Gluons by 2 Cubed reminds me a bit of Furballs in Space! It has the same, ominous music common to sci-fi flicks set in space, and it involves a similar premise of connecting like objects together, to eventually collect enough together to rack up points. Only, in Furballs, the objects played with were of the creature kind, fluffy and squeaky even, and they amassed in one giant clump of multi-colored fur. Furballs is pretty difficult, and pretty quirky, but Gluons might pose to be even more difficult, and maybe even quirkier, in its own right.

In Gluons, there are a variety of different colored atoms (I guess you could call them that, since subatomic particles theorized to bind quarks is a bit long) – including pink, red, blue, green, orange, white and black, that you must connect according to a set of rules. When free flying solo, any atom may be paired with another, regardless of color, but once connected in a pair, each individual atom may only be connected with an atom of the same color (e.g. an orange to an orange, a blue to a blue). Moving the atoms around onscreen involves the use of your thumbs – when both are pressed down on the iPhone screen, these vibrating frequency waves emit in circles that radiate out from your thumbs’ point of touch. The atoms bounce off these waves with a slight, sticky ricochet, as if they exist in an environment with little gravity. I suppose the weak gravity makes sense given the moon terrain backgrounds that change for each level.

Should you happen across a white atom – and you will, there are plenty in the starting levels – these flying orbs have the power to act as wild cards, able to connect to any color; therefore, should you have a set of connected atoms running blue, red, red, red, and a single pink atom floating around, then use the white atom to connect to either the blue or red atom at the chain’s end, and then connect the pink atom to the white one. They’re real combo savers, when used correctly, because more often than not, you’ll find yourself drowning in orbs that cannot be connected. Once you form a chain – the longer, the better – let it fall toward the power beam at the bottom of the screen, the one that looks like a fusion reactor, and your chain will be atomized, earning you points depending on the length of your chain. Obviously, you want to earn as many points as possible, given the allotted time per level. So, it’s best to aim for longer chains despite solo atoms falling into the power beam earning you points, as well – just nowhere near as many.

The black ones are the ones to watch out for. Of no positive use, the black atoms serve only to destroy both your chains and the whole power beam, gradually. A black atom may be destroyed by knocking into it with a larger chain – it’ll break apart, but at least the atoms will be preserved. If a single atom or pair or two collide with a black atom, then the black atom will obliterate them, and obliterate any chance of you forming a chain with those orbs and using them for points. Also, as if these crimes weren’t bad enough, should any lone black atom fall into the power beam, points get knocked off your score, and the power beam loses life. Solution? Get rid of the black atoms!

I really like the premise of the game – it’s simple, colorful, and it’s a bit like a puzzle, all of which are great in my book. However, the main challenging point of this game isn’t that the strategy involved is terribly difficult – it’s more that the game, itself, is technically challenging. It’s really difficult to route a ricocheted course for your atoms when they bounce off your thumbs, and so connecting them because of game of your patience and wits. It can become frustrating, especially when the tempo of the game increases, and the chains spiral around maddeningly before falling to the power beam. Also, sometimes there’s a glitch where the atoms just fall straight through your thumbs, and you’re unable to bounce them. Sometimes, I wonder if there’s any strategy involved other than luck. In some ways, it’s easier if you tap the screen frequently, adding more atoms to the screen, in the likelihood there will be more than enough to create long chains, simply from floating around together.

But, I enjoy the game, strategy or not, and I enjoy connecting and destroying things, especially when it involves atomizing.

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