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| By Christopher Mack | 17 Comments » |
It is a busy world these days. Rare is the opportunity to just sit back and relax and the constant pacing of the work day leaves many burdened with a seemingly insurmountable amount of stress. Games tend to be a common stress reliever for a number of people. Granted some are better at it than others, but a developer by the name of “Zwigglers” aims to be on the “better” half. The app is Chain RXN, and it’s already grown to reach 1.5 million Facebook players in the last month.
Inside Chain RXN, the player is presented with a screen full of bouncing, multicolored orbs and a white sphere attached to the mouse pointer. Simply click the mouse, and that location will expand with the sphere previously attached to the mouse. Any orb that touches it will also expand in its corresponding hue, and any orb that touches that will emulate the same reaction.
Each expanded orb will dissipate after a short period of time, so the objective is to “explode” as many orbs as is required by the level and score as high a score as possible through successive explosions. Once you place the first sphere, the reaction is out of your control (hence the title “Chain RXN”), so timing is key. Each explosion is merely an expansion of the smaller orb combined with a gentle, bell-like chime. The successive reactions equate to similar chimes as the over all reaction creates a melodious sonnet of sounds; all of which are very soft and calming.
Even the end of each level is light-hearted with a jubilant jingle that plays upon success, and even failure is far from frustrating simply from the soft sounds and colors that envelop the game. Furthermore, the resulting placement of that first click creates an emergence reminiscent to Conway’s Game of Life as the expanding orbs create a unique and vibrant pattern of sound, shape, and color every time that is simply captivating to watch.
If there was any downside, it is that the game has virtually no control. In the later levels, there are around 50 or so orbs floating about so timing and planning go right out the window and you more or less have to rely on luck. Nonetheless, it is easily overlooked and is quite simple to make your way from start to finish in one sitting.
A combination of serene sounds and soft, warm colors gives Chain RXN a very Zen state of play. Despite the fact that a lot of the gameplay revolves around luck, the calming sensation that washes over the user dissolves any qualms one might have. It isn’t something that you would revisit often due to length, but it certainly makes for a brief escape from daily stresses.
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May 12th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
It’s a very direct clone of Boomshine – even stole the colors, etc.
http://www.k2xl.com/games/boomshine/
May 17th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
[...] Chain RXN is a Soothingly Simple Facebook Game That’s Growing Fast [...]
May 18th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
no spheres or orbs are involved, seeing as how it’s two-dimensional.
May 19th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
the boomshine game sucks so much compared to chain rxn. the circles are too slow, the music is boring, there are no points to be gained (and thus no strategy), and you have to get an insultingly low number of orbs to pass each level
May 21st, 2009 at 1:26 pm
I *love* this game, why is it so addictive?:)
Anyway, here’s a nice trick on how to get a very high score: http://chain-rxn.blogspot.com (though still I can’t get beyond 48M)
May 28th, 2009 at 8:51 am
[...] Rxn, a Facebook gaming application developed by Zwigglers, has been enjoying phenomenal growth over the last 30 days. According to AppData, this simple flash-based app grew from less than 400K [...]
May 29th, 2009 at 11:14 am
whats the little song that plays inbetween each level? It’s driving me crazy trying to guess it…
May 30th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Check it out… this reply is for Mark Simpson… It drove me nuts trying to figure out where I’d heard that song before too! It has been featured in ‘The Simpsons, as well as ‘Wall-E’… and the movie ‘Hatari.
It’s a Henry Mancini jingle, called ‘Baby Elephant Walk’!
Enjoy!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN2xQ2zqmCI
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:21 am
[...] has become the second most popular of their Facebook titles at #10, followed by another newcomer, Chain RXN by Zwigglers at #11 with users just shy of 4 million this last [...]
June 4th, 2009 at 8:20 am
“In the later levels, there are around 50 or so orbs floating about so timing and planning go right out the window and you more or less have to rely on luck.”
Sorry, but no. The later levels are where the strategy really starts. Initial placement location as well as watching patterns in the circles heading your way (too many early explosions and your score multiplies far slower, too few and the chain will die) become paramount.
The downside, however, is that I’ve gotten to the point where a 50,000,000 point game feels like I blew it.
June 5th, 2009 at 3:44 am
Check out this great Chain Rxn Tips Guide – http://www.blog.freeiphone4me.co.uk/index.php/2009/05/chain-rxn-facebook-cheats-tips/
June 8th, 2009 at 4:43 am
[...] akin to how raindrops are represented in a symphony. This game is increasingly popular, with 1.5 million users and growing [...]
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Check it out here: http://chain-rxn.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-improve-your-score-on-chain-rxn.html (10s of millions guaranteed:)
June 25th, 2009 at 8:34 am
I first staretd playing the same game but its called boom shine then my dad and sisters showed me chain rxn and i loved it the first time i played it
August 4th, 2009 at 1:37 am
[...] akin to how raindrops are represented in a symphony. This game is increasingly popular, with 1.5 million users and growing [...]
August 6th, 2009 at 11:59 am
hey i love this game but it notworking on my laptop
…?
December 2nd, 2009 at 11:17 am
There is another game with the same concept:
http://apps.facebook.com/sparkychain