
I also have a bit of a problem with the color of the Dots, as purple and burgundy are quite similar and thus frustrating. They’re slightly random, especially coming from the clean white slate of the original Dots, and the only reason I know their names is because I read through the press kit. That said, I could probably do without the characters. Only about a quarter of the original 20 million Dots downloads are still active.

Remember, Two Dots was created to attract more long-lasting gamers. It’s cute, I guess, and gives the user something to attach itself to while traveling through the game. TwoDots introduces two characters, Amelia and Jacques, who travel from level to level with you accumulating rewards for every win. However, with each new world come a new set of challenges that are totally unrelated to the original Dots. The same general principle of simply connecting same-colored dots still applies, and making a square still removes all dots of that color left on the board. When you achieve all your puzzle goals in far fewer moves than you were given, you get three stars for that level, along with a numeric score. “Moves” is by far the most similar game mode to the new Two Dots game, where users are given a certain amount of moves with which to complete a number of goals. Alongside the 60-second speed trial, where in you connect as many of the same-colored dots as possible, Dots also offered “Endless” (with no time limit), “Challenges” (letting you go head to head with your friends), and “Moves.” The Dots franchise ran into this “impenetrable ceiling” problem (I just made that up, roll with it) long ago, which is why the company released various game modes within the original Dots. Rather than focus on a scoreboard style of game, Two Dots offers a levels-based game, meaning that you never get stuck trying to beat a high score (though you may eventually get stuck on a level). Talking it over with our own Josh Constine, he called it a “skinned version of Candy Crush” and he isn’t far off. Which brings me to Two Dots, the latest generation of the betaworks-backed game that came out Thursday.

When I open up the app now, I never play for more than a few tries. I achieved this respectable, albeit relatively average, score about a year ago, just after Dots was first released. My highest score on Dots - the original Dots - is 414.
