I Think I Just Found The Perfect Movie Puzzle Game

A common theme I’ve noticed in media nowadays, especially with Wordle as a prime example, is people really love their trivia games. Although niche and fairly simple, these games trigger the right stimuli — curiosity, excitement, competition, and a hint of challenge. I personally adore these short bundles of fun, but I feel like I’ve found a “good” trivia game for every genre and category under the sun aside from movies.

For some reason, movie-based trivia just can’t seem to get the difficulty right. They’re either too reliant on giving clues or so broad that it becomes nearly impossible to find the answer. Fortunately, after a few recommendations, I finally got to try what I think is the best implementation so far — a movie grid game called Movie Mesh.

A Modest Experience Is Usually All It Takes

When you first hop onto the game hosted by Soapcentral, the user interface is incredibly minimal — a white background, today’s general theme, and, of course, a 2D grid with nine blocks, all waiting for unraveling. Every row and column has a specific theme as a clue, highlighting the type of movies you need to fill in the movie grids.

Unlike Wordle, the answers you give are from a pool, not anything specific, which is probably the thing I like the most. As long as your answer fits the criteria of its respective row and column’s clue, it’s correct. This approach is much more forgiving and enables accessibility, so you don’t need to be a hardcore movie aficionado to gather points. 

You can also click on the themes for hints, which elaborate on things like the actor or director’s full name, the exact subgenre, and other specific details. There’s also a bit of competitiveness to it; you get 50 points for filling a row or a column, so if you’re playing with a friend, the two of you can compare scores and see who hit or was closest to 300 points, the maximum you can achieve.

Once you’ve exhausted your guesses for the day, you get an end screen showcasing a completed 3×3 grid with all the right answers, even revealing the ones you might’ve missed. The game also shows a splash screen of popular correct guesses made by other players, and you’ll find the accumulated points at the bottom.

A Fun Ride With An Anticipating Aftermath To Make It Worthwhile

So, what are you left with? Well, after a fun 5-minute activity, you now have a full library of movies you might’ve never heard about and want to watch. For instance, I’m a diehard fan of thriller movies, so when I saw the popular picks for the thriller category, I got a full catalog that I could watch immediately afterward or on the weekend. 

This is arguably what makes Movie Mesh better than other similar movie grids and trivia games — the whole idea of a trivia game is to test your knowledge, but Movie Mesh lets you expand it by gifting you the collection its playerbase has. Aside from the challenging aspect, you want another good reason to keep returning for the next unsolved grid, and this game does it better than anyone by fancying your established passion.

As a movie enthusiast myself, I always want to broaden my watchlist with distinct, underappreciated varieties and movies I haven’t had the pleasure of exploring. If not, I at least want to visit media of genres I’m already fond of as a way to pass the time. With Movie Mesh, thankfully, I can do both, and if you’re in the same hunt as me, this is definitely a small daily activity you’ll enjoy from the get-go.