(Speechless...=))

#35 you can change the player name on the first screen just click where it says player and enter your name

#35 On the opening board when you choose "Quest" or "Strategy", to the right of the game's screen it says "Welcome" and beneath that "Player" written in yellow on a dark green rectangle; delete "Player" and type in your own name - it will than address you as your own name and will display high scores personally to you.

Love the game! Only complaint I have is it won't allow you to put your own name in on the scoreboard..It just says "player won" then puts "player" in the top scoring position...but there's still all those other names below it such as Sasha, Katty, Janny, etc...
I'd like to see my own scores there and be able to compare them..
But thanks GOTD...love these kinds of games!

Not a bad game, good time waster. Can't figure out why so many seem to have problems with the activations. Download, extract files, show files, install program and then click activate, works every time on every program I get from here. Thanks GOTD for another playable game. I wouldn't pay over $10 for it though.

Exception: Access Violation (code 0xc0000005) at address 00412E9D in thread 660
Module: Shine.exe
Logical Address: 0001:00011E9D

00000F6C 00412E9D 0001:00011E9D Shine.exe
Params: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

StackWalk failed (error 487)

EAX:99966003 EBX:00000149 ECX:02E260B0 EDX:01EAF190 ESI:02DE2BD0 EDI:00000204
EIP:00412E9D ESP:0012FD70 EBP:00000F6C
CS:001B SS:0023 DS:0023 ES:0023 FS:003B GS:0000
Flags:00010202

Windows Ver: NT 5.0 Service Pack 4 Build 2195
DDraw Ver: 5.3.0000001.0904
DSound Ver: 5.3.0000001.0904

Product: Shine
Version: 1.0
Time Loaded: 00:01:16
Fullscreen: No
Primary ThreadId: 660

Gonna try it again thanks to the later comments. Sounds as if it would be fun. Thanks GiveawayOfTheDay folks!

DID NOT WORK HERE, YOUR BLOG WILL NOT LET ME POST THE COPY & PASTED BIG ERROR BOX THAT POPPED UP RUNNING XP PRO 512RAM, 64MEG NVIDA CARD LASTEST DIRECT X ALL DRIVERS FULLY UP TO DATE

DID NOT WORK FOR ME GOT THIS WILD ERROR MESSAGE, I am running XP Pro 512 ram 64meg nvida card fully updated, latest Direct X.....Exception: Access Violation (code 0xc0000005) at address 00412E9D in thread 434
Module: Shine.exe
Logical Address: 0001:00011E9D

00000F6C 00412E9D 0001:00011E9D Shine.exe
Params: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

StackWalk failed (error 0)

EAX:99966003 EBX:00000149 ECX:01C98460 EDX:01CAF190 ESI:02532BD0 EDI:00000204
EIP:00412E9D ESP:0012FD70 EBP:00000F6C
CS:001B SS:0023 DS:0023 ES:0023 FS:003B GS:0000
Flags:00010202

Windows Ver: NT 5.1 Build 2600
DDraw Ver: 5.3.0000001.0904
DSound Ver: 5.3.0000001.0904

Product: Shine
Version: 1.0
Time Loaded: 00:00:07
Fullscreen: Yes
Primary ThreadId: 434

took me three min to understand the game, great game, not as simple as it looks..
PS: got 278points in one line!!!!

The connection rules from one gem to the next are actually quite simple when you get used to them. As stated above, you can enter a gem from any angle you like; your entry angle has no effect on how you exit.

You have to connect to another same-color gem, and it either has to be unused or the one you started from. Any ray that is aimed at an empty space goes through without bending, as you'd expect light to behave.

Squares (and diamonds) can connect out along any diagonal or orthogonal (left, right, up or down) direction.

Triangles can connect out either on an orthogonal or a chess-knight's move; they can't go directly diagonal, but if they are on an angle they can slip between other gems even in the initial board.

Triangles can be extremely useful in the beginning of a level to stitch together chunks that look like they're unconnected, but you may need more than one in order to get back where you started.

The author fairly obviously struggled with the little English in the game, and had a lot of time per sitting to play (best of 21 matches?). I doubt I'd have paid money for this game, but it is enjoyable enough to leave in my puzzle folder.

Let me repeat as all who commented on mine seem to have selective reading, "... hand holding [b]even with the hint feature off[/b]. Without any timer and not having limits or penalty for mistakes it’s too easy and just a trial by error play."

I fully grasp the game's concept. Yes the display of lasers is necessary but it also hurts the game's challenge. To further my second comment, like in say a card game of solitare on the PC you lose points whenever you use the "undo".

Tried to send some programming notes to the website this is pointed to. Entered my info, and clicked send.

I got a network login dialog. It never sent my comments, as far as I can tell.

Looking more dubious by the second.

An OK timewaster. I'll keep it. No problems installing or activating.

One big no-no: Why does this program continually ask for internet access???? I blocked internet access permanently and so far it still seems to work alright. Again, players should be told AHEAD OF TIME when a program will be asking for internet access AND WHY.

OK.......!!! Further to my earlier post at #10 I was determined to get to the bottom of this game and have figured it out to an extent - in fact (ahem!) I have just beaten the computer at Amateur Level (beams with sheer pride).

Please - to everyone who says there is no challenge the "hand holding" can be turned off by unticking "Show Hints" to the right of the board. The hints seem to be instead of rules, which would be handy as I spent quite some time trying to work out what was going on, and I still don't know the difference between triangles and squares in the game although it is apparent that there is one.

This would actually be quite a good game for children, not only is it thought provoking and strategy and logic promoting but it is also very encouraging - if you make a good move, positive words of recognition flash up such as "outstanding", "impressive" and "excellent".

I do still strongly believe the game should come with at least some written rules but I actually think this will be staying on the lappy! Might take me a while to beat the computer at Expert Level but, by golly, there will be a few celebratory laps around the garden when THAT has been achieved :-)

7x7 grid = 49 pieces.
3 colors in 2 shapes, square & triangular.

Light shoots from flat sides of selected piece to any unblocked same-color piece, 3 possibles for triangle, 4 for square.

Rotate pieces to form longest chains while using as many of the pieces as possible for highest score.

Dislike that comp opponent plays too fast in strategy mode. Probably because comps are so much faster today than they were in 2001 or so.

Overall good idea! I think it would have been better if player & comp took turns on same board after each move. That would have been more challenging and interesting. Still good game, though.

Downloaded, activated and installed fine on Windows XP. I'm gonna try to give a better explanation of this game.

1. "Shine" is based on geometry. I love geometry.
2. The gameboard is a series of stationary gems.
3. Choose a gem and click it, this lights it up, shooting a laser to any gem of the same color in a direct geometric path. This depends on the shape of the gem and the angle of the path of light.
4. The sides of the gems act as mirrors and reflect the light, but only to gems of the same color, and not if there is a different color gem in the way.
5. Complete a circuit by reflecting the light back to the original gem.
6. Clicking a gem more than once will turn it and show different possibilities.
7. String more gems together to score more points.
8. Your light must reach the home gem again. Then a bell will chime and show you points. You can still change your path and seek higher points. When you are happy with your path, click the home gem and your score will total.

Despite some comments here, there is a fully functioning menu on the right side of the game. Hate the hints? **unclick the SHOW HINTS box**. Under OPTIONS you can adjust music, sound, fullscreen, and 3D effects. There are two modes, Quest and Strategy with levels of difficulty for both(see the screenshot above).

RealApex may be a bit unrealistic with the $24.99 price tag, but I thank them for the free full version of this game. After reading some of the comments above, not everyone recognizes the geometry right away or has the patience to experiment with the game long enough to figure it out. Perhaps written explanation along with the PLAY DEMO feature in the game would be helpful to those people. Anton Beloborodov has developed an excellent game with smooth graphics and a menu that makes sense. Please give him a thumbs up from me.

I hope this sparks everyone's interest now. Give this one a try.

Good morning everyone! ;)

This is a great game honestly! I think due to lack of understanding the game play, some people aren't realizing that it's a really great puzzle game - then again some people just can't work out good puzzle games either.

Just to add to the great comments of those that now understand it:

With both the square and triangle gems, you can 'shoot' to any (same colored) flat facet or corner - however the laser can ONLY 'shoot' from their flat sides.

It IS a challenge with the hints feature turned off and if you don't just randomly shoot - and I AM enjoying the play. :)

When you launch the game, a small box appears giving you the option to see the help or go straight into play. Naturally, I clicked on help first. I have to say that I really hate it when the help files can only be accessed on-line. It means that you have to launch your browser (or keep it open) every time you play the game. I much prefer that the help file is stored locally on your machine with the game.

Aside from that the help screen is completely inadequate to teach you how to play. It takes a lot of trial and error and perhaps someone looking over your shoulder. David was looking over mine - and he was the one that picked up the laser tip I provided early in this review.

Ok, so after the help screen, you click on 'play' and your presented with a second screen, giving you the options of Quest (my first pick,) or Strategy; with modes of easy, normal or hard.

With the choice of 'strategy' you have a virtual opponent, whose skill level you're able to set before you begin - newbie, beginner, amateur, smart, expert, clever, master, supreme and genius - so you make your own play more challenging by using this option also.

After entering the game, you see the playing field on the right with an LED screen for your scores; the goal to pass the level; how many games you've played; a check box to see the hints; a play demo option and the menu. It is nice to see these all available in-game.

So there you have it. Please don't write this game off, because once you understand it, it really is a challenging game that can become quite addictive!

My thanks to RealApex for this offer AND for joining our community! We welcome you and hope that you also have other games planned to offer here so that we can review them for you. :)

Thanks again to GOTD for bringing us a puzzle game and please bring us MORE to review - I just love them! ;)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
~ Swan

#20: I've got no technical problems, it worked fine after the first crash. Never crashed again. This is a sign of a bug in the game. Since this is thought for the feedback for the developer this shouldn't go unmentioned.

The game itself is very well made; i like the idea of the different jewels having different reflection behaviour. There's nothing much to tell about it. It's a nice little puzzle game, with no real letdowns.

The main menu is not exactly clear on how to start the game. I had to look a bit on how to actually start a game; the quest and strategy button look like a label for the option. A hottip over the buttons would be great.

#16 (and some more) do you read what is written at top of comment posting ?
Please comment only the software here. If you have technical problems or suggestions on our project, please leave us a note in our forums.

THEY DONT CARE YOU CRASH ... btw if you crash on DDraw or Dsound try updating Directx

About this game,it can be played for free on flash everywhere (like yahoo games)
And about hints generally they are not good at all, they just indicate an available move but not the best move.

It's rather hard to explain how to play this game, but it's really pretty easy, even without the hint button. And even if you use the hint button, it's only going to show you one possible move, when there could be a lot more turns you can do to get more points.

Basically, I've been playing the Quest mode to get an idea of the game. I've found that each shape, the square, diamond (which is also a square, I know), and the triangle each reflect the laser in different directions. You have to make the laser go from shape to shape (of the same color), until it forms a chain, or all the shapes are linked together. A chain will have a minimum of 3 shapes, and the maximum has quite a few shapes in it.

When I start a game, I look at the board to see where a large amount of shapes the same color are located. For example, if there are about 10 red shapes together at the bottom of the board, I figure I can get a pretty good chain going with them. You might click and think that there's only one way to make a chain, but if you keep clicking and turning the shapes, you might get a whole lot more points with a longer chain.

The best way to learn the game is to turn off the hints and start turning and clicking the shapes. Pretty soon you'll figure out which way they turn and what you need to do to make a chain. There are times, though, towards the end of the game, where I have to use the hint to figure out which shape is the one I need to turn, but I click it off after I'm shown the first one to turn.

It is fun, and it is rather challenging, especially as the levels go higher and higher. I wasn't sure this was one I would really play or keep, but I'm enjoying it and enjoying figuring it out. Just take a few minutes without using the hints and see if you can make a chain, then try to make longer and longer chains. Or don't. Up to you. :-)

The computer plays the game for you. Just follow the active hint and you get it? Where is the game in that?

I enjoyed this game and it's definitely staying on my computer. For everyone complaining about the "hand holding", you DO realize you can turn it off, right? And the best way to learn to play is just by messing around with it. Turn a gem until it connects with another one, then turn that one until it connects to a third one, and so on until you link back to the first. If you get to a dead end, go back in the chain as far as you have to and see where else the gem could connect. The triangles shoot off the lasers at different angles than the squares.

Also, it is as challenging as you want it to be. You can make basic triangles without much effort, or you can challenge yourself to make much longer links.

The music, however, is terribly repetitive, though soothing. It is a good relaxation game.

8 of 10 points, I's say.

Nice made, the controls are almost a tad too complex. Also a typo: IMPESSIVE (ought to be IMPRESSIVE)

Crashed on the first start:

Exception: Access Violation (code 0xc0000005) at address 00412E9D in thread F28
Module: Shine.exe
Logical Address: 0001:00011E9D

00000F6C 00412E9D 0001:00011E9D Shine.exe
Params: 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000

StackWalk failed (error 0)

EAX:99966003 EBX:00000149 ECX:025160B0 EDX:01D6F190 ESI:024D2BD0 EDI:00000204
EIP:00412E9D ESP:0012FD70 EBP:00000F6C
CS:001B SS:0023 DS:0023 ES:0023 FS:003B GS:0000
Flags:00010202

Windows Ver: NT 5.1 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
DDraw Ver: 5.03.2600.2180
DSound Ver: 5.3.2600.2180

Product: Shine
Version: 1.0
Time Loaded: 00:00:02
Fullscreen: No
Primary ThreadId: F28

again activation problem

This game looked like it would be a good time waster. But, after playing with the game telling me what to do on every move, I had no idea of any logic to clicking the objects. Boring. Not fun. I most likely won't play again, unless I feel determined to figure out the purpose of clicking the objects.

As for those that post everyday that this is just the trial version, what a rip off....... I think it's best to leave them be. They obviously don't need to be roaming free. They could hurt themselves.

Is this at all like Bejeweled? It looks kind of like it. By the way, it looks like the hasn't lived up to its guarantee of hours of fun, according to these comments.

I thought this would be a challenging game because the discription mentioned their was an option to play the computer........since I like to be challenged. But, all I had to do was click on the 'turn"
gem and it pointed out the next and only move. My lack of interest in the first level prevented me from trying the next level. Can't wait for tomorrow's giveaway.

I like this game. At first I was rather confused, but after a few minutes of playing and using the "hand holding", I was able to turn off the Hints and go it without all the hints and clues. The game is different, and you have to know which way the shapes will turn so you can make longer chains to score more points.

Having played this game for over 45 minutes I am afraid I still do not know what on Earth is going on. There are no rules written anywhere that I can locate, the "Help" website page of the game just tells you the objective of the game - but I have tried to fathom out the purpose of "Turns" and cannot do so; I thought perhaps you had to have straight sides parallel to create a link but not so, some shapes join even when a straight side is parallel to a point. I just don't understand it (and usually pick up games rapidly) and whilst it is easy to follow commands and Turn and Click as prompted, I would have no idea even on the easiest level of the implications or purpose of doing this, nor which shapes to do so on, with the Hint feature turned off. As such it is difficult to give a full review but nevertheless I will try.

When I first saw it it reminded me of a board game I used to play as a child with my Mum called Strategy which I used to love so I was looking forward to Shine. The game installed seamlessly with pleasingly no extra advertising icons on the Desktop, Quick Launch Menu or Favourites folder. The game itself opens and, somewhat strange for the type of game, Medieval type music plays which can be turned off in Options. The board is nicely designed and the pieces are pretty. On creating a link, the links themselves sparkle creating a nice effect.

There is no rules button, you are thrown straight in to playing the game and whilst the "Hints" are on by default telling you what to do, these is NO help in demonstrating the rules or purpose of why you are doing what you are doing. I understand that you must join up different coloured shapes; that is where my understanding waned. There seems to me to be no corrolation to why you are turning what you are turning and clicking a nearby shape of the same colour often breaks the link that you have previously made. I'm afraid I just don't understand and for a puzzle game that seems relatively simple from looking at it I am in no doubt that the inclusion of a Help (or "Explanation"...) page would have stopped my confusion.

For those who don't like the Hint feature on telling you where to turn you can switch it off instantly by unticking the box to the right of the game board. There are little other buttons to press (although I do like the tinkling sound on mouse-over of the ones that are there) and so I am completely baffled by this game, I am sure the rules are very simple but I cannot make them out.

The settings from your previous game are remembered on your next visit but this is not a game that I would want to play again or spend much more time trying to figure out. It is a shame and I am sure the rules are very simple but if the developers could add in a rules page explaining Turning then I think it would be very helpful and the game playable.

$24.99, are they kidding.

Although I like this kind of games, this one can't fascinate me. So in a scale from 0-10 I give the program 4 points.

#3: run the activation program in the ZIP file that you have downloaded.

*yawn*..almost fell asleep playing the first level, most probably due to the soothing music...recommend for insomniac people...thanks anyways :)

I like this game. | Granted the "hand holding" is a bit much especially when it also has a tutorial, but it can be quite challenging trying to make lengthy chains for higher scores. And seriously people RTFRM I get so sick of comming in here and reading about how "its only a trial, it didn't activate" driving me freakin bananas.

This puzzle game doesn't seem fun with what seems to be hand holding even with the hint feature off. Without any timer and not having limits or penalty for mistakes it's too easy and just a trial by error play.

i love this site. but this game didnt have the activation code so now i only have 60 minutes

Not much instruction beyond "click" and "turn" Got boring quickly. I'll say no thanks to this one, but thanks GGOTD!

ok..a week of puzzle game :>..thanks GOTD