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Interview: How Rickle Sees You Build Towers and Help Fund Charities

Rickle seems a simple game, but there’s a lot going on under the surface – trust us. We talked to its creator about the title’s hidden depths, how it helps fund charity, and why anybody of any age can enjoy it.

Hello Paul! Can you tell us what Rickle is all about? 

A “rickle” is a small stack or loose heap. The game is about stacking stones. That’s it. It is a hyper casual game built to be as simple and relaxing as possible. In the game, you click to drop sliding stones. Rickle has the same mechanics as similar block surfing games. The goal is to land each stone as close to the center as possible, building a higher stack. The size of the stones get smaller based on how far off the mark the drop is landed. A round ends when you miss a drop altogether.

And you’re helping charities at the same time?

Yes! Each game that Polyworks releases has related charities. For Rickle, portions of the proceeds will be donated to environmental protection charities. 

What is unique about Rickle compared to other similar titles?

We feel that there are 2 unique draws in Rickle. The first is the ability to advance to new locations and the calming design and experience of the game. I’ve played several similar games and found that either the game play was too simple, with minimal goals behind stacking higher. Or the game was too “busy” with excess sites and sounds that distracted from the core of the game play.  The second unique aspect is the power-ups. There is no need to use the power-ups. For players that simply want to zone out and stack, tapping is all that’s needed. For players that are looking for a more robust experience, we added the “Grow”, “Slow” and “Accuracy” power ups. These can be bought in the shop using the Rickle Gems earned after each game.

What were your main influences when developing the game?

Our previous release, Farkle Safari, was a bit more complicated. It’s based on a classic dice game which has a bit of a learning curve needed in order to get up-and-running. I wanted to make something as simple as possible for the next game. Rickle was inspired by a similar block surfer that I was playing at the time. 

Is Rickle a game that anyone can pick up and play?

Totally. It’s so simple that people of all ages could quickly learn it. 

What tips do you have for people playing Rickle for the first time?

You don’t have to tap on the stone to drop it – tapping anywhere on the screen will do. Don’t overthink it: tap to start a game and tap to drop those stones. I’ve found that I end up doing better when I pay less attention to making an exact match. When the Slow power-up, it’s best to trigger it just before the block gets to the target position. This allows for the maximum use of the 5 second slow down. I personally like the Grow power-up the most, though the Match has done me well too. 

Is there controller support for the game?

Currently, there is no controller support for the game.

Do you have anything planned in terms of future updates for the game, and if so, can you give us any details of what these might include?

There are currently 10 locations with a day and night version of each. Future releases will add new locations and stone types. An upcoming release will include the Grotto location. It won’t be unlocked, but accessed via an existing level. We also have plans to add other easter eggs and hidden mini games as part of the on-going challenges. 

Thank you to Paul for his time. You can check out Rickle right now, on the Google Play Store and the App Store. The game has an official site too.

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