Moon Garden Optimizer

Moon Garden Optimizer is a relaxing, neat little puzzle game. Your goal is to plant a garden on the moon, using a pre-set "deck" of plants, along with a resource pool. Once in the garden, plants and buildings have a variety of effects. Eventually the plants give enough resources to plant trees, which will net oxygen for the moon colony and win the game. The game is low-stakes and relaxing because there is no time limit. You can undo (or redo) any moves. The game comes with about 30 preset scenarios, which present a variety of interesting combos. In the scenarios, the only concrete goals are to optimize your water usage to get 1, 2, or 3 stars. Getting one star was very doable but still felt challenging enough. I haven't gotten 3 stars on anything - to get 3 stars, it requires a lot of puzzling and thought about optimizing the garden. You'll want to get at least 1 star on each scenario to unlock the dialogue. The dialogue is a conversation between two robots who are becoming friends. Even though the dialogue is low-consequence, I felt like I was missing out if I didn't unlock it. It was interesting enough to make me want to get at least 1 star per scenario. After the scenarios are complete, there's also an endless customizable mode where you can choose your "deck" of plants, rather than having them pre-set per scenario. Finally, the graphics and music all give the game a good feeling of relaxation. The game launches in a small window by default, but I liked it better when the window was maximized. If I had any complaints about it, it would only be that there should be even more music tracks. But, the music does a good job of setting the feel and atmosphere. The only other negative I can think of is that it can take a bit to figure out some of the more complicated mechanics for how the plants work. But on the other hand, I am glad that these mechanics bring a variety of depth. Overall, I find the game as a pleasant way to unwind. Individual scenarios only take from 15-30 minutes to complete, and it's an easy way to find a bit of relaxation in between other things. That said, the game has enough variety and depth to challenge anyone who really wants to get into puzzling and optimization. My experience with this game has been positive, and I can whole-heartedly recommend it.

Very fun optimization puzzle game with plenty of neat ideas. As of writing this review, I have yet to gotten clear all of the scenarios (Perhaps I'd be farther through them had the call to optimize been less profound...), but it's been cool seeing what all the various plants and tools do, and figuring out how to best utilize them. It'll be interesting afterwards to see how my knowledge stacks up when presented with a randomized board. Between its optimization puzzle gameplay and the option to play a near infinite array of randomized scenarios, this game puts me in mind of a cross between a Zachtronics game and Dominion. That's a very nice combination. Besides that, the game's visuals and music are pleasant, as are the little dialogues between the scenario levels. Overall would highly recommend, especially for the low price point. Though if you're unsure as to whether it's for you, the demo lets you play a good couple levels to try it out.