(I'm comparing threes on a Samsung Captivate Glide and 2048, Evaldo Rossi version, on an ipad mini)

* The interface of threes frustrates me. It takes a relatively long time to start compared to 2048 almost starting instantly and is feels awkward to interact with. Much to convoluted for most settings to me.

* The counting up of score at the end takes too long. I either want to move on to the next game or walk away from it. I don't want to sit there and watch numbers being added.

As to Game play:

* Three's requires more strategy yes, but it is trickier to play in a casual manner, when I have a few free moments here and there. I can pick up a 2048 game, and get somewhere reasonably in a short period of time where threes seems to take more concentration and time (Even beyond the time it takes to get the app going).

The first time I saw threes the performance, theming, and just general styling of the game felt like a knock off of something else. It was bad enough that I didn't think I'd found the original and looked again. The edition of 2048 I came across had a much cleaner interface, smoother game play and works well in time constrained or pickup-play settings while still being interesting enough to be worth playing longer. Threes just doesn't scratch that itch. It's a little too much for casual play but not quite enough for something more serious to me.

They're very different games. With 2048, you make several moves per second. With Threes, you take many seconds per move. I just prefer that style of play more in my casual games.

Threes occupies that awkward middle ground between casual and 'real' games. If I want to play a real game, I'll pick up a 4X or something. If I want a casual game, I play 2048 or sudoku or something similar.

So it's the speed? I've heard that argument before, just curious. People don't seem to argue design or rules or something else like that, just that the tiles move faster.

I would argue the speed of gameplay is a fundamental part of a game's design. The fact that 2048 plays faster and the games are short is better design in a mobile game in my opinion.

Parent is talking about play speed (thinking consciously vs intuitinally/reflexively), not animation speed.

I understand.