Simon's Cat Crunch Time app

As a big fan of the Simon's Cat cartoons going back to the early days, I was wary of the any app using those characters.  And a previous version of the Crunch Time game had a big problem with 5-10 seconds of empty black screens after each completed level.  But the latest version got all the dead space cleaned up, and it's now chock full of delightful and funny characters, and you never know what will be coming up next.

Yes, it's just another match three app.  No it isn't.  It uses a weird kind of mechanic where you draw lines connecting strings of matching colors.  Usually, you are trying to get a set of cats at the top the right number of green, blue, pink or red kibbles and then they pig out and jump down from the fence.  But the levels get a lot more creative as you move through the levels.  Sometimes there is a big dog that you have to pelt with 40 or 50 kibbles to win the round, or a hilarious angry squirrel that tries to block you by throwing down acorns to clog up the grid.

The power ups are creative and cute, including: a kitty paw that will throw an apple to break the space you tapped on; cats and birds who ride lawnmowers across rows or columns at your command, a bird who repaints kibbles, and a baby kitty who puts special frosting on the kibbles to clear rows and columns, and a magical can of food that comes out a different color every time, and a hive of bees who can remove every piece of a certain color in a cute and fuzzy way.

The main world is a hilarious, ever-scrolling romp of the characters we love being goofy together, like the spot where one cat is asking another cat to explain where the poop on the ground came from, and the cat points the gnome, you know, the guy who never moves but gets blamed for stuff anyway.  The bonuses are generous, there are tournaments and a range of subgames and activities, and most appreciated of all, the ads are short and easily dismissed within a second or two -- they don't stick around and beg for attention like the ads in every other apps.

This one is a good-natured romp that just keeps adding new gags as you move through it.  Well done.


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