At the Pocket PC magazine's
Best Software Awards 2002 recently, Hexacto clearly established itself as the top Pocket PC game developer, winning the most awards in this category. Awele was one of the 5 games from Hexacto's stable that won the top award in its genre; Best Table Game.
I have been playing one form or another of Awele ever since I was a child. Using marbles and beans, and lately on PCs and PDAs... this game offers challenge to the grey matter and addictive fun for hours. After an African-looking title page (many traced the roots of this game all the way back to Africa), you are greeted by a more than ample menu.
The game can be further tweaked by selecting sound and target rings. Target rings are great as they look ahead for you, saving you the strain of mentally counting the paths where your seeds are 'sown'.
When I jumped right into the game without bothering to read the instructions, I was totally thrown off. Even though I have played many variations of this game, the rules for Awele was the most unusual that I have come across. With the instructions menu, I was able to get back on track and enjoy the game. What I would recommend in future versions is to provide an option for the different variations like you find in Poker games.
Here we go, with the game starting at a gentle pace. The ability to think ahead (not unlike the game of chess) is vital to winning the game. Here is a game where the element of luck is totally discounted.
With the target option turned on, it is easy to see where your 'sowing' would end before you get going. All in all, Awele is a carefully crafted, well polished game with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in. A game that you will enjoy playing even after you have upgraded your PDA time and again!
