Knightfall: Death and Taxes

It's a well-known fact that standing in line is the reason why God brought the puzzle game to iPhone and iPod touch.

Whether you're wedged in a claustrophobic concert line or stuck behind a five-year-old counting out coins for his first bank deposit, the mind-numbing serenity of rolling a monkey through a maze or launching birds at pigs can catapult you to your happy place.

Few games, however, can provide as quick and enjoyable escape from reality as Knightfall: Death and Taxes, the mediaeval puzzler from UK developer Megadev.

Playing as the Knight or Princess, the object is to manoeuvre through a series of dungeons, making your way to a key that unlocks an escape route to freedom.

Moves are made by rotating the play area and blasting through clusters of blocks, which brings you closer to the destination or brings the destination closer to you. The bigger the group of blocks destroyed at once, the less power lost.

Along with conserving power, you have to avoid obstacles and enemies like fire-breathing dragons who quickly burn you to a crisp if you get too close. Destroying enemies earns you gold for upgrades and items in the Fairy Shop like potions and armour.

The game has impressive range and depth, including five game modes: Endless and Endless multiplayer increase in difficulty as you go, Pet Protector has you guarding a defenseless dog, Boss Rush brings together all the bosses, and Story mode, which has at least 100 stages (an abbreviated version of Story mode is offered free, whereas the full version requires in-app purchase).

Throughout the game you face an array of enemies, each with their own style of attack. You also have the ability to play as two different characters who have their own techniques for defence and attack. The knight uses his weapon to drill down on enemies while the princess shreds her foes from below using a spinning blade.

The gameplay is smart and challenging and I particularly like that you can take as much time as you need to carefully plan out all strategies and moves. That said, it could still use some tightening up.

My biggest complaint is the amount of interrupting text that drags down the flow of the game. Similarly annoying is navigation, which proves a tad confusing despite the availability of a map.

Still, Knightfall: Death and Taxes is one of those games you turn to when you have a smidgeon of time to kill. In fact, this new puzzler may have you searching for longest queue at the post office.