Tower Bloxx Deluxe is a puzzle game requiring skill, timing and more than anything buckets of patience as you try and build vast cities literally from the top down.  Starting with basic towers, you construct them by dropping each block from a crane, trying to position one block exactly on top of another as you build up floor by floor. 

There are four colours of tower: blue, red, green and yellow, with blue being the smallest tower and yellow the largest.  However, although blue towers can be placed anywhere, red, green and yellow towers have more specific requirements.  For example, red towers must be built next to an existing blue tower, whilst yellow towers need to be built with blue, red and green towers adjacent.

When constructing the tower, the idea is to align the blocks as closely as possible.  If you place several blocks perfectly it enables more residents to move into the tower.  If your placement is slightly off, then you can still continue construction but if you try and place a block too far off where it should be you may send several floors tumbling to the ground and lose a life.  You have three lives and once these have been diminished your tower construction is brought to an abrupt halt, even if it is nowhere near completion.  Given that the higher you build, the more your tower sways in the wind, it's easier to lose a life than you might imagine!

As you are constructing your towers, citizens will arrive to take up their places.  In keeping with the theme of the game they descend from the skies holding umbrellas.  As your population grows, it enables you to access upgrades for your towers.  For example, you can acquire trophy roofs, featuring a swimming pool (blue tower) or helipad (green tower).  Or you can receive an upgrade to enable you to place a block with a balcony after you have placed four blocks perfectly in a row.  All of these upgrades increase the number of residents who will take up occupancy in your towers and thus enable you to work towards still more upgrades.

There are several districts to work through and unlocking each of them requires you to reach a certain population level.  You may find that as you progress through the game, your population growth isn’t enough to allow you to unlock the next level.  In these circumstances it is necessary to go back and rebuild some of your earlier efforts, making full use of the upgrades you have since unlocked and thus increasing the population of the tower in question.  Careful city planning is required, however; for example, once you’ve built a yellow tower, you no longer need to keep the blue, red and green towers that were adjacent to it.  However, if you remove them and try to replace the yellow tower with another upgraded yellow tower later on, you won’t be able to do it as the required other towers are no longer in place.

Tower Bloxx Deluxe is a very involving puzzle game.  At times cheerfully infuriating, it is extremely addictive and requires good concentration and timing skills to building near perfect towers.  Trying to place 40 blocks perfectly in order to build the ultimate yellow tower is an achievement I’m afraid I didn’t manage!  As well as the story mode, other modes of play can be unlocked including quick game, time challenge and party game.  Colourful and eye-catching, this will be great for children but will doubtless appeal to all ages.  Wonderfully entertaining and superb value at just £9.99, this is a great choice for puzzle lovers and casual gaming fans alike.

**Review by Donna Haw**