by William Montgomery

Created on: July 23, 2008   Last Updated: July 24, 2008

Crumb is a nice, quiet game that can be played to relax. Set in a fantasy realm of enchanted forests and kingdoms, Crumb is a puzzle game where the player collects all of the Crumbs on each stage before progressing on to the next level. Moving boulders to cross moats and to block a monster's path are some of the puzzles met early on; nothing too complex, but enough to make the player think for a moment on what his next move should be. Scoring is done by counting how many steps the player has made; the fewer steps, the better your score.

The sounds and music of the game are relaxing. There are almost no sound effects, except when a melody or a chime plays when you pick up a crumb. The music is very calming, very nice to listen to while you play the game through.

The game is set on a top-view style perspective that's common to these types of games. The graphics play smoothly, though the movement does take a little getting used to. The board is split into a grid: one tap on your arrow key will move you one square in that direction. If a monster is in front of you, you wait for it to pass before moving on; but if you don't wait until it's completely out of the square in front of you, you will count as if you walked right into it. This isn't a game flaw; it simply takes getting used to.

Between levels, the game grants the player with a page from a story, as well. Every time the player clears a level, a page is uncovered from the book, resulting in a finished story by the end of the game. While doubtfully important to finishing the game, it is a bit of an extra incentive to complete each level, to learn of what happens in the story.

The game is well-balanced, easy to learn and easy to play. The sounds are pleasing to the ear and the graphics are pleasing to the eye. Any parent looking for a game to buy their young children shouldn't have to worry about buying this game, as it's very family-friendly and would be easy for a child to pick up and play and enjoy.

Overall rating: 8/10

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