I love games. I will admit I’m not that good when it comes to certain types of games. (My eye-hand coordination is not always on the same page, so I’ve “lost” many a Lara and Jedi Knight.) And forget role-playing games! I just look at them and go “Duh….Pretty.” I do like a good racing or flying game. But no complex strategy please! I just want to race or fly…and shoot sometimes.

So I tend to be attracted to games like Text-Twist, Cubis, Shanghai, Farkle (my present favorite), and of course Bejeweled 2. And the thing I’ve learned to appreciate over the years, regardless of super graphics, is the importance of gameplay. Of course, the game pretty much has to grab me immediately.

OneSpot Games is about set to release a private beta of a new game called PowerGrid. You can sign up for the beta at their home site. They will be offering a discount to ALL members that at least sign up for the beta!

I’ve had an opportunity to try what’s available of the game; and I like what I’ve seen.

The game requires you to provide power to the building by constructing a path for the power to travel. There are three modes of play.

Classic Mode: In classic mode, your goal is to make connections to the building as fast as possible. You are racing against a timer to connect a certain amount of floors (determined by the level you are on which ranges 1-40) before your time runs out. You twist each game block using your stylus or D-Pad. As you get further into the game, you have to complete more connections and other obstacles begin to show up and get in your way.

Arcade Mode: Arcade mode spices the game up a bit. You start with only a few pieces on the game board. Pieces fall from the sky and can be rotated as they fall to the bottom to create the connections needed to complete each level. Once a piece has hit the game board, it can no longer be rotated.

Gambit Mode: Gambit mode is currently being re-designed to provide a better “puzzle-like” experience, so there really is no description is available yet.

The version I played came with just the ability to rotate the blocks. No timer, no obstacles, no sound. I really love the “Mario” style music from the video though, and hope we’ll see (hear) something like that in the final product. I still had fun trying it out. I started out slowly to get a feel for the game, and as I began making complete paths to the building, I found I could complete multiple paths with strategic turns of certain blocks. (Did I just mention strategy? Oh-oh! That meant I must have been learning something.) They will be including some customization, and one of the options I do hope they employ is the ability to turn specific features off, similar to when I played SimCity “without disasters”, or Bejeweled on “Endless”.

As I said, PowerGrid was fun and engaging. And I’m looking forward to the full featured version.

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