Adrift for iOS: The puzzle game that makes solving a Rubik's Cube look easy

Adrift for both iPhone and iPad is a puzzle game with a simple premise but not so simple game play. You're tasked with drawing paths to each color in each world. The paths appear on three sides of a cube and they can't intersect. While game play starts out easy, it quickly gets challenging.

There are several stages in Adrift and each one starts out easier than the last. Each cube in each level is different and has different colors that you need to complete a path between. It sounds easy enough but the challenge comes in when you have multiple colors to connect and barriers stand in your way. Every once in a while Adrift throws you a bone by giving you a rainbow square that any color can run through. If you ever get stuck, you can use a hint to show you any one path of your choosing per hint. You get three to start with and can buy hint packs in increments of 10 as an in-app purchase.

There are also time challenges that tie into Game Center so you can compete with your friends in order to race for top spot. You can choose between basic, medium, and easy in time trials. Purchasing any paid level pack unlocks other bonus challenges as well.

Each world in Adrift has a number of levels in it with the tutorial and first stage available for free. Between the two you get 50 levels to play without paying a dime. After that, each additional stage costs $0.99 but contains a bare minimum of 80 levels each. Those levels will definitely keep you busy since the difficulty gets harder and harder. You're bound to scratch your head more than once.

The good

  • Gameplay is easy to understand for any age
  • Difficulty level increases at a good pace
  • Great graphics and cute animations throughout
  • You get a lot of levels for free and tons for a very small amount of money

The bad

  • Sometimes the iPhone version can be cramped when drawing paths where cube tiles are smaller, causing you to hit the wrong cube. This isn't an issue at all on the iPad though.

The bottom line

Between multiplayer and single player modes, Adrift is a game that you'll want to keep playing for a long time to come. Level packs aren't expensive and Tack has managed to use the freemium model in a way that doesn't take advantage of customers, which is rare to find nowadays.

If you like puzzle games, you'll love Adrift.

Allyson Kazmucha

iMore senior editor from 2011 to 2015.