Thank you Lightwood Games for sending us a review code!

Almost everyone has played a spot the difference puzzle before and they’re fun to play in small doses.  The object is to see how many differences you can detect in two nearly identical images.  Splat the Difference utilizes the two 3DS screens perfectly by showing the original image on the top screen and the altered one on the bottom.  When you detect one of the differences, you get to splat it with paint by using the stylus on the touch screen.

There are four game modes that can be played solo or with up to four people.  Your friends don’t have to own the game to join in, they can get it via Download Play.  The host gets to choose the game mode which includes:

Classic – In the multiplayer mode there are nine matches to see who can spot the most of the three differences in the pictures. There is no time limit and tapping all over the place is permitted though there is a slight cool-down period between taps.   The single player mode has a time limit and tapping in an incorrect place results in losing some valuable time.  As you progress through the levels you’ll get less and less time to spot all of the differences.

Casual – If you don’t like being timed then this is the mode for you!  There are three differences to find at your own pace.

Frenzy – There is only one difference and not much time to find it.  Good luck!

Mirror – If you’re looking for a challenge, this mode is for you.  You still have to find three differences but one image is reversed.

No matter which mode you play, there are a ton of images with various levels of details and different themes.  Some of the images are holiday themed like Halloween and Valentine’s Day while others feature architecture or luggage or cars stuffed to the brim with various objects.  Though duplicate images are possible, they have different changes made to them so it’s hard to memorize the differences.

Not surprisingly, the more cluttered the image, the harder it is to detect the anomalies.  There is a hint button that will point out a difference for you.  However, it has a recharge time between uses and you may not even have enough time to use it in fast paced levels.  There’s also a Refresh button, but I never figured out what its purpose was.  Pressing it just made one of the images flicker briefly.   

The game's interface is very colorful and fits the splat theme.  The background music is pleasant to listen to and is neither memorable or annoying.  I had no problems running this game and sharing it with others.  

While I was able to set up a multiplayer match against my son, he quickly got bored and wanted to play something else (Gotta Protectors).  Even if this game isn’t for him, I’m sure that there are many kids and adults who will enjoy this title.  The asking price is a reasonable $5 and the download play makes it easy to set up matches with those who don’t own it yet.  If you enjoy spot the difference challenges, then you should consider adding this game to your 3DS library.