no dpad

Although most of you never knew about this game, I hope you do now.  I’ve been playing around with this game, and I must say that it is quite a small, but impressive, title.  Coin King is very simple to pick up and hard to master.  The object of the game is to categorize the coins and make as much money as you can.  Each coin adds one second to your time limit, so you have to watch out.

It’s a categorizing game where you put the coins in the right slot.  For example, a half dollar would go in the 50 cent spot and a quarter would go into a 25 cent spot.  There are other coins from other nations like Korea, and those coins must be put into the “other” section.  Each coin that does not belong in other adds to your score, which is in this case in the form of dollars and cents.  Another interesting twist to this game is that the coins in front of a certain coin must be moved so that the certain coin can move.  If a coin is on top of another coin, that coin must be moved before you will be able to move the coin underneath.  It may sound a little confusing, but it does add to the gameplay.  When you sort all the coins out and move on to the next level, you must shake the piggy bank (your iPhone) to release some more coins to sort out.

Graphics are surprisingly pretty polished, and the coin graphics/artwork is very well done.  Although I do have some gripes about the detail in the coins, the coins do actually look like real-life coins.  The menus are all designed very nicely, and when the button is pressed, the highlighting is well done.  With a little bit more polish, this game can go pretty far within its genre, and the pick-up-and-play mechanic has shown to be a success in the App Store.

All in all, Coin King offers some simple gameplay that is designed for 3-5 minute sessions.  Sadly, there are no online highscores, but you can compete against your own score, which is still surprisingly enjoyable.  I believe they could have worked on the coin design a little more and make them a little more detailed, but the other artwork is nicely done.  The shaking to retrieve coins for your next round works pretty well, and it adds to the somewhat crazy/panicky gameplay.  A warning though: this game may be a little too simple for hardcore gamers, and it also may be a little difficult for casual gamers.  It lies somewhere in between, and I can’t quite figure out if this game will apply for both crowds.  Anyways, this title is something you should atleast look at if you’re looking for some simple, but crazy, gameplay.

The price is $0.99, and the creators are BLUE WIND.

Editor's Note: The first impression you've just read is aimed at giving you an overview of the game, and our first thoughts after spending some time with it. For full reviews and recommendations, please visit our reviews section.

Tags: $0.99, Blue Wind, Coin Kings