It comes down to this: I don’t want to keep playing. Threes! pleases move-to-move but doesn’t grip me. It’s slick, but I don’t care. A single game’s too long, and I’m never sure how I’m doing until it’s too late. Luck matters too much, or not enough, and after a few hours, I’m done.

Threes! feels incomplete. The idea of collapsing units into smaller spaces is interesting, but score-chasing doesn’t feel like the right focus. I wonder whether its many clones suggest not only that the core idea is compelling but that something’s also missing. Not that they know what.