#PGConnects: Hands on with swipey tappy second place VBIP winner Tindrops

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Tindrops looks calm and content, sitting there with all of its soothing hues and rounded edges. But it's a lie. And within a few seconds of playing I'm a sweaty palmed mess, cursing the ineptitude of my chubby fingers.

It's a game that's all about following patterns, tapping and swiping the chunky dots as markers appear on the screen. It's Simon Says mixed with an arcade blast, a quick-fire game that tests your reactions and your memory.

To begin with it's reasonably simple, a few of the circles flash and you have to tap them before time runs out. Then there are slides, arrows that flash up and ask you to swipe a finger from dot to dot.

There are patterns to learn, combinations of taps and swipes that repeat throughout play. But in-between them it's random, and your fingers are dancing over the screen trying to push the right buttons before time runs out.

But the more moves you need to make, the more you need to remember - you have to push and swipe in the correct order, otherwise you fail. And you will, because your brain hasn't quite caught up with the bounce and flash of proceedings.

It's wonderfully presented too, and each menu has a play button at the bottom so you can tweak the settings and jump straight back in to the action at any time.

The game doesn't work quite so well on the iPhone, because your hands get in the way of the commands popping up on screen, but on the iPad it feels sharp and engaging, a frantic blast of order-following that just clicks.

Tindrops feels bright and bold, and scratches a gameplay itch with its slightly crazed, bang-bang rhythms. This is sweaty-palmed touchscreen abstract action, and it put a wide smile on my face.