Plain and simple, Enigma is a copy off of the classic board (also known as "bored") game called 'Master Mind'. For those of you who have never heard of 'Master Mind', let me explain the basic concept, at least in terms of Enigma. The object of the game is to be able to guess (match) colored dots with those of the computer which you obviously can't see. How do you go about doing this? You start off guessing; the computer will tell you how many colors you have correct and how many you have correct and in the right spot. You also only have 10 tries. Sounds challenging? It sure is! But luckily it follows the guideline of all good puzzle games: easy to learn, hard to master; which means that you won't spend time looking at the instructions as you play. The game also has an original story to go along with the puzzle, something you don't usually find in a game of this genre.
Master Mind on the Macintosh. Enigma is a solid puzzle game in all categories, and the first to use the 'Master Mind' concept. The graphics are nice considering that they use 256 colors and the smart alecky sound effects (as well as the normal ones) are clear and appropriate. The game gets an added boost from it's difficulty level, which increases as the game progresses. At first you must guess which 3 colors the computer has then soon after it jumps to 4, which you'll notice is a huge jump, then to 5 which is nearly impossible While Enigma could be considered a crippleware game — you must register to finish the game — the levels that you can play (which total more than 15) give you an excellent idea and feel for the game. However, once you've gone as far as is possible without registering you'll probably realize, as I did, that it just isn't worth paying the costly shareware fee.
 
Scaled 10%
Even if the concept of Enigma appeals to you, as it did to me, after a few days you will have lost interest. The game does push your brain to the limit, especially if you start thinking logically rather than just randomly guessing and hoping that you guess correctly. But Enigma has a slow feel to it. The game lacks background music which may allow you to concentrate better but music would simply make the game more enjoyable.
Enigma has great potential to be a super hit, especially since version 1.0 had more than 1,000 downloads on AOL in less than a week, a feat that only a few other games can brag about. Hopefully future versions of an improved Enigma will be released.
The bottom line. If what I have written, or the online description, appeals to you then by all means I would recommend downloading Enigma. Otherwise you may just be wasting your time. That is not to say that the game is bad; but if you prefer mindlessly blowing the crap out of Phfor rather than thinking, then Enigma is not for you.
 
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Engima's System Requirements:
• 1.6 megabytes of hard drive space
• 1.996 megabytes of RAM
• 640x480 display capable of dispalying 256 colors
