THE GAME
Brick Over Islands is a fun puzzle starring a cute penguin.  It was made by Jani Parviainen in 2004, and has 30 levels.  The idea of this game is to recreate the pattern shown at the bottom left of the screen by pushing crates (or bricks) around.  This is trickier than it sounds.  You can only push the crates, not pull them, and you can only push one at a time.  The pattern is often made up of different colour crates, and you have to place crates in the correct position.  Sometimes you have to fetch crates from different islands (hence the name Brick Over Islands), which makes things interesting.  You cannot swim from island to island - despite being a penguin, you still drown in water.  Therefore, you have to sacrifice some of your crates to make a stepping stone in the water.  The question is, which crates can you sacrifice, and which crates do you need to keep?  You need 2 crates for each stepping-stone, before you can cross over to another island, so plan carefully. 

If you make a mistake, and are unable to complete that level, just press 'Escape' to have another attempt.  You are allowed 3 attempts for each level, and then the game will end.  There is also a time limit for each level.  If you do not complete a level within the allotted time, then the game will end.  The time left for each level is shown at the bottom right.  The level you are currently on is shown at the top right of the screen.  The ability to save your progress, or using passwords, would have been handy though.  When the game ends, you have to start again right from the beginning, which I found a bit annoying.      

 Moving the penguin -  Arrow keys
 Restart the level  -  Esc
 Pause the game -   P
 Change camera angle -  Tab
 Camera zoom in \ out -  Page Up \ Page Down
 Get back to main menu -  F12

THE QUICK TIP
If time is running short, and you know that you cannot complete the level, it is better to press 'Esc' to try that level again than to let the time run out since the game will end.

THE GRAPHICS
The palm trees were really nice, and it was lovely to see them sway in the wind.  I was also impressed with the way the ocean moved as you played.  The penguin was very cute, and I loved his big eyes.  The clock showing how much time you have left was a nice touch.  The graphics are bright and colourful, which makes the game a joy to play.

THE MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS
There are many lovely sound effects in this game.    My favourite was the 'Waaah' as your penguin falls into the water and drowns (poor penguin).  I also like the sound as you push crates around, and the applause as you complete each level.  The Caribbean music was a pleasure to listen to. 

THE SUMMARY
This is a lovely puzzle game, which I can highly recommend.  It is trickier than you first think to recreate the patterns, as crates can accidentally be pushed into a corner or into the water.  I like the idea of trying to get crates from different islands.  However, the lack of any 'Save' feature or password feature was a bit disappointing.  It is quite frustrating when you get quite far in the game, but then have to start again right from the beginning.  Graphics were bright and colourful, which made the game lots of fun to play, and I liked all the sound effects in the game.  If you like puzzle games, you are sure to love Brick Over Islands.