Code Breaking for Windows

Code Breaking is a word puzzle in which users decode a group of symbols to spell out a message. Although we love word games, this one just wasn't a whole lot of fun.

The program's interface is simple and not unattractive. A message is spelled out with a series of symbols, and tiles with the letters of the alphabet are displayed below. Users drag and drop the letters onto the symbols to decode the message. If, for example, you determine that the skull and crossbones represents the letter E, you drag the E onto one of the skulls, and all of them are replaced with the letter E. Clicking the Hint button causes the game to fill in a letter for you. Users are timed and scores seem to be based on how quickly the message is decoded. Although brief instructions for play are provided at the start, there's no Help file. Even though there's nothing functionally wrong with it, Code Breaking just isn't a whole lot of fun. It didn't help that the program repeated the same message after only a few rounds. And although there is some strategy involved in analyzing the patterns in which the symbols appear, a lot of it is a matter of guessing. Each message is a game unto itself, so the program doesn't get more challenging or interesting as it progresses. It didn't take long before we grew tired of it.

Code Breaking is free, and it installs and uninstalls without issues. We recommend this program with reservations; we didn't find it particularly fun, but someone else might.

• Fixed a problem where the game may lag in some computers