Chuck the Ball

There was a tactic many of the kids at my school would use when they didn't want to play football in the cold, wet and icy British winter. They'd intentionally 'forget' their kit.

Of course, what they repeatedly overlooked was the fact that schools have their own kits, assembled from the bits and bobs left over in the changing rooms over the years. Kits so alive with germs and bacteria that they could almost walk onto the pitch of their own volition.

It would, of course, be much more surprising if, instead of the kit, the ball itself had a mind of its own, fuelled by years of play. If the football went its own way then anyone playing would have to be quick on their feet, anticipating its next move by putting themselves in its path so they could direct its movement.

That's the signature style of Chuck the Ball, where your goal involves setting down markers that push a ball in a certain direction. Using a simple swipe of your finger, you plant arrows along Chuck's route, sending him off in the corresponding direction when he hits them. It's your one and only job to manipulate his route so that he picks up stars dotted around each course.

Once each and every star has been accounted for, the game calculates your score based on how quickly you completed the level and how few arrows you used in the process. As a result, play isn't a case of letting Chuck aimlessly dash around each maze: you have to quickly and precisely gauge the most efficient way of of directing Chuck to every star on offer before the clock runs down.

Yes, the timer runs down rather than up, meaning you're essentially in a pressure cooker from start to end. Every decision you make not only potentially throwing you into the path of danger (spikes begin to litter levels fairly early on and Chuck can also be sucked down black holes), but also etching vital seconds off the clock. As you move up the ladder, some of the challenges are almost entirely time based.

It's possible to deviate from the obvious route in order to pick up extra seconds in the form of clock icons dotted around the place.

These bonuses are countered, however, by both the spikes and by immovable arrows already laid on the floor. Unlike your own arrows, which disappear after just one use, these remain on the grid, essentially blocking off areas once you've passed them.

Admittedly, such pressures are relieved a little in Free Play, which takes away the clock and lets you explore the levels with a little less urgency.

Neither mode overcomes the lack of control, unfortunately. The grid where you place your pointers is so narrow that simply swiping your finger over it often causes it to register on a different square entirely. That's if it registers at all: too often it's game over because your fat fingered attempt at a swipe made no mark on Chuck whatsoever.

If you happen to have incredibly fine fingers, Chuck the Ball is an entirely acceptable way of spending a few minutes of spare time. For the rest of us, Chuck the Ball is far too fiddly to be completely appealing.