Simple but Addictive
Tue Apr 26 2016 SquishykidbThe game has no pause screen, no options, and sometimes (at 100, 1000) has an option to share your progress or challenge somebody else. But it works. There is no music, and the sound effects are so simple you can play music in the background and not get annoyed by any sounds clashing with each other. Controls are minimal, but work well. (You pull back anywhere on the screen and it'll shoot the ball with that power and direction) There are some objects that pop up randomly throughout the game like a cactus, rock (didn't know it was movable I breezed right past it), and water hazards. This spices the gameplay up so it takes longer for it to get boring. The levels are never the same. I am currently on level 2018, and plan on going to 5000. It's addicting and the size of the game is so small (due to its minimalist design) that you'll never have to take it off so you can just pick up where you left off a month, or even a year from last time. For the people complaining on the lack of one stars, there's a reason for that! Get this game, it's only a dollar so if it's your not appealing it won't be that much of a loss. But if you love it like I do, it'll be worth $5 by the time you're done with it. (BTW I haven't had any color tint change that I noticed, so it must be a glitch)
Simple and pleasant game, but infinity ended at hole 10,000
Sat Aug 10 2019 --Roland--This game has been my literal no-brainer game for several years. It’s small and simple design has kept me coming back for more. The occasional changes in landscape, be it a cactus, a cloud, a color shift, brought an element of satisfaction simply because of their rarity. It was a joy to see something new. A reminder of how pleasant the simple things of life can be.
However, upon reaching hole 10,000 today at 26,476 strokes, something new I did not expect occurred. Hole 10,001 did not generate. Instead I found myself on the shore of an endless ocean. Hmm, I thought. Perhaps it’s a fluke? So I rebooted the app and there was still no new hole. I hit the ball into the ocean, and the ball vanished beneath the water and did not regenerate again. I no longer have a ball to hit. Nor a hole to shoot for. The game promised infinity, but the game literally ending like this exactly at hole 10,000 seems like it’s an ending by design. If not, the game has broken at hole 10,001 and I’d like to keep playing. As far as endings go, I will say this does seem like a very appropriate ending for this simple game.
Should be free.
Fri May 03 2024 shyrain67This game came highly recommended online so I thought I'd give it a go since I only have access to mobile games for a bit. I don't understand the reviews. There are no rewards, upgrades, progression, level replays, nothing. All you can do in this game is hit the ball, which becomes monotonous and boring after just a few minutes. This isn't artistic minimalism, this is laziness. You can have a minimalist game and still have actual gameplay. At least ball cosmetics or some sort of upgrades would be massive. Being able to replay a level to improve would be huge. Any semblance of gameplay would make this a fun game, but it will never get any of those things. This game is as big a waste of money as it is time. Unless you are senile and can't understand even basic gameplay mechanics, look elsewhere, as this game has nothing to offer. I have never gotten bored of a game faster, I cant imagine anyone playing this for more than 10 minutes. The amount of 5 star reviews on this game are absurd, and they all praise the minimalism, but like I said before, this game doesn't feel minimalist, it feels like a half baked work in progress that was abandoned and then sold for money. I wouldn't be writing a review if it were free, but charging money for something like this is completely absurd, as I can't imagine this took even a bit of effort to make.
Love it!
Thu Feb 28 2019 Ward Y.Read the reviews and tried it out. It's about what you expect, you know, just golfing in the desert.
I’ve had the game for almost a year (maybe 10 months) and I finally made it to level 10,000. Then it ended. Didn’t have a “Congratulations!” message it anything. Just a giant lake where your ball will never return from.
This was what I used to multitask and hold my ADD at bay during boring meetings / events. Totally worth it. Wish the levels lasted longer so now I have to go find a new time waster app.
Previous review:
So a month or two ago before I purchased, I read a review about a hole at 2800 that the reviewer couldn't get past because it's a hole covered by a plateau next to a body of water.
I was worried about it and also thought I'd never make it that far. Well, I just ran into that hole. It's hole number 2866 and it's a doozy. However, there's a trick: you can't land it directly into the hole. There's actually a land mass to the right, just off the screen. I found it by accident. By sheer luck, on my second try, it bounced off of that land into the hole. As a tip, you can't bounce it off the side, you either have to hit it from the top or on the corner (which is what I think I did).
Anyway, I plan to keep going until I get sick of it. Maybe I'll come update my review after I hit another significant landmark.
A beautiful rebuke to the state of the art
Wed Jan 02 2019 ArgybargThere are no achievements. The game doesn’t care if you get a hole in one or take 100 strokes for a hole. There is no tutorial, and no need for one. The holes have not been designed for a single solution, or even multiple solutions. The holes do not get harder. They do not introduce new hazards. You cannot acquire new skills, gears, collectibles, or power-ups. There is no story. There is no end.
It is a toy for you to play with, a physical thing that is not trying to reward or punish or incentivize or otherwise engineer you. Just play with it. Enjoy the little sand splash and the click of hitting the ball. Of course you might feel happy when the ball goes in the hole, but that’s up to you and not the game.
Have fun and enjoy being left in peace. I can’t be harassed by other games after this.
Awesome, even after 10,500 holes
Tue Feb 12 2019 gengel5I’m at 10,500 holes and still love it. There are times that you believe that there’s just no way you can do this hole, but persevere, you can and you will. The number of strokes don’t matter, it’s a Zen kind of thing, just you and the desert.
Yes, the sand and sky will change their tint after awhile, just like the sky above you now changes. Not to worry, it’s not a glitch. Just keep playing. Mind-soothing; let your troubles just drift away... just one more hole...
Great game for when you’re at a Dr’s office, or waiting while your partner is shopping. Minutes or an hour or two, doesn’t matter. Just you and the desert... one of the best values in the App Store. Playing it for years and still doing demos of it for Apple User Group meetings! Very relaxing!
Mindless, glorious deserts
Tue Dec 18 2018 evelynisabeeI came across a cloud, and shot the ball at it. Nothing happened to the cloud. I’m worried that I may have angered the gods and it may be another 700 holes before I see a cloud again.
There really isn’t any better mobile game than this. The simplicity provides replayability. It is zen, and I can play it for 20 seconds waiting for a conference call to start up, or for a few minutes before bed.
Those decrying lack of options, replay button, stars, and congratulations make me laugh. The entitlement generation that needs to be told that they are doing such a great job for just existing. These children could not survive on older game systems where you didn’t get an achievement popping up just for playing the first level of a game.
Almost perfection
Fri Aug 25 2017 JLawrenceRThe infinite variety of shots, the game's simplicity, and its subtle changes of color and desert formations make this the most addictive, satisfying game I have played. I agree that it's challenge is playing each hole well, so it's perfect for a few moments or 30 minutes. No ads or other distractions. However, my goal is to reduce my average score for all holes, so I would be very pleased if the developer would provide that statistic as an option--turn it on or turn it off.
Nine months later after thousands of holes, I have played one hole for over a thousand times, with no way to win the hole, and no way to advance to a following one. There must be a way to restart and begin a new hole. Developer--please help!
Instant Classic
Wed Dec 28 2016 VerninHundreds of years from now people will still be playing this game, long after the sport of "golf" has been whipped from the collective consciousness this game will endure.
You start the game slow, a weary golfer trapped in a dessert wonderland, the only way out? Golfing.
Around hole 3210 the game starts to really pick of speed, you're given a quest by the white dragon Vàenor, though the real fun begins at hole 5000. Will you trust Vàenor? Or betray the princess and take the gold for yourself? The choice is yours and yours alone.
I'm at hole 7600 and I'm still in awe of the breathtaking graphics, it really feels like I'm in a dessert and I'm golfing. I can't wait to see what adventures lay ahead of me. Dis game is da titz
Simple design mostly well executed
Sat Jun 15 2019 hstrykidI love the design. The mechanics are easy and intuitive. The only design aesthetic I’d like to see changed would be the addition of more water hazards or rocks. I saw one rock and maybe 10 water hazards in 1600 holes. Even some cactus or other hazards would add to the design.
However, I deleted the game at hole 1600 when I was at 35 (THIRTY FIVE!!!!!!!!!!!) shots to get the ball into the hole with no end in sight. Prior to this stupid hole I was averaging well under 3 shots per hole. The fact that there is NO ability to skip something that is so frustratingly difficult means that I’d rather give up than keep trying. If there was a way to earn skips with a stroke penalty if you make x holes in one in a row or if there was an upper limit to the strokes before it just moved you to the next hole then I’d still be playing. I’m not going to mention this game to friends due this glaringly bad oversight.
