Tried this for a couple of weeks off an on-again and still keep hitting the same problem.

Can't seem to actually *find* anything because, it seems that it's just not "there"....

It might be just some weird graphical error (my vid card's a GTX260)but, I thought, at first that the first level (screen whatever)would clear whatever bug it was that I was dealing with so, I took some time to keep randomly clicking on areas and waiting for ye old "dumb luck"... Granted, it eventually got me through that first level but- it seems to keep going on.

Now, I've *done* more HOGs than I can count but I still can't seem to even remotely *see* whatever it is that I'm supposed to be finding here- even *with* the hint button- which tells me that something is up with my graphics that other cards just can't be creating....


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

Hi Girltroll, if you've got problems try posting in the game discussion forums over n the giveaway forums. you'll probably get help from the regulars. Once a giveaway is over its likely only me and the developer who gave the game away will see the comment.

Its a nice game. Again, I'd like to be able to adjust the time before the twinkling star hints automatically begin.

I did find a *bug* in the card matching, almost at the end of the game.

In the second level of matching cards, twice I got got cards where the last two cards did not match. I think the bug was it didn't deal two of the cards (I didn't start with a rectangle of cards).

I went to the menu and "resumed" the game twice, and on my third attempt the cards all matched up so I was able to continue with the game and complete it.

So thumbs up, but one bug and one suggestion for improvement.


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

Thank you Keith.

It is a nice game, but in the hidden object games it gives hints too quickly. There should be an a user setting to adjust the time before the twinkling hint appears after the last successful selection.

I normally enjoy hidden object games but this one had several flaws that made it MUCH less than enjoyable.
First...the 'objects' were in many cases almost TINY and even when they were identifiable they were often incorrectly labelled.
Secondly and MORE annoying for me were the CONSTANT 'flashing' hints....often so frequent and soon after finding the last one that it became a game of find the object before the hint spoils it for you.
The normal practice in these games is to ONLY have limited and time-sensitive hints....not UNLIMITED and UNASKED for ones.
Played several levels but would not pay ANYTHING for this poor wannabee.


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

Thank you for your feedback

Hi Whiterabbit:

I come to GGOTD all the time,I look forward to your reviews of the games.They
Influence me if I will download it or not.Please keep up the good reviews.

Irish

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

Due to popular demand I will continue to post game suggestions. :)

@6 (WhiteRabbit and Eric) > I'm not sure whether this is positive or negative to the developers of the games, but it is helpful information that you have been supplying, and from your statements I was unsure if the "tips" would still be available in the forum, or if you would omit writing them altogether?

Also, I wanted to thank/congratulate games.GOTD for having a different game 2 days in a row, and further for having another developer yesterday besides only Alawar.

I will pass on this game (as I don't much like HOG's), but I do admire the graphics from the screenshots. And generally when I do play a HOG, I prefer hunting items that are subtly hidden in the screen, rather than simply strewn in a pile of junk. It did sound like a nice price, and it's nice to have a game for the younger HOG gamers/children as well... but do try and provide difficulty options for the adults. Thanks.



......................................Modertor..................................

Thank you for the feedback

thank you for the game...and the advice, but i'm still having the same problem with installing. (failure to create render window.)
i have the most updated DirectX, etc. and am using Windows XP 3 with all current updates.
i did a search and it seems to be a C++ problem, but i don't know enough to fix this.
i'd still like to resolve the problem even if i don't get the game if anyone has any suggestions.
thank you all very much!


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

Try reinstalling Visual C++

You can find it on Microsofts website:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=5555 (32bit)

or

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=14632 (64bit)

Installed fine on Win 7/64 Home. I'm happy to have a new hidden object game, no matter how easy it might be. I play to relax so don't need frustration.

I play in window mode instead of full screen, where many of the items are downright teensy, plus it's hard to see object outlines such as where you match the insects to the jars.

I never read stories, so I'd prefer to just click a button to skip the whole thing rather than having to hold down the mouse button and wait. The sparkles did display too soon, however it was even more annoying to have bits of the story and reminders intruding on every little step of the game, requiring me to click a next button.

I'm happy that I could turn off the music and lower the sound effects. As always, I wish the sound wouldn't be turned on and blasting by default. I hate that games blast so loud while they're loading, then make me enter my name before I can get to the options screen to shut off the music. I'm always listening to podcasts or have the TV on and the interruption is annoying.

I probably won't play this one as much as some others, simply because it's so hard on my eyes, but it will be good for a change now and then.

Thanks Alawar and GGOTD.

......................................Modertor..................................


Thank you for the feedback

Had the same issue as #9. When you first launch the game, if you run in windowed mode, the bottom of the screen where all the hidden objects are does not appear. If you switch to full screen then switch back again to windowed mode, the bottom does appear. You have to do this each time you launch the app. Seems to be a bug with the way the screen is rendering.

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

Sounds like a scaling problem or maybe your screen resolution isn't set to the native resolution for this game. How much system and graphics RAM do you have? It may also be a memory problem.

I had exactly the same problem as S^RGE — the layer(s) that had the objects did not display at all. Got through the first level by persistently clicking all over the screen at random... then the second level had the same problem. Hidden objects?? Looks like nonexistent objects --- time to delete.



......................................Modertor..................................

Thank you for the feedback Steve, try updating your drivers and Direct X.

Hi,
I did not have any problems downloading. It did not give shortcut etc. when opened, so can create. The game played okay. A little tightness with the pointer. I have to agree with others about the sizing. Full size is only half really and the items are very small. Don't mind having to hunt, but do want to see them.
Otherwise a fine game.
Thank you again!


......................................Modertor..................................

Thank you for the feedback.

After reading all the comments, I had begun to think that the game was a bit of a stinker, but tried it anyway because it was from Alawar - and I've come to trust their games.

So I decided to download the software and played for the following hour. I came to the simple conclusion that this is a child's HOG. When viewed in that light, the game is great for kids, not too difficult with a plethora of sparkle hints to keep them interested in progressing.

If anything, it's a nice introduction to HOG games for children - the crowd that doesn't need glasses ... lol :)

I'd like to see a slider in the options, varying the speed of the hints, so that you could make the time longer in between, as the child improved with the game.

IF this is a junior's game, I give it 8/10. Points still taken off for the speed of the sparkle hints and the items hidden against backgrounds (same color).

<IF this is meant to be an adult game. Sadly it fails for all the reasons aforementioned in this comment section.

Regardless, thank you Alawar for always being with us, and thank you Stephen for all the time you put into the project for us, to ensure that we have a pleasurable gaming experience. xx ;)
~ Swan


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


Thanks for your review Swan.

Must be a bug in the game but I never saw any "sparkles"! I waited five minutes on the first "Sunken Ship" screen where you had to find ten gold objects. I didn't even see ANY objects! I just clicked randomly around the screen until it said I found them! XP SP3. No hints either. I guess part of the game didn't load? Had to delete. Been playing HOG games many years and never came across this before?!

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

Thank you for your feedback.

Installer will not connect to game.giveawayoftheday.com. I can manually connect to that site.


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


Please check the FAQ's section over in the Game discussion forums. you'll find a link to it in the problems section of my review.

@ Ann, #26. I had trouble with the red gem also and finally figured out that, rather than placing the gem itself on the holder, you have to put the point of the curser right in the opening and click. At least that worked for me; hope it does for you too.


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

Thank you for your feedback Stephanie

My eyes, my eyes! Too many tiny objects. My eyes were hurting trying to see them, and I have a reasonably sized screen.

I downloaded this with no trouble (Windows XP) and played for about 20 minutes but got very fed up with the sparkling hidden object hints. It wasn't so bad with the early screen underwater - in fact, that was good fun and quite tricky to find the bits of the objects. The problem came with the first list of objects to be found, where the sparkling started before I'd even assimilated the picture - let alone read the list of objects. It really takes all the fun out of a HOG (it's an annoying "help" that has made me delete a game a few times before).

Otherwise, so far as I got before I deleted, the graphics were lovely and the music very atmospheric. The cursor was a bit cumbersome and it did require quite precise clicking on the bits of the hidden objects in the early scene - could be a bit difficult for a young child or someone who isn't too dexterous. It's a great pity about the sparkling "helps" as I'd have loved to have continued with the game as it otherwise looked very promising.


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


Thank you for your feedback Margaret. Much appreciated. Maybe alawar will take note and update the game so that you can turn off the sparkle hints.

Wow! I put 5 spaces between each of the words for emphasis, and the blog software remove them all. !?!?!?!
So I'll try bolding, just so everyone sees it:
There are over 1000 free games in the GOTD forums.

and there are groupings by type.

Anyone who doesn't go over there but waits for small lists from Whiterabbit here are just cheating themselves.

No offense, of course, WR.


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

No offence taken Watcher. I usually direct the community over to the forums as a matter of course. the games i usually post at the end of the review are the ones that are currently on sale or have just been posted as part of the Good Games to Grab Project. You can guarantee there's always going to be some games on a deal. also since 2010 there have been indie game bundles available virtually all the time in one form or another. for those who don't own many games they are brilliant bargains, especially the pay what you want deals. Most of the bundles now come with some minor restrictions to stop those 'cheapskates' offering just a few cents for games often worth as much as $100.

As for the spacing, I know, it's quite frustrating at times as I'd like to improve the look of my reviews by including indented spaces (there are some available. but only centralizing and a single tab, I'd also like to be able to create double or triple line spacing between sections as well.

Sorry, cannot review this game. By what I've played so far I mainly agree with the suggestion to turn off the sparkle hints, or at least delay them longer. Basically, as said above, you just sit around and wait. I don't find it a engaging experience when a game essentially plays itself. Other than that, it has potential. Music is slightly better than average - and I definitely mean that as a compliment - though I would have tried a little more to hide that "synthesizer" type sound to it. Although I realize that getting electronic based music to sound like acoustic instruments does take significant extra effort.

Anyway, the reason I can't review it is that I'm using a very antiquated CRT monitor on it's last legs. It's from the 90s and has lost much of it's brightness, so even maxing all it's settings and my video card settings, the screen's too dark for me to see many of the pieces, especially in the murky setting of the ship. Couldn't even see the sparkles on the ship page and had to mostly combine blind clicking with use of the amulet. If there'd been a clicking penalty, I'd have never finished. Lol! Been out of work for awhile and the only reason I have a good system is that some intermediate owner threw out a 5 year old custom gaming machine without realizing what they had. Still, I suspect the game is a keeper, so I'll keep it until I get a better monitor.

As to the comment above about the additional game lists, I feel I was premature in one sense. I think I should have suggested, WR, that you just ask the GOTD folks about it. If they've never gotten bad feedback about you talking about other games, then they probably won't care. I don't know if they like the lists others post on the main site, but probably don't want to moderate those that strictly. If they don't care, then you should do as you see fit.

The thing I don't understand is why so many don't take advantage of our forums. They full of interesting people and interesting topics and Whiterabbit and his collaborators have posted over 1000 free games. Let me repeat that with emphasis:
Over 1000 free games are posted on the forum pages.
Right on the front page is the "Free Games Synopsis" sticky with a huge list. I don't know if people are afraid of the forums or what. You can read everything and download everything withough registering and if you do register so you can share your opinions, let me say I have never once gotten any unsolicited e-mail from GOTD in over 3 years. People who won't click one button to go there but complain about the lack of a relatively small list here are just cheating themselves. In fact, WR and the folks have a new game thread literally every week. They're currently on week 171, lol.

As to the "failed to render windows error", as Whiterabbit said, it's a video error and out of date DirectX is one of the causes. You should also try different screen resolutions and also experiment with using you're video card controls to try various monitor screen resolutions. These have also been known to occasionally solve this problem. It happens occasionally with older software. Windows implemented new protocols several years ago with the introduction of .net framework. The idea was to get rid of the dreaded "blue screen of death". The BSODs were caused by the older method of coding - basically Visual Basic - trying to communicate directly with the cpu and video card without screening the commands through windows. This is so illegal instructions can be screened out. It's difficult for a developer to come up with instructions that match the wide variety of cpus and video cards out there, but they're reluctant to throw out all their old code and adopt the .net protocols. You rarely get bsods any more, but old code can cause other problems like this one, including games that won't launch and "runtime" errors.


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


As always thank you for your feedback Watcher. It's always appreciated.

There are over 2000 games posted in the forums now. The Free games synopsis needs updating as I've not added any games since week 100 (apart from a few). I keep preparing lists of games using the appropriate coding via a word document . I like to sort at least a hundred games before adding them to the synopsis as it tends to save time if I've got them arranged alphabetically. It means less jumping around opening closing and reopening the same letters. Trouble is, before I reach that number the document tends to get moved and then lost. My housekeeping is atrocious. I have folders named 'To Sort' nested amongst more folders named 'To Sort', that are then copied over to external drives for backup. Since January I've been trying to sort all my external and internal hard drives as well as DVD's and now blue Rays (I started backing up to 25GB Blue Ray discs since getting a Blue Ray reader/writer, deleting duplicates from the hard drives and sorting out all my games and applications. but it's a long tedious job. I've got over 20TB on my external and internal hard drives, so you can imagine the work involved sorting it all out. I'm tryng to categorise everything, so that all my games and applications can be found on specific external drives. I recently purchased a decent database program that allows me to scan all of my hard drives and DVD's. It's made it much easier to find everything. I've been cataloguing DVD's for several weeks now and still have hundreds to go. I've found games and programs I'd totally forgotten about, including games that I've ended up purchasing twice because I'd forgotten I had them.

Installed fine on W7 nice graphics, good instructions. dont really need the hint button with all the sparkles - they come too quick which is a bit of a spoiler. As someone else said, a magnifying glass for some of the items would be a great idea


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

I actually had to use a real magnifying glass as it was late at night and my eyes were fading fast. :)

It is an okay game but for a HOG some of the object are much too small for those of us with less than perfect vision. I wasn't particularly fond of the locate the hidden "button" and it didn't show anything but a small square of the background you had to locate. That might be more interesting if you could enlarge the square to see what the features of the background section are. As others brought up, there is no penalty for multiple clicks in the wrong area.

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

Thank you for your feedback. I agree with you on the background squares. I was able to find several based on color, but the last few were only found due to the sparkle.

I do hope Alawar take note of the suggestions made by the community. This game could be so much better with the changes suggested. They could include a poor eyesight mode where the squares are larger. ;-)

I think they should also get rid of the ads and toolbar checkboxes during installation. Its put me off purchasing more of their games (I have at least 40 or so of their games)

I love all the games from Alawar...this one I am torn on though. I loved the graphics, story, music. I am not super fond of hidden object games but wanted to give this one a try. The thing that really ruins it is the fact that you cannot turn of the hints with the sparkles. It is really too fast! There will be a time I am looking for something and I see a glimmer out of the corner of my eye....I don't want to have my hand held. Sure the will be times where I need a hint, but not like this. Like when placing the bugs in the jar, to have it go from one to the next right away takes the fun out of the game. I wish there was a way to turn that off.

I would have given this game a much higher score, but it just ruins it for me. I am truly sorry. I have bought many games from this company.

White Rabbit, I love all you do for us here! I know how hard it is when you are having to deal with chronic pain, on your good days where they are so few, you want to do things with your family so I wanted you to know how much I really appreciate everything and I do hope you bring back the comments about other games...there are times when I want to find something similar, I come here first! Have a great day!

Thank you Game Giveaway and Alawar!!


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

Thank you for your feedback and well wishes. I will continue to post alternatives here from next week. If you like games like Rollercoaster tycoon, check out todays 24hr deal on Steam called Rollercoaster Rampage:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/209610/

I can't make up my mind if I like this one enough to keep it or not.

I like these kinds of games but this one seems a little boring so far. I agree that some of the hidden items are too small. I haven't tried the magnifying glass yet but maybe I will. I also agree that it takes too long to recharge the talisman in the lower right corner.

I'm not real good at this or probably any other type of game but I can usually find enough to keep me interested.

When I upgraded to Windows 7X64 Pro, most of my games disappeared. There's only one so far that is similar to one that got lost. Not complaining though. The folks who create and develop these games aren't getting much monetary compensation for all of their hard work when they offer their games for free.

I also agree with number 6 even though I see your point in wanting to relocate those kinds of comments.

Thanks to all who offer these games and to you Whiterabbit for doing such a great job. I pray that you and your family are well.

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

Thank you for your feedback and well wishes.

I couldn't get the red gem to sit in its holder whatever I did so I've had to give up before I've hardly got going. Shame.

I am having problems unzipping the game to get it to set up. It shows that it is trying to save the game in windows 32 bit and even when I change where to save it, it gives me the error message that the code is damaged or the download is damaged.

I have windows 7 64 bit.

Any suggestions on how to correct the issues? I have tried 3 different time to download and still have the same problem

Thanks for the help,
Terri



...................................Moderator Comments...........................


Check the FAQ's section that I've linked to near the end of my review.

I enjoy the variety this game has to offer, but there are several things I dislike as already pointed out by others. The flash hints come way too soon (it's flashing an object before I have even finished reading the list!). I haven't decided if I like the objects being shown in their environment vs just showing the object. The environment shot helps when you can't find the object, but it is almost overwhelming when you first look at the list of pictures and you can't quickly discern what it is you are looking for. I do like the rounds where you find the location vs find the object as a variation. I think children will enjoy collecting the insects and putting them in their place. The biggest drawback is the flash hints as already noted. Giving us the option to turn those off or change it so that you have to click the amulet (or something) to get a hint would be appreciated.



...................................Moderator Comments...........................


Thank you for your feedback

Game is alright, graphics are not very good, took alot of random clicking to find some of the items. Finished the game in 2 hours, would rate this a 4 out of 10 as I love this type of game but this one definetly is on the bottom of the scale. Larger Items would be useful espicially if your eyesite isn't tht good., played and uninstalled with no desire to repeat it.

Wow, thanks! This is an older game, but not a bad one. I've played the demo, but never bought it - so today is my lucky day! I rarely pay money for straight HO games anymore, or even mostly HO games. Tired of them, and suffer through the HO scenes to get to puzzles, adventuring and minigames.

Most developers put skip buttons on the minigames, which is good for people who like HO, but I wish they would put skips on the HO scenes as well, for those of us who only like the puzzle parts!

love this game - no hints - but, you can look for the 'sparkle'

Downloaded fine with Windows 7. I made an icon on the desktop to play. I really like HOGs. Thank you for the game.

I didn't get very far with this (mainly because I have other things to do today) but so far it seems to be quite a good game. The graphics are good, and the price is reasonable for such a game. If I have time, I'll comment more later today or in a few days.

WR, when do the providers of the games read the comments. Specifically, if I came back to this page and commented tomorrow would that be too late?



...................................Moderator Comments...........................



Hi DocSid,

The comments remain open 24/7. I really can't say when developers bother to read the comments. It would be nice to get some feedback from them, if only to let the community know that they were listening. I'd err on the positive side and assume they do check back to see if any comments are posted later.

This game is not much of a challenge once you realize all you have to do is ....nothing....after 10 to 15 seconds one of the hidden pieces will emit a golden flash revaling its location. Click on it...Then merely wait another 10 to 15 seconds and the next piece will flash. Repeat....
Whiterabbit already pointed this out i realize and he additionally pointed out that this cannot be turned off- but i did not realize how much it ruins the game until i observed that all you have to do is merely sit back and wait for the flash. This turns an otherwise good game into a wait and watch game which is hardly interesting.
The developer really needs to include an option to turn that off.
Other than that...thanks for the game and, as always, thanks for your helpful interactive comments Whiterabbit.

...................................Moderator Comments...........................


I agree with you on the ability to turn thh indicator off. I to think it spoils an otherwise good game.

Thanks for comments. Ok Win 7 x64. Not a total full screen w/ side bands but plenty full. Make shortcut using Send to Desktop method.
Loads & plays fast iCore 7. Glad to see plays on Win 8 in case I do decide to try that - but reviews of kb & mouse only don't seem too promising saying touch is better way. But who can afford a 24" touch. Table version RT s/w won't play legacy apps? What's with that.
Game built in tips are nice for a casual HOG player. The hint ball in corner did seem to take a longer hat usual reload time.
Keeper for me 8.5/10 for regular game player. HOG people different?

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

Thanks for your comment Beergas

Sorry, but without minigames, it would be good...

Ok, now that I've gotten past the first level, windowed mode seems to work just fine. Don't know what happened there!

Downloaded and installed fine on Win7 32bit HOme Premium. The graphics are great! The hidden object and small games are good, too. The sound is good. Came on a bit louder than expected, but I just turned it down. Overall I would give this game a 7 out of 10.

if using winzip you can just use the unzip and install or unzip and try options in the tooltab for a succesful installation.
thanks GGOTD and Alawar for the game :)

Works fine under Win7 Ultimate and in FULL screen *yay*

Thank you very much!

Downloaded and installed fine on Win7 64bit. Only played the first level some but find the objects a bit challenging to find due to the size of them. A magnifying glass you say? Hmmm that'll be my next move. :) The graphics though nice are not as clear and crisp as some of the HOG I've played. Still, a nice game to spend some down time with. Thanks Alawar and GGOTD for another keeper!

suki, you saying then the game can not be completed ? because we will not be able to find all objects ?


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

I think Suki was saying (in her first comment) that she had difficulty finding all of the object, but I was able to find them using a magnifying glass (honestly); but that was only becasue my eyes tend to blur a lot these days when I'm tired.

I tried to play this in windowed mode and really struggled to find anything; eventually I realised it's because it wasn't showing the entire screen, and wasn't in fact showing any of the hidden items. Not sure if that's just me, but I tried reinstalling and still got the same problem. This is on Windows 7.

At first I thought everything was just really well hidden!


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

Hi Satu, I checked the game in windowed mode and the only difference I saw between the full screen and windowed mode was the windowed mode was smaller. Everything seen in full screen was also seen in windowed mode.

Thanks so much! :-)

Not a bad game but sure is a test for these old eyes.

Thanks GOTD and Alawar.:)

Sad to see you quit posting game tips here. I have a slightly different take on whether this is fair to developers or not. First of all I get here from the main giveaway site and if the very brief description of the game in the top corner does not interest me, I won't even click on it except for the fact that I am interested in these tips provided by the Wabbit. In the process of scrolling down to see these tips I do read some about the game and see screenshots and ads for other games from the developer. On several occasions this process interested me enough in the game that I decided to try it anyway, though initially I was not interested enough to even come to this page for the game alone.
My point is that your fantastic game tips draw more visitors to this page, and I think that benefits both the site and the developers.


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

Thanks for your feedback Eric. I didn't realize they were so popular. I'll reconsider my decision. :)

The descision was partly based on what Watcher said yesterday.

Installed and runs ok in Windows 8.

@TADLEM

"i’ve downloaded and extracted this twice (as per the read-me file) and when i try to open the game, i get an error message that says “failed to create render window”. i’ve never had any problem before downloading and installing GOTD games. any suggestions, please?
thanks!"

I just downloaded and opened the game and I had no problem! I had 3 different browsers open, was downloading another game on one and I am running a 6 year old Dell with XP!

It would help if you said what OS you are using...


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

Thanks Suki. :)

i've downloaded and extracted this twice (as per the read-me file) and when i try to open the game, i get an error message that says "failed to create render window". i've never had any problem before downloading and installing GOTD games. any suggestions, please?
thanks!


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


Try updating Direct X and/or your graphics drivers. If neither of those sort the proble, check the FAQ's section over in the Game discussion forums. I've linked to the thread in my review above.

Hi Whabbit!

As I recall this was an alright game. I played it from SW, but I don't think I was able to collect all the items you see in screen shot 2.

Since I don't have enough games to play(right!), I am downloading and my thanks to GOTD and Alawar!

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

Hi suki, thanks.

In Brief:

Todays game is a Hidden Object game (HOG) that has excellent graphics and loads of different mini games.
An ideal HOG for beginners and older children.

Installation:



1001 Nights The Adventures Of Sindbad zip file once downloaded should be 38.6Mb in size and when installed to the default path mentioned below. The installed game is 38.8Mb in size.

Installation is a breeze; the unzipped setup file installs 1001 Nights The Adventures Of Sindbad to the following path:

C:\program files (x86)\Alawar\1001 Nights The Adventures Of Sindbad

Once installed you can delete the wrapped setup file (for those that are new to the giveaway project that's the orange colored file with a key symbol on the icon); you can also delete the Setup.gcd security file and the read me document.

There is no shortcut installed so make a note of where the game is installed to. To delete the game just delete the game file (there's no uninstaller included with the giveaway version.

Introduction:

You might have heard about the exploits of Sindbad the Sailor, but do you know how he met his one true love and saved her from a fate worse than death? Now you can find out as you become the legend in this new hidden object adventure!
Help Princess Chalida locate the seven gems of her royal crown and break the curse that has trapped her in a body of wood. Find hidden objects, identify specific spots in each scene and overcome powerful guardians as you seek out the precious stones. Along the way, you'll have to solve dozens of clever riddles and beat eight challenging mini-games. Before you're through, you'll find a crystal in the heart of a volcano, outsmart a scheming ice god and defeat a raging sea demon, all in the name of adventure!

Reference: accessed HERE 27th Oct 2012

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Game:

While not one of the better hidden-object games (HOGs) to debut in 2009, Alawar's 1001 Nights: The Adventures Of Sindbad is a decent adventure for younger players or those new to the HOG genre. Seasoned players, however, might find this digital download simply too easy.

The fictitious story surrounds Sindbad the Sailor, his amazing adventures and how he met (and saved) his true love. Inspired by the adventures penned in 1001 Arabian Nights, this enjoyable tale includes many wild locations, monsters and supernatural foes. In the game, you must help Princess Chalida locate the seven gems of her royal crown in order to break an ancient curse that has trapped her in a wooden body.

Fans of HOGs will immediately pick up on the game mechanics: players will see a busy scene and a number of objects to find it in it. Listed at the bottom of the screen will be words -- such as "goblet," "13," "squirrel" or "3 carrots" -- and when you've found the objects in the environment you must click on them to make them disappear. There is no timer in this game, nor is there a penalty for clicking incorrectly too many times. If you need a hint, you can click to see where an item is hiding, but you'll need to wait two or three minutes before using it again.

But there are a few main problems with 1001 Nights when it comes to the HOG component. For one, the objects are just too easy to find. In fact, I've found you don't even need to look at the bottom of the screen for the list of objects as there aren't many to begin with, plus they usually stand out in some way (i.e. more colorful than the background) and there is no penalty for clicking incorrectly. I can clear about 75 percent of the objects without even looking at one word. Not good.

Secondly, in order to give players a hint, random objects you need to find in the scene glisten for a moment -- and there's no way to turn that off in the Options menu. Third, a small beef of mine with some HOGs is when the items have nothing to do with the locations, and 1001 Nights is no exception -- so expect to look for a clothespin in a shipyard, a digital camera in the desert and a kettle underwater.
Some of the twists on the classic HOG formula are more enjoyable, though, such as using your mouse like a flashlight, placing colorful gems back into the scene in order to create a magical effect or solving riddles instead of reading the name of the object. An example of the latter include "It gives light and warmth but you can't look at it" (the sun) or "It has eight appendages but it's not a spider" (a lobster).
The eight different kinds of mini-games are also somewhat enjoyable, such as a jigsaw puzzle, "traffic jam"-style sliding puzzle, match insects to its silhouette, and so on. But they're far too easy and you can skip these, too.

1001 Nights isn't a complete mess -- in fact, I enjoyed the Arabic music, storyline and nearly 30 locations -- but when it comes to the game play (the most important thing) this is merely an average diversion. Perhaps if the game was more challenging and if the developer threw in a few unique touches it would be easier to justify the purchase, but as it stands now it's only ideal for younger or novice gamers looking for a simple HOG to sink their mouse into.

Reference accessed HERE

General Tips (no spoilers):

• The main character’s name is Sindbad, not Sinbad.
• The Hidden Object scenes are of several different types. You may get a Find List with the name of the objects, pictures of the objects where you have to find the pieces of them, plain silhouettes, or riddles.
• Some Hidden Object scenes are location searches rather than object searches. You must identify what part of the scene matches a small thumbnail picture on the Find List. When you click in that spot, you will be awarded an object, even though you never see that object in the scene itself.
• There is no timer.
• The game autosaves automatically.
• Whenever you leave in the middle of a Hidden Object scene, you will come back to that exact point when you return, a nice feature.
• The game offers a fancy cursor. If you’d prefer to use your regular cursor, you can turn off the fancy cursor on the OPTIONS menu.
• Whenever you are dragging something into a scene, click when you have the tip of the cursor positioned where you want the object to go. Don’t worry about the image of the object itself, which may be an inch or more away from the end of the cursor. (This tip will make sense once you start playing the game. If you’re trying to put something into the scene but it just won’t “stick” when you click it, you’re probably trying to position the object itself, rather than paying attention to the tip of the cursor.)
• There is a Magic Amulet in the lower right corner. When you click on it, one of the items in the scene (or one of the locations for a location search) will be marked with a colored ring.
• You get an unlimited number of hints, but you have to wait for the Amulet to recharge each time.
• There are bonus insects in most of the scenes. When you collect the insects and place them in the holding jars on the Bridge, you power up the Amulet so that it will recharge faster. The more insects you collect, the less time you have to wait between hints.
• Different scenes have different numbers of optional insects. If you don’t find the insect the first time you visit the location, it will still be there if you come back. You will visit most locations 2 or 3 times.
• The game also provides free sparkle hints in some scenes.
• There are no hints for the mini-games, but you can skip them at any time.
• Some of the bonus insects are awarded for successful completion of the mini-games, so if you skip the mini-games, you can’t collect as many insects. There is no other penalty for skipping a mini-game.
• You may return to the Bridge anytime you see the BRIDGE button in the upper left. If the Map is active, you won’t be able to drag insects across it, but you can click on an insect, then drag it around the edge of the screen and put it in its jar. Then just click on the PLAY button in the lower right of the Bridge scene to return to the location you just left.
• Note that the game does not allow you to return to the Bridge after the credits, so you will not be able to place your final set of insects in jars unless you go to the Bridge before you complete all the actions at the end of the game.
• Fun Tip: when you’re on the Ship’s Bridge, watch Chalida’s face closely.

Reference accessed HERE Oct 2012

Video & Images:



You can see video of game play HERE and HERE

You can also see loads of images HERE (The slideshow button is disabled at the moment as its in beta).


Walkthrough:


HERE

HERE

Conclusion:

Despite the average review from Gamezebo (see 'The Game' section above) I actually enjoyed playing the game yesterday. There was a good mix of different hidden object types for example finding bits of several objects, silhouettes and normal objects as well as solving riddles and several mini-games such as matching pairs, pipes, picture jumble, find the difference, jewel match, follow the sequence and slider puzzles. Ye game looked decent and as far as I played there were no bugs. I did find some of the objects, especially when looking for bits of an object quite hard, but i think that had more to do with my failing eye sight. I would say that the glistening hints helped too much and made the game a little too easy, but as I'm not really that into HOG's it wasn't a problem for me. I'd suggest the developer included a toggle for turning off the hints. This is an ideal HOG for newcomers to the genre or for younger children, whose acuity is much better than a middle aged adult like me :)

Overall I'd score this a 7 out of 10

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I've decided to stop posting game tips here in the comments section as its unfair to the developer of the day. you can find all of the games I usually link to over in the Game discussion forums HERE

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Problems:

If you have any problems with the game, either installation issues or getting the game to work check out the FAQ's section over in the Game discussion forums. you can find it HERE



In response to the following problem that some users experienced last time this game was given away i.e. w.r.t. Netbooks and problems with resolution, Markus posted a possible fix via registry editing. He said the following:

"If you install the latest Intel GFX driver and
1) Run regedit2) Search and modify all values “Display1_DownScalingSupported” from “0″ to “1″3) Restart the system
New resolution 1024×768 will be available then.#"

If you are posting requests for help late in the day I would suggest posting in the main giveaway forums in the game Game Discussion . 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). It’s always worth checking out the free games sites as sometimes the games we get here are also available for free from them as well.




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