Swap

A puzzle game was something new for Microïds, who had previously developed and published mainly racing games. They did a good job. Swap is not easy (but what French puzzle game ever was?), but it offers a truly original concept, executed with very well done graphics.

Reviews and Links

• CPC Game Reviews

  Puzzle games don't come much harder than this one! You're given a board of several colours of either squares, triangles or hexagons, and you have to clear all of them from the board by swapping them and matching the colours up. The difficulty depends on how many colours there are, the shape of the tiles, and whether or not there is a time limit. How well you complete one level determines which level you'll go on to next, so it's never the same game twice! The whole game is extremely well-presented, and the icon-based menu system looks stunning. You'll get frustrated, but with the option to save and load the game as well as a multiple undo system, this is a great game for all of us intellectuals.

• Amiga Reviews

  Swap is a belter of a game, smartly presented, with functional graphics and some excellent samples of smashing plates. Every time a number of shapes disappear, one of several crockery breaking sounds escapes from the Amiga, which is highly amusing if you think of the lengths that the programmers must have gone to get such samples.

• Home of the Underdogs

  This one is one from the more tougher category. You'll have to clear a board made-up of coloured tiles (squares, triangles or hexagons) by swapping them and matching them up with tiles of the same color. In Swap you progress in levels. How well you complete one level determines which level you will play next. The difficulty is mainly set by the shape of the tiles, time-limit and the number of different colors. Overall, a quite unique game, and a good change from Infogrames' 7 Color and typical tile-matching games. Be warned of the *very* high difficulty level, though—recommended for puzzle experts who are not afraid of going blind from staring at hundreds of tiles on the computer screen ;)

• Swap on PC98 Images. In 1993, Swap was ported to the NEC PC-9801 and published by Ecseco Soft.