Parents' Guide to Puzzle Adventure: Ghost Town

It's always a shame when an otherwise interesting game is ruined by greed. In Puzzle Adventure: Ghost Town -- also known as Puzzle Adventure Mystery Game -- you help your Uncle Mort, a paranormal detective, solve mysteries by figuring out some situational, physics-based, and pattern recognition-based puzzles. While some are rather simple, most are rather clever, especially given that doing anything but walking costs you energy, and you're always on the verge of running out. The game even makes it easy to get around by letting you just tap where you want to go and, assuming nothing's in your way, watching as your character makes their way there.

But as clever and entertaining as this game may be, the fun is lessened greatly by an abundance of ads. There's an icon ad on screen when you're playing, and the game occasionally takes a break to run a static ad. You can also double your earnings from treasure chests by watching ads, something the game reminds you of every time that option is available. And yet, oddly, there's no ad-free option available. Which may be because, if you don't watch the ads every time they're offered, you may run out of energy when you really need it. That's why, as engaging as Puzzle Adventure: Ghost Town may be, it's ultimately more frustrating than fun.