A brief history and description of Voltorb Flip and details about my Javascript version of it. Click here to play!
Laws regulating simulated gambling in video games had started to be passed by the end of the 2000s, and Pokemon's Game Corner and its slot machines were not exempt. The Korean release of Diamond and Pearl removed the slot machine minigames from the Game Corner and replaced them with a simple script that gave the player coins upon interacting with the machines. This change was also implemented in the European release of Platinum to comply with PEGI guidelines.
When Gold and Silver were remade, Voltorb Flip was created to replace Goldenrod City's and Celadon City's slot machines (which, incidentally, still exist in the Japanese release). Since it isn't based on a real casino game and it doesn't cost in-game currency to play, it doesn't constitute simulated gambling. (Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, incidentally, would have earned adult-only ratings in Europe had they brought back the slot machines.)
Voltorb Flip is a much better game than the slot machines it replaces. The sole downside for HeartGold and SoulSilver is that you can no longer buy in-game coins since you can only gain and never lose them playing Voltorb Flip. It's often described as a combination of Picross and Minesweeper, but to be honest I don't see the Minesweeper resemblance beyond the lose condition.
The game board is a five-by-five grid. The right and bottom edges of the game board feature information that corresponds to each row to the left and column above, respectively. The top number in each box equals the sum of all tiles in that row or column, while the bottom number represents the number of Voltorbs. A game is won by revealing all 2 and 3 tiles; it is not necessary to reveal all 1 tiles. The score is calculated by multiplying all revealed tiles; Voltorbs correspond to zero and revealing one loses the game. Upon losing, the game decreases in level equal to the number of tiles revealed before revealing the Voltorb. The game's level is not decreased if at least as many tiles were revealed as the current level.
Tiles can be marked with possible values by right-clicking or activating marker mode. Marker mode is activated by clicking the bottom button in the column to the right of the game board. The buttons above toggle which values are marked. Note that tiles cannot be clicked if they are marked with only Voltorb.
The row of buttons below the game board toggles several options:
An excellent strategy guide is available on The Cave of Dragonflies.
(Fun fact, I had no idea that the HTML canvas feature existed when I wrote this! Please don't look at the source code.)
