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There is certainly no shortage of decent, fun, puzzle games on the iPhone. What sets Crayon Physics apart is the concept, giving puzzle solving a little more depth than you would expect.
Your screen consists of a ball, a star and some obstacles, the goal being to get the ball to the star. This is not a regular puzzle game where objects are selected from a menu of pre-set shapes; they’re drawn by your finger and are constantly under the command of the laws of physics. Typical puzzle solving tricks include catapults, hammers and pulleys, all of your own design. This is where Crayon Physics shows its true colours, in allowing you to experiment with various ways of completing a level. Unfortunately, what would have been a must buy is let down by the size of your fingers.
Where the PC version is a high-resolution canvas controlled with the pixel-perfect accuracy of a mouse, the iPhone iteration is at a comparatively low-resolution, with your big clumsy finger trying to draw what you want. This limits the variety and complexity of the puzzles and their potential solutions, and compounds the frustration of not being able to control the environment exactly how you want to.
There is a decent amount of content on offer here for the £2.99 asking price. The music is charming and the crayon sketch visual style is endearing. There is even a level editor to add to the 50 already available levels, but this is let down by the lack of a tutorial and, again, the awkward drawing. The game could do more to give you ideas for solving some of the more obtuse puzzles, and being able to see which levels you have completed would have been a welcome addition, too.
Puzzle games with such a fresh approach as is seen in Crayon Physics are rare, especially on a platform as young as the iPhone. Completing a level with contraptions of your own design is rewarding, but whether you can justify the relatively high price-point is largely down to how you approach the game and if you can be patient with the limitations of the platform.
