Tip Tap Monsters Review

Combining the sensibilities of Mahjong with cute and colorful monsters, Tip Tap Monsters is a fairly pleasant game to play. It's not exactly overly taxing, and could probably offer some more varied elements, but sometimes simplicity does the job well enough.

Each level consists of a series of block-shaped monsters of different colors and looks. Players must match up two at a time in order to clear the board. Invoking the Mahjong side of things, one can only use blocks that are opened up (i.e. that aren't underneath or between other blocks). It's a simple concept but still requires one to think a couple of moves ahead to ensure that they don't run out of moves. It's possible to shuffle the board once, as well as use one hint in a stage, but that's it so it's wise to use such help infrequently.

Stars are awarded depending on the speed in which one finishes a level but these don't actually go towards anything other than a sense of achievement. Instead, new level bundles are unlocked through an in-app purchase of $1.99, with the first 10 levels available for free. While the general concept remains the same throughout, I certainly enjoyed my time enough to be tempted to spend the money to buy the remaining levels.

There's a sense that Tip Tap Monsters is very much aiming to be a casual affair for young and old, especially given that it's possible to switch off the timer to feel more relaxed. I'd have liked to have seen the addition of power-ups or some kind of further twist on the format, but as a change to the usual Mahjong format, Tip Tap Monsters is still pretty entertaining. At least for a little while.