SpotZim Great for the logically-minded!
This is a great game for those who enjoy deduction, and would serve as an excellent tool for beginning students of logic. The inclusion of the X and ? squares are therefore absolutely vital to those who understand this fact. An X tells the player that it is impossible for a blue section to be in that square, and a ? allow for possible blue sections, which can lead to the creation of vital X squares later.
Trial and error is NOT a required part of this game in the vast majority of the levels, which is a good thing. Everything can be broken down to pure logic, allowing for solid solutions as long as the player knows how to utilize these skills. Of course a trial and error "strategy" can be used, but it is highly unlikely that anyone who must resort to this method will have fun anyway, since it is quite obvious that SpotZim was not designed for that type of gameplay.
The graphics are as polished as can be expected for a pure puzzle game, and the attention to detail in this area is quite noticeable. It is refreshing to see that jillaby did not neglect this area, even though it is certainly not the lynchpin of the game's appeal.
It is interesting to see that many of the complaints come from those who think that there are somehow "multiple solutions," when this is entirely not the case. The goal of the game is to find the exact positions of the hidden patterns. It is NOT to "draw" patterns into the grid in such a way that they satisfy the column/row number requirements. Just because it is possible to put a blue square anywhere the player wants does not mean that the player SHOULD put one there. Therefore, any arguments regarding multiple solutions are, to me, moot.
With that said, I do think there are a few things that could be changed or improved. Firstly, the issue of ads interrupting the game is definitely a problem. They should have been handled in a better way. Also, the ability to X out entire rows/columns at once (such as in the case of 0's) would be very helpful, especially if someone needs to reset the board. Finally, instead of requiring multiple clicks to switch between shapes, keyboard modifiers would help. So perhaps allowing ALT or Shift to be held in order to create X or ? squares while clicking would be an option.
Overall SpotZim provides an addictive, dynamic look at both logical and spatial-oriented gaming. The progression of the levels allows the player to learn key strategies that will become quite useful later in the game, and the ability to save one's current level for next time is a great addition.