Guru Logi Champ

Guru Logi Champ is a logic game from Konami that builds on the Game Boy Color around a simple but highly addictive principle of arranging and sliding coloured pieces into prescribed patterns shown on screen. The player gradually solves dozens of puzzles of increasing difficulty, with each puzzle requiring a different kind of thinking - from simple colour sorting to more complex spatial arrangements that require planning several moves ahead and predicting the consequences of every move. The game is divided into sets of puzzles that the player works through like chapters of steadily rising difficulty.

The game's graphics rely on clean, clear surfaces and bold colours that read well even on the unlit GBC screen, which was crucial for comfortable play in various lighting conditions for logic games of the time. The controls are pared down to the essential minimum, so all attention stays on the puzzles themselves and their logical structure instead of on a complicated control scheme that would needlessly distract the player. The gradual rise in difficulty gives the game a natural pull that motivates the player to finish just one more level, typically in short play sessions on the go or during a break between other duties.

It's a typical representative of the Japanese logic-game genre that appeared mainly on handhelds during the nineties and around the turn of the millennium - an unassuming but honestly crafted title that received a localised European release for local audiences, unlike a number of similar Japanese titles that stayed home-only. Guru Logi Champ today comes across as a pleasant demonstration of how minimalist puzzle design can entertain for hours on end without needing a story, characters or spectacular graphics - all it needs is an honestly designed set of puzzles and clear rules the player understands from the very first minute.