Bad UI, not fun... and hardly anything to do with chemical labs!! – Flashbang Tubes Review

This game is not worth your time, especially with so many great games on the iOS platform. The most annoying thing about this game is that it has a strange, user interface that does not conform to how iOS apps should operate (user interface wise). The developers have totally IGNORED the guidelines that Apple wrote to guide software developers in designing better apps (Apple originally wrote these in the 1980s for their Mac computers, and expanded later for iOS). If this developer read at least one, Apple's guidelines on Human Factors/User Interface design, this app would be better (I would add 2 stars if it had a good well-thought-out interface). For example, when you start playing, you have to guess how to connect the tubes (the instructions & help screens don't tell you). I won't explain it here either... I'm sure most users will figure it out since it's not that hard to figure out -- but HELLO, why should anyone have to guess and "figure out" how to do something like drawing tubes (lines) on a touchscreen? The UI and usability should either: (1) be redesigned to be more intuitive [preferred method], or (2) guide the user step-by-step the very first time -- using, for example, animations or temporary popups [but only if the UI can't be simplified/redesigned], or (3) have better "Help" pages with lots of details [as a last resort, only if the above 2 aren't possible] Second, the screen is very busy. Once the game (any level) starts, the peripheral stuff on the screen should become less distracting (for example, they can be hidden, they can be dimmed, they can slide out off-screen and reappear when needed, etc). To host this game on the iPad yet waste half the screen on screen-fluff during game-play shows a lack of design abilities. Third, the "home" screen in this app (which just shows a menu of 6 levels) is crude. At a minimum, the home screen should show the name of the app... and as applicable, offer buttons/selectors for "Settings", "Help", "About", etc. In this game, it's all bass-ackward, with these buttons being on the game-screen (taking up valuable screen-space). The home screen for this app looks like it was designed for Androidians. The app also removes (hides) the iOS' status bar (black bar at the top of all iOS mobile devices). Come on, this is a big no-no!!! Apps should not cover/hide the status bar or other OS attributes (unless they have a very VERY good reason to do it) -- especially when there's enough extra space on the game screen. So when this game is running, you can't see your battery status or clock on the status bar. Lastly, when you finish a level, the words "You Win" pop-up on the screen, and it just sits there (no prompt that it's waiting for you to touch the screen). Again, the developer needs to learn about proper UI design, especially modal screen designs and how/when to (visually) prompt for user-action. I'm going to guess this app was written by a beginning programmer with no experience (maybe it's their first app?) -- I certainly hope that's the case. Otherwise, for an experienced developer to make such mistakes only shows they have no creative/artistic abilities or they don't care about UIs (and if either is true about this developer, they shouldn't be making iOS apps). Sorry folks, this one's a DEFINITE PASS. Especially for an app that has 3 graphics screens (really only 2, the 3rd is the splash screen) --- but takes up 7MB on my device --- another sign of a poorly written app. Other than the serious (imho) UI issues, the game play is quite simple. It's mostly simple "logic"-type puzzles with a time-limit. Sound effects add some tension. For each level, you're given a sequence of "chemical reactions", and you have to translate them from "written form" into a visual fluidic circuit (which you draw using tubes). There's not enough here to make this an engaging or long-term game. I solved all 6 levels (puzzles) in about 10 minutes. There's nothing else left in the app after that.
Review by Woaaa! on Flashbang Tubes.