I noticed that Pyrogon's website doesn't work since 2017. I expected it because they weren't active since 2003. Pyrogon was founded by Brian Hook, and he worked earlier for id software and other companies. I have to point out that only two games of this company were available for Linux.

In 2002 Pyrogon released the digital version of Candy Cruncher, which was ported to Linux by Ryan C. Gordon. He doesn't need the introduction because he is so well-known among Linux users. Ryan wrote an article about this game:

https://web.archive.org/web/20170305052210/http://pyrogon.com/about/diary/2_26_2002.php

In the same year, Pyrogon released the digital version of NingPo MahJong for Linux. David Hedbor was the founder of Eon Games, and he ported this game to Linux. They were creating games for computers and handheld devices. David was one of the programmers responsible for the Linux port of Majesty: Gold Edition, and he also ported Hyperspace Delivery Boy! to Linux. Interestingly, Hyperspace Delivery Boy! was created by John Romero, Tom Hall, and Stevie Case. Unfortunately, Eon Games was closed in 2010, and nobody noticed it.

Some people reading it starts to wonder, why do I spend my spare time writing about two indie games? Below are some interesting facts about these two games. Some users remember that 2002 was a terrible year for people who wanted to play games on Linux. Loki and Tribsoft were closed, and Hyperion wasn't happy about the low sales of their games. In this case, they decided to focus on Amiga customers. We still had other companies that wanted to publish games for Linux. Pyrogon was one of them, and they decided to re-release these two games for Linux.

On February 6th, 2003, LGP published the box version of Candy Cruncher, which was exclusively available only for Linux. It was a second game for Linux PowerPC, which was available on the CD, so you didn't need to download a different installer to run it. Additionally, it was the only game published for Linux where you can see Sparc at system requirements printed on the box. Few more years later, they removed support for Sparc, and nobody noticed it. Later, LGP added support for Penguinplay, which allowed you to compete with other users.

We probably never find out how well it was selling among Linux users, but they treated it seriously. LGP was regularly publishing patches for Candy Cruncher, until 2010 when they started to have difficulties.

My expectations weren't huge when I bought it. However, I quickly realized it was a very addictive game. Every time I tried to move rows and columns of candies quicker to beat the clock. A few times, I had to remove it from my computer. It was easy to start playing and lose track of time. It's a simple game without a complex plot like Runes of Avalon to have fun with it.

In 2004, LGP published the box version of NingPo MahJong, which was too exclusively available only for Linux. LGP released only one patch for it and the new installer.

I rarely play it, so I don’t even try to describe NingPo MahJong.
It's hard to compare it to similar games for Linux like MahJong (Absolutist) or Mahjong Epic (Kristanix Games). These two mentioned games are not available for Linux for sale anymore. I think it was ok and one of the commercial games available for Linux PowerPC. Maybe you can say more about it.

I think LGP didn't promote games for Linux PowerPC among Mac, Amiga, and Playstation2 users. It was just a lost opportunity. I can imagine a situation where Amiga users could buy more copies of a specific game than Linux users in 2003.

Below you can see pictures of Candy Cruncher and NingPo MahJong for Linux.

https://ibb.co/JCVr6mV

Did you play Candy Cruncher and NingPo MahJong on Linux?

What do you think about these two games?

Did you buy Candy Cruncher and NingPo MahJong for Linux?

Would you buy Candy Cruncher and NingPo MahJong for Linux if it was available on Steam or GOG?

Last edited by gbudny on 7 September 2021 at 5:35 pm UTC