That’s something awfully satisfying about putting things in order by color.
This may not be the case for everyone. But when things are arranged by color, I feel organized and relaxed. My closet and even my smartphone apps are almost always arranged that way.
So when I stumbled upon “I Love Hue,” I knew I was about to be hooked.
The smartphone game – which is available for iOS and Android devices – has a super-simple premise: Choose a puzzle and arrange the blocks by color and shade.
I’ve been playing “I Love Hue” non-stop for the past 36 hours – I even have a game going on two separate devices at this point – and can safely say it’s my new favorite app.
Here's how to play:
There is only one rule you need to worry about in "I Love Hue:" Everything needs to be in color order.
The game presents you with several different puzzles made up of blocks in a range of colors. When you start a puzzle, the blocks will be scrambled and your job is to put everything back in order in as few moves as possible.
The game has a distinct, New-Age tone to it: When you succeed, it will give you a compliment like, "You're an iridescent moonbeam!" and the various levels are named Mystic, Prophet, Guru, and so on. While a little odd at first, I eventually found the magical language comforting. Plus, the name of the game itself is pretty cute.
One important thing to note: "I Love Hue" is entirely based on color, so if you have trouble discerning between two very similar colors or have color blindness, this is not the game for you.
When you first start a puzzle, everything will be in color order for a brief second before the game scrambles it. The squares with black dots in the center are immobile and help you figure out the order the blocks should go in.
Once things get scrambled, you have an unlimited amount of time to put the puzzle back in order. To move a block, just place your finger on it and drag it where you want it to go. Once the puzzle starts to come together, it gets easier.
When you finish, you're rewarded with this glowing heart.
There's always one satisfying moment when you can see your finished puzzle. Then, it all dissolves.
Here's a look at the game in action:
In the beginner stage, you'll have to complete 10 puzzles before you can move on. The great thing about the first stage is that it's completely free and there are no ads.
When you get to the second stage, the game will start showing you how you stack up against other players. This can be gratifying if you complete the level in fewer moves than the average.
The second stage is when you'll start seeing ads between puzzles, but you can pay to remove them altogether. There's also the option to pay for more gems, which lets you play more complicated puzzles.
Here's a hard puzzle from the second stage. As the game goes on, the colors will have less in common, or there will be fewer fixed blocks to help you figure out the right order.
But "I Love Hue" isn't stressful. There are no "lives" and you can move the blocks as many times as you want. Trust me: You'll be relaxed in no time.
"I Love Hue" is free to download in the App Store and Google Play Store.