Battle of the Pucks

The goal is simple: propel your pucks so they ram your opponent's pucks out of the board! And whenever you score — drive theirs off but don't lose any of your own — you get to push again! It's an addictive blend of air hockey, curling, shuffleboard, pool... and even checkers (the "Chapayev" checkers game popular in Russia).

• Realistic "pucks on ice" physics

• Play against another human (on the same device) or against an AI — or, watch two AIs battle each other

• 100 play boards, 10 unlockable levels

• Four AI difficulty settings, the default being Adaptive AI — the game senses your strengths and plays to match

• Customizable colors

• Various records kept for review

• Your best shots are recorded — and can be replayed

The rules are simple, but it takes time to master the skill of propelling your pucks with the exact force and direction. And it takes strategy and foresight to not only score but create positions that are difficult for your opponent!

There are three modes in the game:

• You can play against the computer's AI (Artificial Intelligence). It is, by default, intelligent enough to sense how well you play and adapt its own foresight and precision accordingly (Adaptive AI) so it's never boringly silly or prohibitively strong but just right for you. You can, however, also set it to a fixed strength (Easy, Medium, Strong, Insane) by going into the Options (use the menu at bottom).

• You can play against another human being — on the same device (network play is planned for a future version). Just push your pieces in turns and see who wins! The game enforces the rules (i.e. won't let you push when it's your opponent's move).

• Or, you can watch two AIs (one is usually slightly stronger than the other) battle each other — endlessly! Admire their sheer power, peek into the yet-unlocked levels, and learn new techniques!

In Version 4, the game has 100 play boards — divided into 10 levels, 10 boards per level. Initially you can only play the first level, but when you finish it AND your play strength is sufficient, level 2 gets unlocked so you can continue. Subsequent levels are progressively more difficult to unlock, and their boards become more difficult too. In advanced levels, the board can be non-rectangular (even non-convex!), the pucks are of different sizes/weights with varying friction, then walls and obstacles appear — so you'll have to come up with new strategies and new ways to play.

The game not only keeps an eye on how well you play: it records it for your review. On the Records page (use the menu at bottom), you can always check your highest unlocked level, your current play strength (as a percentage), the number of boards you won with a star (that is, without losing a piece and without even giving a move to your opponent) and other fun stats about your gameplay. You can also replay the three best shots you have ever fired — make your friends admire your most crushing, most precise, and most against-all-odds shots!

Finally, in Options you can choose one of the several color schemes, set the level of difficulty for the AI opponent, and enable/disable the sound.

Have fun!