Flick Kick Field Goal 2014

I don't know anything about American football - or, if any Americans are reading, football - so it's a good job knowledge of the sport isn't a prerequisite for enjoying Flick Kick Field Goal 2014, the latest in the long-running Flick Kick series.

For the uninitiated, here's how it works. The aim is to kick - well, flick with swipes on the touchscreen - a dead pig with shoelaces into a goal. The game begins with the nonconformist ball 16 yards out and in a central position, the distance increasing with each goal.

You score more points the closer the ball is to the centre of the goal when you score, which gets more difficult the farther back you're placed.

As well as being taken farther away from the goal you're often offset from it, meaning you have to adjust the angle of your flick accordingly.

Then there's the wind. An indicator on the right of your screen shows wind speed and direction, and you'll have to fling the ball in the opposite direction with just the right amount of force to compensate for the wind carrying it. Multipliers are earned by chaining successful shots together and you get three strikes until it's game over.

Aesthetically, it does the job. An animated crowd of smurfs cheer you on in the stand behind the goal, waving banners and snapping photographs - well, the banners wave themselves and camera flashes go off on their own everywhere, but the idea is there. Upon scoring a perfect goal, fireworks explode satisfyingly.

Although simplistic, there's something oddly compelling about Flick Kick Field Goal 2014. For one thing, it's completely accessible - all you have to know how to do is swipe. For another, it always feels fair, so that you never curse the game for mis-reading your input or presenting you with impossible targets.

Relatedly, Flick Kick Field Goal 2014 gets its IAPs right - they're neither invasive nor necessary for progression. Instead, they just let you pay to compete in college leagues - basically private leaderboards - or to unlock various perks.

On top of this, there are the newly introduced Daily Disputes - head-to-head matches that can be tackled (excuse the pun) each day.

For a free game that’s relatively unrestrictive in its free-ness, Flick Kick Field Goal 2014 is worth a shot. It’s enjoyable enough and, even if you only get a few hours out of it, it won’t cost you anything to try.