Divide by Sheep 1.2

Mixing cuteness with high difficulty and dark humor seems to make a good recipe. Here we have a case of addition and subtraction, coated in a puzzle game that is a bit too disturbing for first graders.

The land is in crisis. The islands are sinking and the sheep need to get to the lifeboats. Well, there's no hurry actually, as islands remain in their place long enough for you to figure out an escape plan and water level never rises. This seems to suggest that the sheep have been led astray in some sort of climate change hoax, along with the wolves and pigs of the realm. This might seem an unfortunate combination for the sheep and pigs but, we'll soon realize that it might not be the case after all.

Sheep (as well as other critters) travel exclusively by jumping in unison off an island and onto another one. In this way they can reach the lifeboat. The challenge is in filling the life boat with a certain number of critters and as long as you only get to control groups, this can prove quite difficult at times.

There are ways to mitigate this of course. Otherwise we wouldn't have a game here. A group of five sheep jumping on a three square island will result in two drownings. But that's okay as long as you have another group of three and the raft requires exactly six sheep for the haul. That's the basic idea.

As you progress, situations become more convoluted, but will also introduce new game elements that will expand the solution base. Wolves for example will eat the first sheep they meat and then will occupy one island slot and have a forever lasting siesta. Pigs bounce sheep into the water, trampolines split groups and laser barriers...well, they don't actually serve as barriers in the common sense of the word.

A level has three challenges that need to be performed in order. So planning ahead and saving sheep for later is a good idea. The more challenges you complete the quicker you'll be able to unlock higher tier levels. Retrying will lose you credit, so be careful of your moves.

Conclusion

Divide by Sheep is not only centered on slicing sheep and taping them back up to serve some sadistic purpose, it is solid spacial math puzzler that has all the hallmarks of a hit.