My Latest Time Sink: Crayon Physics Deluxe

So I really don't feel qualified to write a game review since I play games so infrequently--I generally leave game reviewing to Sparky. But I stumbled across Crayon Physics Deluxe a month ago or so, and it's an icon I'm wary of clicking on my computer because it usually means an hour of my life is about to disappear (at least).

The premise is simple. On each level, you get a ball, which can move, and a star, which does not. Using only a "crayon" to draw lines, pivots, and other objects that more or less obey the laws of physics, you have to get the ball to touch the star. Occasionally you get a tool, like a rocket, to help you out. It's really easier to show you than to describe it, so check out one of the Kloonigames trailers:


It's often the simple games that are most addicting, and so it is with CPD. Like the only other game I've played relatively recently, World of Goo, it has a lot of what Sparky calls "Aha!" moments. Some solutions are deceptively simple; some have taken me way too long. It's not as pretty World of Goo, and there's no plot to speak of, but you also aren't limited in tools. You can fill the screen with the most elaborate Rube Goldberg device imaginable to get the ball from A to B (see video below). With the full game--as opposed to the free demo you can download from Kloonigames--you also have the challenge to solve each level with an elegant solution (draw only one line or object), an old school solution (no pendulums, can't nudge the ball, etc...), or an awesome solution. I'm still working on getting an awesome solution.

Crayon Physics.... One possible solution from Highway6 on Vimeo.
My biggest fault with the game is that there are only three or four tunes in the background music. The music is actually kind of pretty, but it gets old fast if you end up playing for a while. I'd recommend turning the music down and putting on your iTunes or music player of choice while playing. I would also suggest giving yourself a set play time, as in "I will play Crayon Physics Deluxe for one hour and no more," or you may be in for some late nights.