Doku Deluxe – I’d like mine with a side of fries and a shake, please!

Note: This guide is adapted from the Doku Deluxe guide that I wrote for Winster. (To be honest, re-editing mainly consisted of adding smiley faces back in. ^_^) The “Final Rating” section is completely my opinion and is not endorsed by Winster in any way.

Doku Deluxe is a simplified version of Sudoku, and it’s available only at Winster! If you’re familiar with Sudoku then this will be a breeze! If you’ve never played Sudoku in your life, well, then learning to play Doku Deluxe will be more like a bracing wind. Not bad though!

Let’s start at the beginning. When you play Doku Deluxe you’ll be in a room with up to four other players. Each person has their own Doku board.

Nice to meet you!

The board is a 4x4 grid divided into four colorful sections, or “quadrants.”

To get game pieces click “Spin” or hit the Enter key. Both methods work. ^_^ Whenever you have a clean board, the first time you hit “Spin” you’ll get 6-8 yellow numbers that fly to your board. You can’t move yellow numbers!

From then on out, each time you click “Spin” you’ll get a single game piece. It will have a white number (1-4) and a solid colored background that’s either purple, green, blue, or red.

The background color relates to score, but it’s really a bonus feature. More will be explained in the points section.

You can move pieces around the board by clicking and dragging them to new squares. Now, if you want to trade with a teammate, just click on the piece you want to trade away and drag it to the piece that you want. Your teammate will see a Yes/No balloon pop up with a picture of what you’re offering. If your teammate accepts the trade, the pieces will switch places!

Thanks!

On the other hand, if someone sends you a trade then you’ll see a Yes/No balloon pop up with a picture of what they’re offering. You don’t have to accept any trades if you don’t want to, but they’re a great way to finish your puzzle quicker and maybe make a friend or two along the way!

How do you finish the puzzle? Well, each quadrant has to have the numbers 1-4 in it. The background color of the pieces don’t matter, but you can’t have any repeating numbers!

In addition to each quadrant needing to have the numbers 1-4, each row has to have the numbers 1-4 too.

Again, the exact colors don’t matter, but you can’t have any repeating numbers!

Lastly, each column has to have the numbers 1-4 too.

A finished puzzle has no repeating numbers in each quadrant, row, and column! Take a look!

Hey! Where are you going? Come back here! I promise you, this isn’t impossible! Remember those yellow numbers you get at the very start? Since those numbers are always in the right spot you can figure the rest out with a little detective work. Here, we’ll start one together.

 

	It’s the first spin and you got six yellow numbers! Think of them as anchors for the rest of the puzzle.
	On the next spin you get a purple 2. It’s in the right color quadrant, but is it in the right spot?
	First look across the row to see if there’s another 2. All clear on that count! Next look down the column to see if there’s a 2. There is! That means the purple 2 isn’t in the right spot. Just move it over one square.
	Now the purple 2 is in the purple quadrant, and there aren’t any conflicts (duplicate numbers) in the row, column, or quadrant that it’s in. It’s in the right spot! Time to spin!
	A green 1. It doesn’t conflict with any other numbers, so you could leave it there for now. But if you want the color bonus you should move it over to the green quadrant.
	On your 3rd spin you get a green 2! Now the green quadrant is complete.
	As you spin, keep checking that numbers are in the right spots. If you have “extras” you can trade them or spin them to get  different pieces. (This puzzle still needs some work.)
	Once everything is in the right spot, Doku Deluxe will automatically submit the puzzle and you’ll get Winster points!

That’s it! Just take it one piece at a time. Before you know it everything will click and it’ll seem so easy! ^_^

 

Points

You’ve probably noticed the pretty colors on the Doku boards. No? Well take a look again.

This is what your board looks like before there are any numbers on it. If you finish a Doku puzzle AND keep the colors intact, you’ll get double the points! This is a bonus and isn’t required, so don’t worry if you can’t do it.

 

Finished Board	Free Players	Club Winster
Solved Numbers	325 points	1300 points
Solved Numbers AND Colors	650 points	2600 points

 

 

Tips & Tricks

1. One Step At A Time

Start by focusing on the quadrants. First, work until you have one of each number in each quadrant. If you want to get the color bonus then spin any “wrong” color pieces or trade them to a teammate!

Once you have the quadrants settled, take each row one at a time. If you see something like this:

Then you know it’s mixed up. Switch pieces around until the row looks right. If you want to keep the color bonus, only switch pieces that are the same color! This will keep each quadrant in it’s separate color.

Work your way through each row. If the puzzle doesn’t flash and vanish (meaning you got it!) start working through the columns in the same way. You can do it!

 

2. Puzzle Protection

Remember, once the number part of Doku Deluxe is solved, the puzzle automatically submits to Winster and you get points! If you’re working on the color bonus and just need one more piece, be careful! Any piece with the right number and any color background can finish the puzzle for you!

To avoid losing out on the generous bonus, switch two numbers so that they’re in the wrong spot. This way you won’t accidentally complete the puzzle! Once you have the final piece, switch the mixed up pieces back into place.

 

3. Help Others Out

If you have a piece that you can’t use, look around before you get rid of it! Most players arrange pieces in the “correct” spots as they go, so it’s pretty easy to tell what they need. If you have an extra red 2, look to see who doesn’t have a red 2!

 

4. Be Polite!

Always say "Thank you!" and "You're welcome!" after trading pieces! At Winster they make this incredibly easy. Just click on the "ty" or "yw" buttons and you'll automatically say "Thank you" or "You're welcome!"

To thank a specific person, click and hold on "ty." A list will pop up with the names of all of the players in the room!

When you don't say "Thank you!" you appear ungrateful. People notice this and will stop giving you their extra pieces. It pays to be polite!

 

Final Rating

I really like Sudoku, but Doku Deluxe just doesn’t cut it for me. I suppose it’s a decent starting ground for beginners, but if you’re a pro you probably won’t be too impressed.

Personally, I rate this one a 3 out of 5 stars. What would you rate it? Do you agree or disagree with my verdict? ^_^

 

Similar Games

If you like Sudoku then you should try some of these games too!

• Sudoku Puzzle Blast at Pogo – Sudoku combined with a jigsaw puzzle? That’s just bananas enough to work!
• Sudoku at BugleGames – Plain Sudoku.
• Drip Drop Sudoku at IWON – Um, this game is broken. Read for laughs, but don’t play it!

Candy Store – Satisfy your sweet tooth!

Candy Store is a 5-reel slot game on FreeSlots! Like all of the games there, this one is very easy to play. You can’t run out of credits so be sure you always play 9 lines!

Woohoo!

All in all, Candy Store is very straight forward. Spin the reels, get credits, and if you’re very lucky, trigger the bonus game!

Double woohooo!

The bonus game activates whenever you have two halves of a chocolate bar line up. Then you’re taken to a candy store!

Oooh! I want the 100 credit candy, please!

Inside the store you’ll see tubes of candy with various numbers on them. Whenever you click on a tube you get the candy at the bottom. You can only take 7 candies, so take your time and think about it! If I want that 100 credit candy (and I do) I’ll need to take 2 candies before I can reach it.

Also, see the sign to the right that says, “Go to the next store?” There are a total of THREE candy stores in this minigame, and once you move on you can’t go back. Usually there’s at least one 100 credit candy, but not always. (The highest I’ve seen was 200 credits.)

When you finish picking your seven candies you’ll get the credits and head back to the main game.

I want more!!

That’s all there is to it! I told you it’s an easy game. ^_^

 

Final Rating

My favorite game on FreeSlots is still Flaming Crates, but Candy Store is starting to grow on me! (Not literally.) It took me a little bit to figure out the bonus game, and it’s a lot more fun now that I know how to play. ^_^

Still, I’d say this is an average slot game. 3 stars out of 5. What would you rate it? Do you have a favorite game on FreeSlots?

 

Similar Games

If you like slots, try some of these!

• Super Slingo Jackpot at Slingo – Play up to 50 lines at a time. It’s awesome!
• Vaults of Atlantis at Pogo – Make your way through Atlantis to find hidden treasure!
• Slot Social at Winster – Trade pieces with friends to score oodles of points!

Word Noodle – Now with 50% more spelling sauce!

Word Noodle is a word game at Bugle Games. It’s a cross between Tumble Bees and Boggle Bash, and it’s pretty fun!

 Whoa! Lots of letters! o_O

Yeah, it’s a big board. ^_^ You have 300 seconds (5 minutes) to make as many words as you can! Whenever you make a word the tiles vanish and new ones take their place!

Poof!

Words can be anywhere from 2-11 letters long. Each letter tile has a number on it, like in Scrabble. But in Word Noodle, the score is multiplied by the number of letters in the word! A four letter word has a 4x multiplier. A seven letter word has a 7x multiplier, and so on.

For an extra bonus, when you make a 5+ letter word you’ll get a blue bonus tile. Use it in a word for an extra 250 points!

I’ll spell I-C-O-N.

Sadly, the multiplier doesn’t affect the bonus. ~_~ (I checked.) On the upside, you can have up to five blue bonus tiles on the board at any time.

Ooooh!

Now, here comes the tricky part. To make a word you click on each letter one at a time. The letters have to touch in some way. (Diagonals count.) Sounds like Boggle Bash, right? Well here’s how it’s different: New letters can connect to any letter in the word. Take a look.

 “Sniper.” Are you trying to tell me something?

The letters jump around a little, but they’re all connected to each other. In picture on the bottom right I replaced the letters with numbers. Hopefully you can see how they’re connected. ^_^

Oh! I see what you mean. ^_^

If you’re trying to make a huge word, and you run out of useful letters, just hit one of the stars above the word list.

Stars!

Clicking a star will shuffle all of the letters around the word that you’re making! You only get 3 shuffles each game. Use them wisely!

 

Final Rating

I like the concept and the execution of Word Noodle. My one problem is that the rounds are far too long. Part of the appeal (to me) in word games is that I’m racing the clock. With this one I feel no rush at all. Instead I think, “Is it over yet?” ~_~

So for me, this one is 3 stars out of 5. What do you think of Word Noodle? What do you like (or dislike) about it? Or do you totally hate word games? ^_^

 

Similar Games

If you like word games, you should definitely try some of these games too!

• Seekado! at Club Bing – A fun word search where you have to figure out what the words are before you can even look for them!
• Text Twist at iWon or Gamesville – Find as many words as you can from 6 random letters. Simple but challenging!
• Boggle Bash at Pogo – Work to find words in a grid of letters. Be fast! 

Sweet Tooth 2 - A dentist's nightmare.

Sweet Tooth 2 is a match 3 game available at Pogo. There are two ways to play it: classic and caramel. Both are pretty fun, but they're quite different! By default you start out in caramel mode. If you want to play classic, click on the Classic Rooms tab first!

Ooh! Thanks!

Classic Mode

In classic mode you need to work through three boards to earn a jackpot spin. Switch candies around vertically or horizontally to create a line of three or more of the same type candy. It must create a match 3 or it won't work! The game will say "nuh-uh!" and switch the pieces back.

Switcharoo!

Every time you make a match of 3 candies or more, the candies fly over to Toothy and the remaining candies fill the gap.

CANDY!!!

The health bar (at the bottom) slowly drains as you play. But every time you make a match, the health bar fills up a little bit. Think of it like running up an escalator. ^_^ In order to get anywhere you have to move up faster than the escalator moves down.

In classic Sweet Tooth 2 you complete a board by getting the health bar to full! If you do this three boards in a row, you'll earn a jackpot spin. It's a progressive jackpot with a max prize of $4999, but you'll most likely win Pogo tokens.

There are three different difficulty levels in classic Sweet Tooth 2. The boards are same, but the health bar goes down a bit quicker. I've played this type of game a lot, and level 3 wasn't a problem for me. *Shrugs*


Caramel Mode

Oh no! The factory exploded and got caramel all over the floor! The only way to get it off is to match 3 pieces of candy together, and then the caramel will vanish. Oh, and this time you can switch pieces diagonally too!

Yes. Mmhmm. I see. Tell me more!

Caramel mode has 5 difficulty levels and several board shapes.

Oooohhh!

The only way to complete a level is to clear off all of the caramel!

A work in progress.

Clear the caramel off of three boards in a row to earn a jackpot spin! It's a progressive jackpot with a max value of $4,999. Again, you'll most likely get Pogo tokens. ^_^

Each match you make adds a little bit of health (time) to the health bar. If it runs out before the caramel is gone, you lose! :(


Special Pieces

Caramel mode in Sweet Tooth 2 has eight different special pieces. Whenever you make a match 5 you'll get a wild candy! This candy can be matched with anything.

Yum!

I've earned a wild several times, but I've never had a chance to use it. I always end up setting off a chain reaction and it makes a match on its own. Ah well.

Next, the five powerups!

1. The lightning bolt will remove all of one type of candy. You pick which one!

Ka-POW!!

2. The slightly radioactive chocolate chip cookie (SRC3) removes random candies across the board. It might also take out other powerups too, so save this one for last!

It's great with radioactive milk!

3. The square meal takes out all of the candies in a 3x3 area.

This many.

4. An event horizon will take out all of the candies in its row.

Woohoo!

5. Lastly, the vertical limit removes all of the candies in its column. And yes, I made up the names for all of the powerups. ^_^

You must be *this* tall to ride.

The next two special pieces appear only on levels 4 and 5 in caramel mode. Iced candies have a layer of icing around them, or so I've been told.

Extra sugar? I'm game!

To completely remove them you have to use them in two matches. Until the layer of icing is gone, you can't switch them with another piece. However, considering that they fall like regular pieces, and the first match you make with them will remove the caramel background, I don't see what the big deal is. *Shrugs*

The last special piece is also available only on levels 4 and 5. It's a chocolate coin!

Wow. That thing is creepy.

If you match three coins together you'll earn 150 points! (Each additional coin in the match adds 50 points.) Every ten points equals 1 Pogo token, so that means 15 tokens. Doesn't sound like much, but it's better than the 5 points per candy that you usually get.


Tips & Tricks

In classic mode, work from the bottom to maximize the number of chains you'll set off. You'll score more points and fill the health bar faster!

There isn't really a set method for caramel mode, as your actions will depend on what's on the board. Here are a few things to consider.

• Are there any immediately visible moves at the top? Although you probably won't set off chains, clearing the top row of caramel isn't something you want to save for last. It's much easier to move pieces down instead of up.
• What powerups do you have? I usually set them off as soon as possible. Powerups can and will clear other powerups if they're in the line of fire. Figure out the best order before you set them off!
• Don't forget that you can move pieces diagonally!

If you're a Pogo Club member and are working toward a badge, wait to finish the game. If you have one caramel piece left, make matches away from that piece to keep your health bar up and prolong the game.


Final Rating (and a tiny gripe)

The two different modes of Sweet Tooth 2 honestly make it two games in one. I prefer classic mode. Try both and see what you like!

But there is one thing that's in both modes and I really dislike it. It's Toothy the tooth. He starts freaking out before I'm even at half health, which in turn freaks ME out and I get distracted.

Think I'm exaggerating? Take a look.

Wait, what?

If you can't read that, he's telling me that I'm running out of time. And as you can see, I have more than half health left. I'm fine!

As the bar decreases he gets more dramatic and whiny. It's totally unnecessary!

There's no crying in baseball!

I rate this one 3 out of 5 stars. Yes, I dislike Toothy that much. But that's my opinion. ^_^ What would you rate it?


Similar Games

If you like Sweet Tooth 2, you might like some of these games too!

• Diamonds at Spigo - A match 3 game without a time limit. Yay!!
• Treasure Hunter at Spigo - This is a great mix of a card game and match 3 puzzles. Try it!
• Merry Poppings at Slingo - Work your way through 10 levels and 9 types of balloons! (Harder than it sounds.)