Game Details
Price
  • $19.99
Genre
More details

Pipe Mania

common sense media says

Entertaining, brainy little puzzler suitable for all ages.


parents & educators say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this puzzle game is suitable for all ages. The ERSB rating of "comic mischief" relates to cartoon characters who pop in and out to do damage to the pipes you are laying, which you then have to repair. This is a logic game requiring quick, strategic thinking.

Educational value: This puzzle game can train young minds to
think ahead and strategize to form a pattern of pipes to enable the flow of
"Flooze" to reach the drain.  
Positive messages: Not applicable.
Violence & scariness: There's comic mischief when your
enemies sometimes appear to damage the pipes you've laid.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.

More on Pipe Mania

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about this remake of the old classic Pipe Dream and if the new game with new themes, characters, and pipe pieces is more fun than the old. Parents can also talk about strategy. Is it a better idea to try to utilize all pipe pieces by placing them at a likely location on the board, or smash them to try to make the pattern you've planned in your mind and take the penalty to your final score?

What's the story?

What's the story?

Alfonso Senior is plumber extraordinaire and has retired to an island paradise with his children, Junior and Fawcett. But this paradise, the Isle of Ducts, is being sabotaged by the Cowboy plumber, Buffalo Bonzo. Playing as either Junior or Fawcett, you have to take over the family business and stop Buffalo Bonzo from ruining the island. but before Daddy will let you go up against the "baddest" Cowboy Plumbers around, you have to prove yourself to him by solving puzzles.

The goal of Pipe Mania is to lay down a set of pipes to match the number of pieces required. To do that you must lay the pipes in such a manner that they go around obstacles and through bonus pipes. The object of each puzzle is to make a complete circuit so that Flooze can flow from the Start piece to the End piece of each level without spilling too much. You are given a head start of 30 seconds before the Flooze starts to flow. The more convoluted the pipes, the longer the pipeline, and the faster you lay your course, the more bonus points you get. Pipe pieces are dispensed one at a time and you have a queue of five that you can see. You can place the pipe on any free tile but it cannot be rotated. A piece of pipe already laid can be smashed by placing another on top, but that incurs a score penalty.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Pipe Mania has all the hallmarks of a fun and addictive little puzzle game. It requires logical and quick thinking, good hand-eye coordination, forward thinking, and spatial awareness (although a little luck may play into it with the randomness of pieces of pipe that drop). With a total of five game modes including a two-player challenge mode and over 300 levels across seven themes, there's a lot here to keep you interested. New pipe pieces appearing and challenging game play mechanics, such as having enemies damage your pipes so that you have to stop laying new pipe to repair them, help to keep this frenetic game interesting. Playing Pipe Mania is akin to playing a round of speed chess. How fast can you think on your feet? Plus, the game is offered at a reasonable price ($19.99) so that you get a big bang for the buck with this game.

Game themes & details

Game Details
Not available online
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Empire Interactive
Released on: September 29, 2008
Price: 19.99
ESRB Rating: E for Comic Mischief

This review was written by Carolyn Koh
 
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
OFF: Not age appropriate for kids this age