonic’s Histogram: Hexa Puzzle Story also has a tap mechanic (despite its release 6 months ago, this game got 15+ updates). What needs to be noted is that Popcore’s new game, Tangled Snakes, another tap-mechanized puzzle, is following a solid path towards the top charts, with more than 25 updates in the last 3 months.

In addition, Chrome Valley Customs by Space Ape Ltd enters the list with traditional Match-3 gameplay and a fantastic art style. Story puzzles always have a chance to find success among the charts.

Lastly, Block Blast Adventure Master and some other Tetris-inspired puzzles are still popular if the animation and level progress are fun. We see that Voodoo released Sand Blocks (updated this week), and Say Games released Blocky Quest - Classic Blocks, both recently, and these games are getting updates. While they haven't been on the top charts, their update schedule shows us they are up to something.

Now for the bonus part, I am sharing a game iteration idea of my own, with 2 different mechanic options.

In this game, which is a combination of Tangled Snakes and Parking Jam, the goal is to provide a fast but unique puzzle experience using the tap-tap mechanic. Some animals perform well in terms of CPI (Cost Per Install). While the game takes visual inspiration from the Tangle theme, it overall creates a strategic puzzle game by reducing complexity with the tap-tap mechanism. I must say that Tumblin Monkey's was also a significant inspiration for this game. Iteration can be done with other animals with tails or similar creatures as well.

With the tap-tap mechanic, we try to complete the given tasks by dropping the monkeys into the lower section within a certain number of moves.

In both iterations, important parts are:

1. ASMR feeling on each tap from monkey tail's to drop,
2. Overall complexity and animations in each level and art,
3. It doesnt have to be a monkey, its a tangled object that drops, that is the focus.

Here it is with Match-2 Iteration