CocoBan is a game that is derived from both Sokoban and the more recent Picoban, in that one has to push objects around to move certain objects to specific places in order to advance a level (a puzzle/strategy game). Unlike Sokoban where you just push gold to specially marked areas, in CocoBan you are manipulating the pieces to get keys so that you can unlock the locks to reach the final goal of each level: the green emerald! Featuring Coco 3 graphics and digitized sound effects, the game purposely does not have instructions, as you are meant to explore and figure out what newer and newer pieces do, squares that you can't cross over more than once, and many, many other things... some of which you will see in the 10 levels worth of screenshots above. There are 32 levels bundled with the game that get progressively harder as you go long. The game is completely keyboard control based and features a cumulative timer (that maxes out at 99 minutes and 99 seconds) that continues on between levels; so once you get good at it and can solve all 32 levels, you can attempt to get better and better times. At the bottom of the main game screens is the keys that you use to play; the 4 arrow keys to move, R to restart the current level (there is no undo a single move), X to quit the game outright, and BREAK to pause/unpause the game. The game also features auto-save and 5 different game slots to save in; this way you can make one save slot as the main one that you use to get the best overall time on, and others to experiment on how to solve levels and take as long as you want. Or for other people to use that you want to compete against. There are quite a few innovative things to learn on later levels that you will have to discover yourself.
CocoBan also comes with a level editor which lets you add your own levels and/or edit existing ones. This is the only part of the game that requires a joystick or mouse. All of the editing screen other than the left and rightmost columns is your playfield editor; the left column is comprised of buttons to aid in level design with the following functions: Clear current level, add or delete levels, move between levels, swap levels, play current level (for testing), exit the editor and save your levels. The level number you are currently working on is in the lower left corner. The rightmost column is the various pieces that you can place on the playfield. The grey arrows at the top and bottom of the right column let you scroll through the pieces, as there are far too many unique pieces to display on the screen at once.
A very addictive puzzle/strategy game, and if you are a fan of the original Sokoban, this is a much expanded sequel. Author Paul Thayer is also trying something new on this game on his itch.io page; you can pick your own price to pay when you download it (including free). Since he put a lot of work into this game and the level designs, pay him at least a few dollars, and if you are a big fan of the puzzle game genre, pay a little more as a "Thank You". He has an open invitation to players to submit their own user-designed levels, and The Coco Nation podcast's Game On Challenge will also be taking submissions at the end of 2022 and send them to Paul as well, so you can join in making diabolical puzzles to drive your fellow Coco Nuts... well, nuts!
Title: CocoBan
Author: Paul Thayer
Publisher: RedBeard & Mad Lab Productions (distributed digitally via itch.io)
Released: November 14, 2022
Requires: Color Computer 3 ONLY, 128K RAM. Level editor also requires a joystick or mouse.
Purchase CocoBan from itcho.io - name your own price!