Cheezia

Based on a few games of Cheezia, it’s clear humans need to keep a closer eye on the evolution of the rodent population.

Instead of scavenging for scraps, the twitchy whiskered rascals have apparently set up their own distribution facility for cheese, engaging human assistance to get the slices in the right boxes.

Fears about mouse evolution aside, operating a cheese boxing factory via a tedious matching game proves to be just as scintillating as a 12-hour shift on Cathedral City’s production line.

The slice isn’t right

Nordic Solutions Systems appears to have as much talent for imaginative gameplay as it does for picking catchy publishing names.

Blocks of hole-riddled yellow stuff slide along a conveyor belt before dropping into boxes below. The challenge is that each package has a distinct colour and label (crowns, horseshoes, fleur de lis) that need to be matched up with the final shipping crate below.

You can alter both by spinning touch-controlled dials on both sides of the screen (Left for colour and Right for labels), with the trick being to have the box ready before the cheese drops.

A smooth production line keeps the surly boss mice happy, indicated by a fluctuating Production Rate Meter showing rating efficiency. The bar drains if you slow down, or fumble a match-up, and it’s Game Over when you run out.

Keep things ticking over, though, and you’ll steadily advance through the levels - with more colours and labels added to (slightly) spice-up proceedings.

While the rodent employees have a certain cuteness and the game can get quite frantic the longer you play the less incentive you have to grind back through the early levels once you’ve inevitably failed.

Power-ups, like coffee to boost your Production Rate meter, add a touch of variety (and need to be tapped quickly to avoid losing them), but Cheezia's core gameplay is simply not that engaging and doesn’t improve just because the pace picks up.

The basic matching and charming critters might keep an undemanding child occupied for half an hour, but everyone else will be scurrying back to Bejeweled for a more satisfying slice of entertainment.