Item: Threes!+
Rating: 96
Author: Dinsun

Our Site Score

96/100

Threes!+ is, in my opinion, the perfect mobile game. It’s built on a foundation of simple math, but the strategy is so rich that I'm still learning new nuances years after its original release. Unlike the clones that followed it (like 2048), Threes! requires you to account for the incoming tiles and the 'push' of the entire board, making it much more of a tactical challenge.

The personality of the game is what really wins you over. The little 'hello!' sounds the tiles make and the way they peek around the corners of the board give the game a soul. It’s elegant, brilliant, and incredibly hard to put down. If you have an Apple Arcade subscription and you haven't played this, you are missing out on one of the greatest puzzles ever designed.

Reviewed on: Sun Apr 12 2026

Dinsun Review

Look, I've seen a thousand clones of this since 2014, but none of them grasp the fundamentals like the original. Threes! isn't just about moving tiles; it's about spatial management and forward-thinking. It’s tight, it’s disciplined, and it doesn't waste your time with fluff. As someone who prefers games that respect my intelligence, the difficulty curve here is honest—when you lose, it's because you got greedy or failed to plan your corners, not because of some cheap mechanic.

That said, it is still just a grid puzzle. After a few hundred rounds, the 'personality' of the tiles wears a bit thin for a 40-year-old gamer who just wants to crunch the numbers. It lacks the long-term progression of modern titles, but for a quick session during a commute, it remains one of the most mechanically sound experiences on the platform. It's reliable, which is more than I can say for most of the trash on the App Store these days.

Overall Stats

Pros & Cons

Perfect mechanical balance
Charming, non-intrusive art direction
No microtransactions (Arcade version)

Limited variety in game modes
Can feel repetitive over long sessions

Technical Report

Performance: Flawless 60fps; extremely lightweight on battery life.

Accessibility:

Haptic Feedback
Clear Visual Contrast

Audience Fit

Buy if: You appreciate elegant, minimalist puzzles and chasing high scores through pure logic.

Skip if: You need a narrative or heavy progression systems to stay engaged.

Similar Games:

2048
Triple Town
Numeric

Reviewer Context

Reviewer: Dinsun, 40yo Male, Conservative Professional Critic
Hardware: iPhone 15 Pro
Playtime: 45 hours
Status: Highest tile: 1536

Threes!+ is an award-winning puzzle game about sliding numbered tiles on a 4x4 grid to combine them. Start by merging 1s and 2s to make 3, then combine identical numbers to reach 6, 12, 24, and beyond. Every move brings a new tile onto the board, requiring careful planning to keep the grid from filling up. With charming character designs for every number, a whimsical soundtrack, and deceptively deep strategy, Threes!+ is a game that takes a minute to learn but a lifetime to master.