If you’re looking for a fun, relaxing iPhone game, don’t get Puzzllotto, the first application to come out of developer Mike Lee’s United Lemur development house. The $5 app is more puzzle than it is game, and is ridiculously frustrating – I’ve spent the last 15 minutes cursing at my phone repeatedly. But there’s a pretty nice reward for anyone who can endure Puzzllotto long enough to beat it: United Lemur is giving away thousands of dollars to the first person to solve the puzzle. For every day since the game’s release, the reward (which currently stands at $1000) will increase by another $1000, with a maximum of $30,000 available. And this isn’t just a clever marketing ploy for an impossible puzzle – if nobody claims the prize by the end of the 30 days, United Lemur will donate that $30,000 to charity.
The game comes with no instructions to speak of: you’re simply presented with a lushly drawn jungle with some blinking eyes, and a looping soundtrack filled with animal noises. Tapping on the blinking eyes occasionally reveals butterflies and lemurs, and you have to tap them in the right order if you’d like to keep advancing in the puzzle. It’s all trial and error, and one mistake resets the level. I can’t recommend Puzzllotto as a $5 game – there are far better options available on the App Store. But if you think you can beat everyone else to the punch and win the grand prize, a $5 buy-in isn’t too bad.
The game serves as an introduction to United Lemur, a development company that was founded by Mike Lee after he was ejected from Tapulous (which he co-founded). The company is currently working on at least two more apps, which are said to be much more full-featured than Puzzllotto (Lee also says that a “more fun” version of the game will be released as a free update once the competition is over, as some features have been omitted for the puzzle version).
Thanks to 148Apps.com and Daniel Brusilovsky for the tip.
I thought Mike didn’t like that Tapulous was making gimmicky apps???
Not exactly.
I wanted to make apps that had insane attention to detail, amazing art, and genuine sounds recorded in Madagascar. I wanted to push the gaming envelope and try things that would make an angel investor queasy.
So of course I wanted to make a puzzle game that would really drive people nuts, but in the days of the internet how can you keep there from being a walkthrough ten minutes after the app was released?
The Puzzllotto Prize is intended to keep people from doing that, motivated by that most reliable human trait — selfishness. Then, for as many as 30 days, there might be a puzzle that drove the whole world nuts.
I think he meant Mike Arrington…the other Mike. Your game sounds great, terrific marketing / mission.
LOL! I wonder how long will it be before someone actually reverse engineers this iPhone application via the appstore and actually claims the $30k reward
So much for Free iPhone 3G applications for everyone!
- Kevan / Free-iPhone-3G-Apps.com
Someone decompile the game and find out what URL it’s posting to after you complete the game..
prize US only? that sucks
america for americans, sorry.
An international promotion is a lot more work, we just didn’t have the resources to do it right now.
lol i was gonna get it too
To the folks saying ‘hack the game’ etc. I’m sure you’ll have to be connected to the internet to fully complete this game, at which point no amount of hacking the compiled app is going to help you win.
Yeah, it will probably send all the moves and check to see if they are correct.
Plus it’s the hard way. I don’t design puzzles for a living — I’m an engineer by trade. Why would you want to out-engineer me when you could just solve the puzzle?
Give me and iphone and i will beat it
..
Mike is just betting his $30k on the buyer’s primate urge to gamble. Each stake cost the gambler $5.
He (the dealer) is confident that more than 6,000 people will take up the gamble before the first person solves it. Any additional signups turn him a profit.
This is lottery with a twist.
We’ve worked very hard to make this 100% ethical and legal. To no extent is Puzzllotto gambling, there is not chance or randomness at all. The only thing standing between you and the prize is your wit.
We have worked with professional promotions attorneys and have impartial third-party judges running the competition.
Nice product but the cost can entails many think more rather seeing the features.
I was wondering how long it would take before this type of app arrived at the store. Drive downloads by promising a cash reward then involve a charity of some kind. Keep the differnece in profits. Very clever idea and expect to see many more apps follow suit.
When your money is itching you and plenty of time to waste try it otherwise I am spending time to reduce the amount of time bloggers and webmasters lose while building backlinks and submitting to search engines, basically Search Engine Submission (SES) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Check this out: http://www.yout...te-to-over.html
Do you really think your shit is relevant? Please kill yourself with a fork.
These “get rich quick” and “make money on the internet” types are driving me to lunacy. With their back-link management and SEO tactics it almost sounds legit, but it is pure retardation (they think it’s 2000, pre-bubble).
$4.99 seems quite pricey as the entry fee for a lottery. i’d definitely be interested in seeing the free version…
where’s the review about Photo Hunter? I think that game has a lot of potential..
yeah, you think it has potential because you wrote it
douchebag
Trial and error puzzle game… meh
What a time waster, seriously…..
Well, the prize is tempting, but I’d hate to spend $5 on something that is instantly going to frustrate me and I’ll never use again. Maybe I’ll give it a shot though.
Jake
NoteScribe: Premier Notes Software
wow! i think i have to install it now.
Clever, but its likeness to a lottery makes it look illegal to me. Notice how almost all unsanctioned giveaways have some free way to enter? That’s a legal requirement. I doubt this app is allowed. Not that I personally object.
It’s interesting there’s a law protecting people from this kind of thing, because human nature almost guarantees this will make lots of money.
Hey Ben, Like I posted above, we worked with professional promotions attorneys and have impartial third-party judges running the competition, so as to make sure we are 100% within the law. Which is why we had to lave out our friends in Maryland, North Dakota and Vermont. Not to mention the rest of the world.
More on Mike: http://www.appc...ee-unitedlemur/
Mike Lee in action again
So..is this game so tought that is may be some kind of NSA test to recruit future cryptologist (s) a la the “Last Star Fighter”?
I really must proof read:
So, how tough is this game? So tough that it could be some kind of NSA test to recruit future cryptologist (s) a la the “Last Star Fighter”?
I’m going to have to try this out, $5 for something that will entertain me during class or work, and could potential earn me $30 G’s, why not.
Heck, try http://www.picanswers.com its free and can kill some time everyday.
America for Americans?
You welcome to keep it to yourselves – wish you Americans would stop making so many innocent peoples’ lives a misery.
It’s like buying a lottery ticket ($5 for a chance at up to $30,000), except with lots of extra work involved.
I didn’t think that Mike was a founder at tapulous….
Wish they made stuff like dat for my Nokia N96
Bored. As hell.
“The Puzzllotto Prize is intended to keep people from doing that, motivated by that most reliable human trait — selfishness. Then, for as many as 30 days, there might be a puzzle that drove the whole world nuts.”
A quick google and twitter search shows nobody really working together yet – four days into contest.
Got me wondering about Mike’s assumption…. and the human trait — selfishness. Could it be tested? Bested? Let’s find out and work together as a group.
If I win, I resolve donate winnings… not keeping a penny. We’ll create a pole in this group and members can decide where to give the money.
I will encourage others that join Facebook group to do the same. At very least, will be an interesting experiment.
[Have posted solution to first screen to seed the group]
Solution here: http://www.s-se...to-solution.php
When is this going to be blocked?
I’ll volunteer server bandwidth to launch a DOS attack on this domain
Who has the time?