Asher Vollmer, the indie developer behind the multi-award winning puzzle game Threes!, has suspended work on his next project, Close Castles.

　　The non-traditional real-time strategy game was being developed for PlayStation 4, with other platforms likely to follow, and offered a unique fast-pace spin on the genre. Each match of Close Castles, played via local multiplayer, is expected to last around three minutes. Players would dash to build cities, castles, and roads as quickly as they could on a small square grid, with the objective being to destroy your opponent’s castle before they would take yours.

　　However, on Thursday Vollmer made a surprise announcement on Twitter that the project had been suspended. In a series of messages, he wrote: “Close Castles is currently on hold. I am working on a new mobile game now. Turns out I reeeally missed making mobile games.”

　　Close Castles is currently on hold. I am working on a new mobile game now.

　　— Asher Vollmer (@AsherVo) February 5, 2015

　　Answering questions from his followers, Vollmer went on to explain reasons why the project is on hold.

　　“I designed myself into a corner. I need to take a step back for a while,” he said.

　　“I'm taking a break because Close Castles needs a fundamental overhaul! We'll see how I feel about it in a few months. I don't particularly enjoy the game in its current incarnation. And few people outside of myself [don’t] enjoy it either!

　　“This leaves me pretty much unable to continue until I overhaul the game and bring it up to a minimum level of quality.”

　　Threes!, a mathy puzzle game that can be played with a single thumb, was a popular finalist for GameSpot’s Mobile Game of the Year Award. Among a growing number of accolades for the game, Apple announced that Threes! Would be a 2014 recipient for the Apple Design Award.

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