Alpha Girls
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| Alpha Girls

In a world where Carol Vorderman is described as the thinking man's totty, it's fair to say that Alpha Girls is most definitely the thinking man's totty-loving game. The ultimate aim of this numbers game may be to glimpse a soft core picture of a topless girl, but the process of getting there is both brain-taxing and engaging.

In fact, the best description we've come up with so far is sudoku meets noughts and crosses, in reverse. But despite that slightly obtuse handle, like all the best games the central mechanic of Alpha Girls is actually quite simple.

Faced with a random-looking grid of variously-numbered coloured squares, players take it in turns to select a square. If it's a green square then the number is added to their score, if it's a red square then it's subtracted. The player with the largest score at the end of the game wins.

The clever strategic bit comes from the limitation applied to square selection, in that each player can only pick a square from the same line as the one selected by their opponent, and only on either a horizontal or vertical axis (your axis is specified at the start of each game and fixed for the duration).

Rather than simply plumping for the highest number available, you need to consider what options you're leaving open to your opponent and also try to second guess their following move. You might for example take a lower number or even a red (negative) one, in order to force the other player down a blind alley.

Further subtlety is on offer with set-up options that enable you to chose from one of three difficulty levels or prescribe a time limit for each move. And as an added challenge to your concentration, each time you select a square, you're given a glimpse of the prize for completing the level (that is, a naked girl) lurking beneath.

The presentation doesn't reach much above the sudoku stakes, although there are some nice touches in the form of a score breakdown after each level and a theatre-style frame around the board. The reward images also tend to be less explicit (and topless only) than in many similar puzzle-porn games, such as Girl Gamble or Undercover Babes.

The lack of a multiplayer option is an annoyance too, but that it is not a serious wound underlines how compelling the single-player challenge is; unlike many titles in the genre, the game itself is more diverting than the girls. Whilst it will pose something of a conundrum to many players, Alpha Girls should suit intellectual alpha males down to the ground.

Alpha Girls

A solid challenge for intellectual Alpha males, although the chase is more satisfying than the reward
Score
Chris James
Chris James
A footy game fanatic and experienced editor of numerous computing and game titles, bossman Chris is up for anything – including running Steel Media (the madman).