Tangram Pro (free)

Summary

Tangram Pro (free) is an ancient Chinese puzzle game that involves placing different geometric shapes together to form figures or objects. I’ve always found Tangram soothing and therapeutic for my brain. Can the Android version do the same? Read on to find out.

Tangram Pro (free) is a unique picture puzzle game composed of seven geometrical shapes: five triangles, one square and a rectangle. All of these shapes in turn form one big square when put together. The aim of the game is to create pictures using the available shapes. For any of you interested in the history behind Tangram, feel free to check out the Wikipedia article.

With over 10 different puzzle categories to choose from, Tangram Pro (free) has enough material to challenge even the most experienced Tangram player. Although there aren’t any set difficulty levels, the puzzles range from “a walk in the park” to “frustratingly impossible”. While some of the other Tangram apps in the Market come with Asian meditative background music, Tangram Pro (free) can only be played in utter silence. Adding a bit of music would be a great addition to this app, in my opinion.

Here’s a little tip for you before you get started: try leaving the square and rectangle for the end since they are usually the trickiest to figure out.

For those of you interested in a relaxing yet stimulating mind game, Tangram Pro is definitely a good option.
 

Controlling and moving the little puzzle pieces around the touch screen is easy with Tangram Pro (free). At the main screen, you can choose between 10 different sets of puzzles: people, animals, stuff and more. Once you’ve solved a puzzle, it then appears in green on your list.

When you begin a puzzle, you can make out the form of the shape you need to assemble. By default your puzzle pieces are wooden brown, but you can adjust their design by going to Skin Selection on the main screen. I have to admit that all the puzzle designs are very stylish. As soon as you tap a puzzle piece, a circle made of two arrows appears around out. Using the arrows you can spin the puzzle piece around 360 degrees. Use long-tap to move the piece around on the screen. This is a little tricky at the beginning and takes a bit of getting used to.

Tangram Pro (free) is very minimal as far as controls are concerned. Pressing the menu button, simply redirects you back to the main screen. In a nutshell, the game is simple, attractive and therapeutic.

Tangram Pro (free) runs smoothly and without any delays. Rotating and moving the game pieces around the board is instant and glitch-free.

Tangram Pro (free) can be downloaded for free from the Android Market. 

An ad-banner is always displayed at the top of the screen, but it's hardly a disturbance.