Mystery Castle II

Why is it that magicians in books, films and games always look like an eccentric old grandfather? They've got the same straggly beard, grey hair and gnarly hands, and the same strange habit of doing little tricks that you can't quite explain. Even though your elderly relation's tricks are more likely to involve doing away with old pennies than banishing mythical monsters, it's still fascinating.

Also, is there a clause in the magicians' union by-laws that states you've got to dress in what looks like an old pair of curtains?

Whatever the rules governing sartorial oddity, it's clear that Monty, the star of Mystery Castle II, adheres to them. And he's obviously a bit short of cash for this month's union membership subscription (pensions not being what they were) because he's decided to go treasure hunting to fill the coffers.

Okay, that's not the reason he's giving; according to Monty, he's got to collect the Emeralds of Power to defeat Fang, a vampire with a chip on his shoulder.

But whatever the real reason behind Monty's decision to enter the vampire's pagoda, it's up to you to guide him through its various rooms, each of which contains a nefarious puzzle that you must complete in order to win emeralds, magic artefacts and other valuable trinkets that'll fetch a premium at the pawn shop.

Moving Monty with your phone's thumbpad, the controls are an exercise in simplicity. You walk around by pressing up, down, left and right, and whenever you need to open a door or push a block (of which there's a lot), you just walk up to it and keep going. That's all there is to it in terms of digital dexterity.

It's the workout that your brain gets that's the hard part of Mystery Castle II, as its moving-blocks-around puzzles get progressively harder as you proceed. Starting at a piece-of-cake-like level of difficulty, they quickly pass through the shortbread stage and proceed apace to full-on burnt biscotti levels of hardness.

Given that each puzzle is largely based on figuring out in which order to push what box – usually to bridge a chasm in the floor – it's surprising just how much depth and difficulty the designers have managed to cram into Mystery Castle II. It'll take you hours to figure out how to progress much further than the first three or four rooms.

While this does make for plenty of longevity, you're going to need enormous reserves of patience, and there's no denying that the fact the puzzles are so similar does get a bit tired as you proceed. Some do differ, offering the chance to possess a samurai or ghost, and they provide a welcome respite.

The learning curve could also be gentler. While the early levels are supposed to teach you the concepts needed to complete the later puzzles, you're likely to get stuck very early on – a disheartening prospect.

If you're after a puzzle game that's not about falling coloured blocks, however, or you want something different to wandering around shooting things, Mystery Castle II could be for you. It's great for quick bursts of gameplay as each room can, in theory, be conquered in a few minutes, and the save/resume facility means you can stop and start play as you like.

Combine that with the long life of the game – there are more than 50 rooms to complete – and you've got a challenge that's going to keep your grey matter occupied for weeks. Just the trick for a retired wizard with too much time on his hands.