Voodoo Dice

Dice are the ultimate symbols of luck. Thanks to those little numbered cubes we have expressions such as ‘dicing with death,’ ‘dicey,’ and ‘last roll of the dice’ to describe uncertain, high-risk situations.

Despite the theme, though, Voodoo Dice’s gameplay doesn’t call on luck at all. Quite the opposite: it’s a pure and often quite infuriating test of your mental prowess.

You take direct control of a die using a virtual D-pad, moving around each of the 60 grid-based levels in much the same way as you do in Mobigames's Edge. While your goal is also similar – to roll to the level exit – the way in which you occupy yourself on the way is quite different.

There’s a lot to consider if you’re to complete all four worlds, but each element is introduced gradually and clearly.

The core mechanic is matching the number on the top of your die to that of adjacent dice spread throughout the levels. When this is achieved, the obstructing die disappears.

There’s plenty of other level furniture to contend with, such as magnetic helper dice that turn your nimble cube into an unwieldy (but extremely useful) rectangular prism. Or switches that require you to push a statue onto them in order to keep a door ajar.

With such a varied challenge comes a not inconsiderable degree of frustration, however. There are numerous occasions where you’ll unwittingly stumble into a situation from which you’ll have no option but to restart the level.

When this occurs after ten minutes of solid brain-scratching, you’ll want to lob your iPhone across the kitchen table like a craps player. A time-rewind facility would be hugely beneficial.

However, like a downtrodden gambler you’ll keep returning to the table. The glitzy lure of the excellent 3D graphics and some ingenious, mind-tickling conundrums will prove too much to resist for any puzzle fanatic.