Anawiki Blog

GENERAL TIPS:
• For each match of three or more runes you earn the same amount of Rune Magic (as long as there is an opened vial corresponding to the runes you matched).
• For each match of 4 runes you’ll receive 1 spell on the board.
• For each match of 5 or more you’ll receive 2 spells on the board.

• When you make a match of 2 colours (COMBO) you’ll receive 3 spells.
• When you are short on time, focus on the colours that are missing. It’s easy to waste time making matches for colours with vials that are already full.
• Take advantage of chain reactions - make matches for spells that will activate other spells in turn (such as bomb, fire, vanish and drain spells).
• When you are running out of free space, try to use spells or the Amulet of Spells.
• Drop spells from the Amulet of Spells in places where they will collect as many runes as possible and activate as many other spells as possible. For example, do not drop the fire spell onto another fire spell, but to one side - this way you will collect more runes, because you will have two flames of fire instead of one.
• Be careful with the teleport spell. If you have already planned all your moves carefully it can ruin your strategy, however, if there are lots of runes on the board with no pattern, it can make matches at random.
• When you play against giant runes use spells carefully - they can destroy a hard-made pattern.
• When there is more than one giant rune, focus on the first one. One at a time is the key to success.
• Try to get as many points as possible in the rune matching game - every spell earned during this mini-game will show up on the board on the next level and will make it easier for you to complete it.
• In the puzzle mini-game, when you swap pieces you can see the original picture under the flying pieces. Watch for it and it will be easier for you to make the right swap.
• You can view all completed images in the puzzle mini-game in the gallery. You can even replay the puzzle game with the selected image on any of three different difficulty settings.
• You can use mouse roll or space to rotate tiles.

SPELLS:
You can find 6 spells in Runes of Avalon:
• Colour Drain Spell - this spell removes all runes of one colour from the board.
• Teleport Spell - switches rune colours randomly. It also affects stones and locked runes.
• Vanish Spell - removes random runes from the board.
• Bomb Spell - clears a 5×5 square of runes.
• Heal Spell - turns all stones into locked runes and all locked runes into regular runes.
• Fire Spell - removes all runes, locked runes and stones in a cross of fire, but it cannot go through walls.

AMULET OF SPELLS:
Evelyne will find the Amulet of Spells on level 4. She has to learn her first spell in the Rune Matching mini-game. Later she will learn new or more powerful spells. There are 4 spells available:
• Fire Spell - similar to fire spells on the board, though it will become more powerful.
• Magic Sand - activates any spell on the board that you drop it on. Very useful on later, more crowded levels.
• Spread Spell - turns the surrounding runes into the same colour as the rune you dropped it on. Learning how to use this spell effectively is crucial to completing some levels.
• Time Bonus Spell - adds time. Initially 30 seconds, then 40.

Each spell uses 5 Rune Magic points. Some spells can be cast with either one of two available colors ? in that case spell uses the one that has more points collected.

Fire spells use red or blue runes.
Spread spells use silver or gold runes.
Magic Sand uses any green runes.
Time Bonus uses grey runes.

Note that the Double Fire Spell can be tricky. It casts 2 cross fire spells, but not at the place you drop it. One fire spell is cast to the left and above and the other one is cast to the right and below.

You gain spells on the following levels:
• Level 4 - Fire Spell
• Level 11 - Spread Spell
• Level 14 - Double Fire Spell
• Level 24 - Magic Sand
• Level 34 - Time Spell
• Level 44 - Triple Fire Spell
• Level 55 - Time Spell 2

LEVEL TYPES:
There are 5 level types in Runes of Avalon 2:
• Regular levels - your task is to fill magic vials with corresponding rune magic (colours).
• Rainbow runes levels - the taks is to collect all rainbow runes. The trick is that those runes are not draw so you can not make regular matches with them. You need to use spells. Place as many spells as you like on the backdrop and then release one spell (preferably vanish spell) and watch what how all the runes disappear.
• Giant Rune levels - you need to collect all Giant Runes to progress. You collect a Giant Rune by placing 2×2 sets of regular runes on each side of the giant rune.
• Puzzle mini-game - in order to advance to the next stage you need to complete a puzzle minigame. Swap pieces until they lock into the right places.
• Rune Matching mini-game - click runes on parchments and learn or earn spells for next levels.

Feel free to submit your own tips & tricks.

Gamezebo has reviewed Runes of Avalon 2. The game earned 4 out of 5 stars, which is pretty cool and not so easy to get these days. Scott really enjoyed the game. Here’s a quick excerpt:

Suffice it to say that fans of the title’s predecessor as well as newcomers alike will appreciate the sudden ability to sling witchcraft as needed to clear a path when stuck, not to mention marvel at the sight of slick special effects like explosions and color-draining swirls activating in dazzling strings of mystical mayhem.

Not only does the title look and sound good (oddly, we even dig the Celtic-flavored musical score), it also plays surprisingly well. Thank polished stage design work that really forces you to take advantage of each new spell presented, as well as solid game balancing that’ll keep you plugging away, try after try, at scenarios you’ll often just barely fail to finish. (Level skip options are further provided to prevent you from hurling the keyboard out of the window.)

Read full review at Gamezebo.

My last post: ?Save 90% on ANAWIKI GAMES? was an April Fools joke. I am sure that no one (that is not out of his mind), including me, is going to fight piracy by increasing prices. Though I thought it suits April Fools perfectly and decided to give it a shot. A lot of people seemed to like it.

That’s right, you can save 90% on ANAWIKI GAMES. How’s that possible? Well…

Due to increasing piracy and development costs we decided to rise prices of all our games by 1000% (so it’s 10 times) since April 2nd 2008. We understand that the price rise is quite big so I decided to give you the last chance to buy our games at regular price and save 90% of what you would pay tomorrow. Here’s what you can get:

Runes of Avalon 2 & 1
Pony World
Maggie the Gardener 2
Tom’s Hen House

Don’t wait until tomorrow. This might be your last chance to buy one of our games.

We are proud to announce the immediate availability of Runes of Avalon 2, the sequel to our bestselling game. Runes of Avalon 2 is a puzzle-driven game offering a polished, addictive game-play, with over 100 challenging levels, six powerful spells, two minigames, and three game modes with many variations within a quest.

Take a fantastic journey through a magical world as you match the runes to help Evelyne fulfil her mission and find her way home.

Welcome to the once glorious empire of Avalon, now clouded by the darkness of the evil Morganna’s spells. After defeating Morganna in an intense magical battle, Evelyne, the protector of Avalon, must now cleanse Avalon from the dark curse with her Rune Magic. Help Evelyne to complete her mission and find her way home by matching the runes, encountering new locations, new spells and new challenges along the way. With three game modes and some unexpected twists, Runes of Avalon 2 takes you to an enchanting world of magic and mystery you won’t want to leave.

Runes of Avalon 2 features a compelling story line with exceptional music and superb effects that remain this games hallmark.

* 100 great Levels
* Amulet of Spells with 4 new Spells and 6 Power-ups
* 10 new enchanting Images to reveal
* Heart-stirring Graphics and Animation
* JigSaw mini-game
* Cast Spells for bigger and better matches

Download it now:
- for Windows
- for Mac OSX
- for Linux

I am very pleased to announce soft release of Runes of Avalon 2 for Macintosh OSX. More on the release tomorrow… just go to game description or download it right away.

We are very happy to announce the release of Runes of Avalon 2 open beta. The game is almost done. All we need is to make sure that everything is perfectly polished, that every level is fun and all the rules are crystal clear.

Please download Runes of Avalon 2 for Windows (Linux and Mac version coming soon).

In Runes of Avalon 2 Evelyne continues her quest through Avalon. Match magical runes to strengthen your abilities to clear Avalon of Morganna’s Spells! Make your way through Avalon with over 100 challenging levels, 10 image puzzles, and 2 bonus games.

Download Runes of Avalon 2 for Windows (Linux and Mac version coming soon).

This is the first public announcement of Runes of Avalon 2. And this time it is very different. First part of Runes of Avalon was announced very early in development process. This one is done almost at the end of it. Over 10 months has passed since release of Runes of Avalon. A lot have changed in ANAWIKI during that time. We released Pony World and Path of Magic. We learned a lot designing levels for Path of Magic and gathered a lot of players feedback. This knowlegde was very important during development of Runes of Avalon 2.

The whole new game introduces few new elements. One of the most important changes is adding Amulet of Spells. Evelyne finds Amulet on her way and learns to use it. It lets her cast spells on request. Powerful spells - fire, color, time and magic sand spell. Each spell needs a different rune to be activated. For example, fire spell needs red or blue runes, color spell needs gold or silver runes, time spell needs grey runes and magic sand needs green runes.

I am very excited about Amulet of Spells. It adds a new strategy elements to the game. We could create new levels. And it brings Evelyne to the new level of magic skills.

To be released soon…but if you want to try it sooner then sign up to our beta test program.

I am pleased to announce that we’ve released updated version of Pony World for Windows. We have also released Mac Intel version. Mac PowerPC & Linux users please be patient, it will arrive soon for your platforms.

Pony World is a computer game full of fun and adventures of a lovely pony you can choose and control yourself. You are the one who decide if the pony leads a peaceful life with his family taking care of children and marriage or whether he devotes to working, farming or having fun.

Learn more about Pony World.

Year 2007 was one of the hardest years in my life and I am glad it’s over I am really happy that 2008 is here and am sure that it will be one of the best years in my life.

We’ve been working on a new game for few weeks. Nothing big, but it’s a free new years gift for you: ANAWIKI Puzzle Game. It’s a jigsaw puzzle game. It’s PC Windows only at the moment, but Mac Intel version should be ready within few hours.

Don’t forget to drop us a line of feedback about this new little game.