''Zen Bound'' is a

puzzle game A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are different ...

for the

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

, Android, and

Maemo Maemo is a Linux-based software platform originally developed by Nokia, now developed by the Free software movement, community, for smartphones and Internet tablets. The platform comprises both the Maemo operating system and Software development ...

platforms (

Nokia N900 The Nokia N900 is a smartphone made by Nokia, launched at Nokia World on 2 September 2009 and released in November. Superseding the Nokia N810, the N900's default operating system, Maemo 5, is a Linux-based OS originally developed for the Nokia ...

), developed by Secret Exit. The game was announced in September 2008 via the company's discussion board, and officially released via the

App Store An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not i ...

on February 24, 2009, and via

Ovi Store Ovi () was the brand for Nokia's Internet services from 2007 to 2012. It was designed to be an umbrella brand as Nokia attempted to expand into software and Internet services instead of just mobile hardware. Ovi focused on five key service areas ...

on June 16, 2010. An Android port was released on March 19, 2012. The game has received press attention for its unique gameplay. A lite version of the game was also released for free which featured 2 levels of the game. A sequel, ''Zen Bound 2'', was released for iOS on April 1, 2010, for

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

on November 16, 2010, and for the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

in Europe and North America on May 24, 2018.

Gameplay

The goal of the game is to paint various objects. In each level the player is given an object with an attached rope which varies in length depending on the level. Using a mouse or touch screen and tilt controls, the player attempts to wrap the object with the rope. Each time the rope is laid down on the object, the area near the rope gets covered by paint. The challenge is getting the required percentage of an object painted with only a finite length of rope. There are three targets in each level - minimum, medium and maximum coverage. Some levels require nails protruding from the objects to be entwined in rope rather than having to cover the object's surface.

Reception

''Zen Bound''

''Zen Bound'' received universal acclaim according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...

Awards

5th IMGAwards (International Mobile Gaming Awards) (2008): Excellence in 3D

''Zen Bound 2''

''Zen Bound 2'' received "favorable" reviews on all platforms according to the

website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

Abandonment

Neither ''Zen Bound'' nor its sequel are available for purchase in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, but ''Zen Bound 2'' remains available via Steam and the Nintendo eStore as of April 2022.

References

External links

''Zen Bound'' official website

Secret Exit official website

Zen Bound page (IMGAwards)
* * {{moby game, id=/zen-bound-2, name=''Zen Bound 2'' 2009 video games Android (operating system) games Chillingo games IOS games Linux games MacOS games Maemo games Nintendo Switch games Puzzle video games Secret Exit games Single-player video games Video games developed in Finland Windows games