Zentomino by Little White Bear Studios is a relaxing and addictive puzzle game based on the traditional pentomino puzzle game. Pentominos are congruent shapes often named after the letters of the Latin alphabet they resemble. Pentomino puzzle games involve using these 12 shapes to completely cover a rectangular game board without overlapping any pieces. Zentomino takes that basic concept and replaces the basic rectangular game board with a zen garden containing puzzles drawn in the sand to represent animals, plants and other shapes.

In keeping with the zen theme, Zentomino is an easy going game having no timer and no high score to beat ? simply 144 puzzles presented in a clean and polished interface with a soothing Asian inspired soundtrack. The player is not required to complete puzzles in any particular order and may leave a puzzle to come back to later, keeping it in the state in which it was left. The puzzles vary in complexity and at times can be very challenging.

Moving pieces around is a snap: simply drag one of the 12 different pieces to the puzzle area to drop it into place. You can tap once to rotate the piece, double tap to flip it or simply drag it back to the side bar to select another. Random hints are giving to the player by double tapping on any open area of the puzzle, which can help greatly when stuck on a particularly difficult puzzle. Shaking the iPhone or iPod will clear the entire puzzle for you in case you want to start over fresh. This control scheme works very well for Zentomino making it a perfect game for a touch screen device such as the iPhone or iPod Touch.
Graphics are clean and simple, but offer enough detail to create the illusion of having a miniature zen garden in your palm. Sound is minimal, consisting of a single music track which loops endlessly along with some simple sounds and a little chime that plays when you successfully solve a puzzle. More music tracks or a more ambient soundtrack would be a desirable update since the song can get a little repetitive once you?ve been playing the game for some time. Luckily the game allows you to play your own music in the background.
With great controls, sharp and colorful graphics, and many challenging puzzles, Zentomino is a relaxing and easy to pick up title for gamers of all ages and tastes.