One of the more relaxing yet addicting types of gaming is puzzle games. There are many different types of these games on the market today ranging from word games with simple graphics to elaborate role-playing games with complex and large programs. But the simple puzzle game never really loses its appeal to gamers. Glow Worm is such a puzzle game in that it's simple but it will hold your interest for a bit.

Glow Worm is a puzzle game played on a game grid made up of squares. Players must arrange four worms of the same color to score points and to remove the puzzle squares to complete each level. But the game isn't quite as simple as it sounds. The worms themselves really have two colors, a primary and a colored dot inside them. When four or more of a kind are removed the inner dot replaces the worm with a glow worm in the new color.

The glow worms are removed the same way as the worms, by putting four or more of a kind together, which clears them from the board. This can be important as the color of worms available are random and you can only see the next two pieces in the worm Que. If the entire board fills before you clear all the puzzle squares you will lose the game and have the option of trying the level again.

Scoring in the game is done by setting up four of a kind and there is bonus scoring for combinations. For example you might have three green worms next to three red worms and have a green worm with a red center. If you place the forth worm next to the three green, it will clear them, and the green worm will change to a red glow worm and also clear the red worms also. You can even do this and get a triple combination for even more points.

As each game board is cleared you see new features. The boards themselves will have different setups as well as locked worms and blocking squares. The colors the worms come in also increases as the game goes on making combinations more difficult and increasing the chances of filling the game board without clearing the level.

When a level is cleared you will see the points scored as well as getting new game rankings. There is also a box that includes interesting trivia about glow worms themselves to read. After a few boards you will see a screen telling you how many more glow worms you need to free to complete the game.

The game itself has pleasant music and a nice voiceover that congratulates you as you make combinations and complete levels. The boards are tricky to master at the higher levels and present difficult problems in logic as the color combinations become more complex. The worms and glow worms are nicely illustrated and brightly colored, making the game very easy on the eyes.

The early boards, I found, were incredibly easy and at first I didn't think much of the game's difficulty. But as the game goes along it becomes increasing more difficult to finish levels until it reaches a point where it seems impossible to finish a level. It sort of reminded me of Tetris in slow motion; you have pieces but you simply can't fit them.

But I also noticed that the game becomes somewhat addictive as you go along as it's actually fun to play it. It also has considerable value if you have kids, as they will become attracted to its colors quite quickly and will pay attention to its logic traps probably better than many of us can. It's a nice little game that you would not complain about buying or receiving as a gift.

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