Actually was an interesting game for short period of time!
Founnd it interedting to fiqure how build strong tower! But
seems game might be etter for kids! Played only five minutes and seemed to be easy to solve so stopped! Replay value - not sure
for adult, but probably does for kids! Didn't seem to get harder for levels I played! If levels do get harder would determine if replay valve exists for adults?


..............................Moderator comment...............................

Thank you for your feedback Wot, much appreciated. :)

.................................Moderator Comment..............................


It's way past my bed time (almost 4am) I'll endeavour to moderate any outstanding comments first thing in the morning. I'll be up at least by 7.30am, so should have time to answer any queries.

If you do have problems downloading, installing or getting today's game to work, please read the FAQ's over in the Game discussion sticky section, which ytopu'll find by following the link below:

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/11647


If none of the suggestions work, please post a comment in the forums as well as here. No one else moderates at this time, so you're more likely to get help in the forums than here; at least until I boot up my computer when I get up. It's the first thing i do once i'm downstairs. :)



Thanks to all who've taken the trouble to post comments today. I'm really pleased to see so many positive comments about this game.


The last time this was given away was when Double Games used to give us a lot of games, many of which were pretty dire (mainly due to poor graphics, unfinished and buggy games as well as uninteresting and unchallenging games, or rip offs of better known games); that said, some were actually really good. The problem was (much like the situation with Wheemplay games now). Everytime a Double Game seen to be given away, community members automatically assumed they were going to be bad, so most of their games got really bad reviews and a lot more thumbs down than they deserved.

I'm sure many of the community members posting didn't even give the games a chance or even play them. If you compare the comments and the thumbs up of the first time this was given away to todays comments and thumbs up numbers, you can immediately see a difference due to Double Games being to all intents a thing from the past, which many members probably won't remember. ;-)

I've been quite enjoying this one. I agree about it needing an options menu, but other than that, it a cute game and a fun way to kill an hour.

I've only played it twice, but how do I exit without losing my score? Is there a way, or does it just reset to zero each time? Thanks GOTD.


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Thasnk you for your feedback Angel :)

Thanks for your review White Rabbit, I'll keep you and your family in my prayers and hope things get straightened out. I've been going through personal crap in my family too (drama) and these weekend games help sooth it out. I just moved out too about 4 months ago and had to live on my own unexpectedly. Don't want to post my life story here.

But your review of this game is spot on I now understand the game better. I have not had one moment on here where I have not been able to not play a game because of an issue I always found the answers to my problems for the Giveaway's because of the comments left by other users. I have a Gateway LT20 Netbook plugged into an External keyboard and mouse and a LG 20" Flatron Wide Screen Monitor, so all games always launch and don't complain about screen size.


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Thank you for your feedback Little Bear. Sorry to hear about your woes. I hope you get yourself sorted sooner than later. (I hated living on my own after my first marriage broke up) I was living on a student campus over the summer when no one else apart from some overseas students were around. Thankfully some of my course would pop in to see me and to cheer me up as they knew I'd separated. Still, it was a lonely time. Seems light years away now as i made a new and better life for myself while at university and once I'd finished (I'd gone as a mature student, several years older than most other students, but fitted in well because I'd always looked a 'lot' younger than I my actual age - still do according to other people I meet.

"We sometimes got several good games on the trot when it was every day of the week." Oh, Wabbit, those were the days. I, so, miss them. Everyday we got a great game and I tried so many different ones..Thanks to you. :)

Why is everyone yammering bout "a Math game? It isn't a math game. It's a computerized version of Racko. This would be better played with a LAN or multiple partners. I don't have time to play any more but I am betting later on..It can get hard. Don't care for the music.

Thanks to GGOTD and Double Games/Ganbana for the fun game. Great review, Wabbit.

P.S. Hi to the "other" Delenn.


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haha I thought it was you ;-) (though it was very early for you) lol Thanks for the feedback

I decided to try this game because I do like puzzles/logic games, even if it seemed simple. This is very similar to a board/card game called Racko, which i actually own and enjoyed playing with my kids. There appears to be one serious flaw which really takes away from the flow of the game.
You can't tell from one level to the next what number is the highest number you are working with. With Racko, it was a deck of special cards, numbered to 60, so you knew how high the available numbers went to. With this game, it varies from round to round, and you honestly have to guess what the highest number is you get to choose from, and believe me, it makes a difference.
I have been playing for about an hour, and I have seen the high number being as high as 55 or as low as 25, of course part of this was dependent on how many blocks you needed, but the guessing part was def a problem. 25 was in the second to last spot, normally a good spot to stay, but as I played the game, and filled the rest of the numbers just below, I came to realize there was nothing over 25, so I was doomed to lose, because I couldn't finish with a higher block.
If someone thinks this is part of the strategy of the game, well, it sure is unfair, as the computer knows how high the numbers go, but I don't, def unfair advantage.
But other than that, it is a good version of mindless entertainment, good for relaxing.


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Thank you for your excellent feedback. Lets hope Double Games/Gambana update the game. :)

#7: "A game that is actually useful to me. My wive has a problem with cognition and logical thinking (not a joke) and most games, even the simple ones, are simply to dificult for her. They provide her joy (like the HOGs) but always with help. This game however has the simplicity that can help her. Instead of a game, I can use this as therapy help to help her train her cognitivity and logic skills. Big thanks to GGOTD and DoubleGames/Gambana."

Actually I'd like to say a big THANKS to you, NoName!

Unfortunately lots, maybe even most people wouldn't bother, & fewer yet would think to make their example known to the world. Best luck to both you & your wife, sincerely.

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Well said Mike, I agree. I must have missed number 7's comment becasue I don't remember reading it. (Must have been moderated by the other moderator).

@#6, Swamp Thing:

Actually, a video rotator might be useful for vids. made on compact cameras, phones, etc. IF you don't already have software to do this.

Just my 2p worth!



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I agree. also, many of my early videos taken on an old digital camera were taken sideways (portrait) The camera would then compensate for portraits by turning them 90 degrees to orientate them correctly when viewed. I wa salways forgetting this when taking video. This was before I could afford a digital camcorder. We had a tape camcorder, but often because it was bulky (not one of the shoulder behemoths), I'd not bother taking it wioth us, especially if we were going for a long hike over moorland etc.

Sooo, being able to orientate by 90 degrees is useful for me. I've never got arounmd to editing those videos yet. Maybe its time i did.

Ok Win 8 x64 Pro. Nearly full screen. Hey this is decent for thinking adults as some mentioned. Fast easy for short term plays when just want to squeeze in a game. Did Practice Mode first to get hang of it. Instructions written oddly at one point suggesting might be a high to low stack win but for sure is low to high. Extra points if can keep count in 'order' but can win as long as get low top and bottom high first, w/o that order kept in between. So your choice which to try for. Tried the 2 stack and that's rough since need both. Grind teeth seeing one your win piece stuck in another stack, if only I had that one! Nice little game for the wetware. Thanks.

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Thanks for your feedback beergas. :)

I was disappointed that there isn't an "options" menu on the game. The music is too loud for my tastes and I'd like to turn it down just a bit. I'd also like to be able to play it in a window, rather than full screen. :(

I'll be darned... A game that is actually useful to me. My wife has a problem with cognition and logical thinking (not a joke) and most games, even the simple ones, are simply to dificult for her. They provide her joy (like the HOGs) but always with help. This game however has the simplicity that can help her. Instead of a game, I can use this as therapy help to help her train her cognitivity and logic skills. Big thanks to GGOTD and DoubleGames/Gambana. As game this might not score high but for my purposes I score this one a 8.


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I didn't moderate this comment, so missed what you'd said, It was Mikes comment that prompted me to say something. I do hope this game goes some way in helping your wifes recovery. Thank you for commenting.

Oh, those poor, lil hungry monkeys! I want to feed them all lots of bananas until they are all full and constipated. (If you eat too many bananas, you get yucky pimples on your hands!)

BUT BUT BUT I just don's understand how putting numbers in order feeds the hungry monkeys. I'm so confused!

I guess this is a kid's game. BUT BUT BUT how many kids download games from Giveaway of the Day? WHERE ARE THE MOMMIES? Oh, the humanity of it all!

Still, this game is better than the program they are offering on the other side of the site that would let me turn a video sideways. Sideways videos, REALLY!

I wonder if I could use that other program to turn this whole game sideways? It might be funner then. All the stacks would fall over and the hungry monkeys would have to jump all over the place! That would be funny!

Oh well. We got one good game this weekend. (Does GGOTD understand that if they gave away TWO good games on the same weekend everybody who downloaded them would tell other people WOW GUESS WHAT I GOT THIS WEEK! THE BEST GAMES IN THE WORLD FOR FREE! I bet the number of visitors would double the next weekend.)

......................Moderator comment..............................

We sometimes got several good games on the trot when it was every day of the week. Unfortunately the recession and a massive dive in profits has either closed many developers down or severly restricted their generosity. When the project first started arcade games cost on average of $19.99 each and AAA games cost $45. The price of arcade games have dropped significantly to arounds $6 per game and AAA games haven't changed in price despite inflation, so in real terms they are also cheaper; plus the fact that most AAA games will reduce in price sometimes within weeks of release. Just look at games like Alan Wake and its sequel; both of which were released less than a year ago. you can now get with 90% off this weekend. Also the indie game Proteus which was released earlier this year. Usual price £6.99., You can get it via two indie bundles at the moment. The Be Mine 8 bundle, together with several other excellent games for around $5 and via the latest Indie Royale bundle. (The Be Mine 8 bundle is much better value, but is almost ended). you can find details of these over in the Game discussion forums.

I read the comments of the last time this game was given away. The child in me still likes children's games, so I had a feeling I would like the game and I do. I like the graphics, they are colourful. Every time you win a level (Quest) the forest is rebuilt with trees, flowers, fruit, butterflies. True the game is simple and not very difficult, but it is a good time filler. You have to pay attention to your own tower, but also to the computer's tower. The blocks you discard can be used by the computer in its turn and vice versa. The music is nice for one level, but I almost always play mute, so it is not an issue for me. Thank you for this cute game. I will certainly play it more than once, although not hours at a stretch.


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Thank you for your feedback Merlynr; its much appreciated.

Thank you so much for this game-such a simple game but I have loved it for a long time! As for #3's comment about "hurrying"....no, this isn't arcade-like at all..it IS purely thinking. The only "competition" is to get your tower into sequential order first..speed isn't involved at all.

And WhiteRabbit, thanks for mentioning Jenkat..I'd not heard of that one. And, as long as I'm paying attention to the installation, is it safe? Cause I don't even see ads on the site like MyPlayCity or others.

Thanks!

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Not used to seeing you so early Delenn. :)

I've not downloaded any games from Jenkat for over 2 years. I'm sure when I did, I wasn't happy, BUT.... that was 2 years ago and another community member uses them and has said (in the forums), that they were fine. I'm sure if they were aggressive in any way we'd haven't heard complaints by now. I don't bother with any of the free sites any more apart from when I'm writing a review for this site and haven't managed to secure, or don't already have the game. I much prefer to purchase the games I know i'll play such as many of the indie games that are becxoming quite mainstream now, or buying AAA games with much more interesting themes, escpecially open world sandbox games, RPG's, flight and driving simulators, especially military like ArmA II & III (thus supporting the developer). I was constantly forgetting to uncheck boxes, resulting in work to remove toolbars and change my home page back to normal. Besides, I get enought games from Steam, Desura and other places cheaply.

I've really gone off the casual arcade scene of late. Too many HOG's TM games and other what I call dross. I much prefer the indie scene with loads of unusual and often brilliant games.

quote: "and be a little quicker than your rivals."

I'll skip this one.
Love thinking, good for the brain.
Hate hurrying, bad for the heart.
And bad for thinking too BTW.


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:)

I've gone bonkers trying to figure this one out - Or more appropriately bananas in this case. It's not to say that this is a bad thing it could be a good challenge to someone who is tired of the norm from games of similar genres.

And then their description:

"Help to return the life of poor monkeys back to normal."

Honestly this game is far from normal. I don't know which one I'll restore first, my sanity trying to figure this out or the poor home for these monkeys.

Of course WhiteRabbit, I always value your expertise and you always make games that seem odd seem more enjoyable after your through synopsis of it. Take your time to sort things out, I got all day to wait for your review :)


.......................Moderator comment....................

Thank you for your comment Little Bear. I'm trying to get a short review together now before we go out to the new home. I'll probably rehash my original short review from 2008. At least I did a video for the game, which can often help community members decide whether to bother playing the game. Thankfully todays game is also available over a tBig Fish as a free online version (see my review for links)

I'm pushed for time (always seem to be these days) becasue we've also got a friend of my daughter staying over due to her parents having to fly over to Norway last night following an emergency call from locals in Norway who reported that her mothers father is seriously ill He lives in an isolated part of the community so doesn't get much help (he's in his 80's).

I've promised the girls use of two of my computers and my son this one. The rest are either useless or in bits for upgrading (which I've been trying to sort for a couple of years now, lol) They have been hanging around my heels already waiting for me to finish, lol))

Monkey's Tower


Installation

Today’s giveaway downloads as a 19.5 MB zip file that unpacks to a read me and a wrapped setup file (the orange colored file with the key symbol), plus there's a setup file with security (setup.gcd) that's protected from being hacked (because the previous giveaway system was easily cracked). This file may case some security software to alert the user to a possible malware attack, but it will be a false positive.

The game giveaway team check all game giveaways for malware using several well known anti -malware suites. There has never been a game giveaway infected with malware since the project started back in Dec 2006. (The owners know that allowing such things would compromise their buisness, so they make sure all software given away via the giveaway and gamegiveaway sites are throughly checked for all types of malware before allowing community members to download any files.

Some community members have been having problems installing games since the security software was added. It's been found that turning off your security temporarily or configuring it to accept the setup.cgd file usually sorts the problem out.

To register and install the game click on the orange colored icon. The installed game is 18.2 MB in size and installs to the following path by default:

C:\Games\Monkey's Tower_game


The path can be changed to suit whatever your wishes are. Once the game is installed you can delete the giveaway setup files. The game doesn't install shortcuts to the desktop and start menu programs list and there is no uninstaller. To delete the program you simply delete the installed folder. (Basically the game is free standing)..

Monkey's Tower works on both my Win 7 & Win 8 computers.
I don't have a Vista or XP installation set up at the moment (and won't for several months until we move house later this year).

If you miss today's giveaway you can play it online for free via Big fish Games HERE

Introduction:


The game was given away back in Sept 2008 2008 where it received a positive 32% out of 494 votes with 67 comments which can be read HERE

A steel magnate Jack Iron deforested jungles for his future plant. And what about monkeys who used to live on trees? It’s up to you now to help poor animals restore their habitat!

Reference accessed HERE 2nd June 2013






The Game:

This is a very simple game where you have to create stable towers by shuffling numbered blocks around. You are competing against the computer. There are simple instructions provided which are accessible via the main menu; these instructions are animated so tke some time to read and watch each page. You can play any level by selecting the practice mode or go straight into the game proper and select Quest.

The options menu is found at the top right hand part of the screen. In the form of buttons. These are self explanatory. You can adjust the music

You select from a given number or one that’s unknown. You can replace any of the tiles on your pile with the one that’s presented, or, if it’s not suitable choose the unknown one. If neither of the numbers are useful you can opt to miss your turn and hope to get a better number, or use the ones provided initially. If the number you can see is larger than the one on top of the pile go for the unknown number. If this is shown to be higher as well you can either discard your turn and try again or use the number provided. The aim is to build as stable a tower as possible. The one who creates the most stable tower that starts with a high number at the bottom and successively lower numbers above wins the game.

The game is fully mouse controlled.

The following review was posted by Brian Zachary when it was first given away (comment number 14:

The object of the game is to replace the cans in your stack with one of the 2 choices given so as to make the numbers in the stack big to small going up. The numbers don’t have to be consecutive, just as long as you always end up with small numbers on top of bigger numbers. So the number at the bottom of the stack should be the highest and the number on the top the lowest. On most levels you have only one stack to work with, but some have 2 stacks for you to reorder.

You are given 2 choices in which numbers to use. One of the choices is shown, while the other is a question mark. You have to decide if you want to use the shown number first. If you can’t, or just curious what the hidden number is, click the question mark. Be warned, though. There’s no going back. Once you click on one of the numbers, you can’t change your mind. If you click the number that is shown, you have to use it. If you choose the question mark, it will give you a choice of using that number or skipping your turn. Choose wisely.

Now there’s no time limit or anything, so you can take as long as you want to decide, but in each level you are playing against the computer, who has its own stack of cans. You always get the first turn, then the computer and back and forth until one of you wins. If you lose, it’s ok. Just start again by going back into Quest mode and you will still be at the level you lost in, so you don’t lose any progress. There’s no “lives”, so if you lose, just start again.

Video and Images:

You can see a video of Monkey's Tower HERE (I uploaded this one the last time it was given away. I soon gave up making videos simply because most games already have loads of videos available. This one didn't (probably reflects the low score, lol).

You can see a slideshow of about 20 images from the game HERE

Music:

There's no way of permanently replacing the music files unless you can code. The simplest way is to click the musical notation icon along the top righthand portion of the game screen. You can also turn off the sound effects by clicking on the speaker icon. Another way to turn the sound from the game off is to right click on the speaker icon in the tray next to the clock and select 'Open Volume Mixer' This enables you to turn off sounds from individual programs. (Can't remember if the selection is available in XP; its been a few years since I used XP for more than a few minutes)



Conclusion:

A very simple game, that’s nicely rendered in a cartoon style with 25 levels of Monkey mayhem. It's not my type of game, but comparing it to similar games ( we got one similar from double games way back in the first year of the project, but I can’t remember the name of the game) it’s well made.

It’s a great game for teaching your children number sequences.

Scoring:
I'm not going to score this today. I really think it depends on whether you are an adult or a child as to whether you will enjoy playing this game. I think children will enjoy it a lot more than adults (Judging from the original comments made

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Problems:


If you have any problems installing or getting to work today's game please go HERE for help. I've posted all of the common problems and solutions in a FAQ thread, which you can find in the sticky section of the forums by following the above link.

If you are posting late in the day I would also suggest posting in the main giveaway forums, in the game discussion section because I cannot moderate 24hrs a day over the weekend. If you've installed the game but it won’t work for some reason, it should still be registered, so someone may be able to help at another time. Unfortunately if your problem is actually installing it then once the giveaway period is over there’s nothing that can be done until the game is given away again (though that isn't guaranteed). Sometimes you can still register the game after the giveaway has ended so long as you managed to start the download before the giveaway ends. I've tested this and sometimes the grace period lasts for up to 2 hours, but more often than not 1 hour is the norm.




It’s always worth checking out the free games sites because sometimes the games we get here are also available for free from them. MyPlayCity (MPC) has the most with over 800 games to choose from. Today's game isn't available from any of the free game sites I know of (didn't check Jenkat), but as mentioned above, you can play it online free over at BigFish Games HERE

If you do download any other games from MPC or the other free game sites 'do' watch out for toolbars etc. Make sure you uncheck the checkboxes during installation, and, in the case of MyPlayCity, everytime you boot the game up. .

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Games, Games, and yet more Games plus Download, Installation & Game play Problems:



If you're looking for something other than today's game check the didimatic site via THIS link for some brilliant deals.

Steams weekend deals include 40% off the recently released DMC - Devil May Cry and a whopping 90% off the Alan Wake franchise (that's only £3.10 for both games in the franchise)

There's 50% off Primal Carnage, 75% off the Flatout Complete pack (four games) this is an excellent franchsie with destructible environments, demolition derby's loads of mini games (used to play these for hours with my daughter) though the last in the series was a big disappointment, but it was made by a different developer after the original developer went bust. there's also 755 off the guild II collection (another excellent RPG series), 50% off Sacred 2 gold, 66% off Worms ultimate Mayhem - Deluxe Edition, 75% off Waking Mars, 66% off Angry Birds Space, 50% off Sacred Citadel, 66% off They Bleed Pixels, 75% off Greed: Black Border, 75% off Adventures of Shuggy, 50% off Lunar Flight, There's nearly 60 games on sale at the moment on Steam with discounts from 10% to 90%. You'll find all the deals via the Specials tab on Steams front page HERE. The 24hr deal is 75% off the brilliant Eldeer Scrolls: Morrowind (£4.41/$6.79)






On sale over at at GreenManGaming there's also loads of decent deals for example Sniper 2: Ghost Warrior, Sacred Citadel, Battle Mages, Borderzone, Lunar Flight (better deal than Steams 50% off) and you get a Steam key, plus loads more. Check all GMG deals HERE. There's a 20% off voucher that can be used with most of the GMG digital games.



You'll find many more game deals from Gamersgate, Gamestop, and GOG; all of which you can find via the Didimatic site, which I've linked to above.

To be honest there are too many game deals around too list them all. Just visit the sites I recommend above and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you for a very decent price.


You can get a free arcade game via Alawar's game box, just click the free game tab. It changes approximately every month If that's not enough, check out the Game Discussion forums HERE for details of other games either free or on deals such as the Indie Game bundles or check out the four day sales at IndieGameStand.

The latest IndieGameStand game is Miners Wars Arena. If you pay over the average price which at the moment stands at $1.97 you'll also get Miners Wars 2081. both games come with extras so this is a brilliant deal. Both games include Steam keys as well as a game key for Miners Wars 2081 and a DRM free copy of Arena. You'll find the deal HERE. This deal ends on Wed 5th June around 4am GMT

There's also indie bundles available over at Indiebundle.org. Each bundle has three games and costs $5 each for the basic bundle plus a few dollars more for extra games. Check the Indie bundles HERE
There's more Indie bundles such as the newly released Indie Royale and Humble bundles as well as a couple more that you can find via the Game Discussion forums. All bundles are excellent value for money :). For most of these bundles you need not pay more than $5 for several games that would usually cost you a lot more. You'll find links to all of these bundles in the Game discussion forums HERE





A Request for help:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you've checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen

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