Jounce

To break the rules, you have to know them. Ironically, once you understand why the rules were made in the first place, breaking them usually doesn't seem like such a good idea.

Jounce tries to strike out age-old gaming rules of structure and progress, stripping away objectives and requirements from its puzzle play. While stylish music and simple visuals lend it charm, its rebellious form keeps it from be entertaining in the long run.

In each level, balls fall from the top of the screen, the idea being to place bouncers – flat pads that deflect the balls – that direct the balls towards a sphere at the bottom. Every stage also comes decorated with black blocks that kill on contact and encourage careful consideration when bouncing balls about the screen.

Any need for speed is counterbalanced by a points system that rewards the number of bounces achieved before the balls reach their target. While one pad placement might be enough to redirect the flow, dropping in 20 bouncers instead will send your tally soaring. The temptation to create the most bizarre bouncing highways is almost irresistible.

With over 32,000 levels, the game bears its treasures without condition – every single level is open to play from the start. Whether or not you complete each level is up to you. Even if you fail, no doubt hypnotised by the game's soundtrack beating out a note with each and every impact, you can just move straight on to the next. In fact, simply giving your iPhone a shake at the very beginning serves up a random stage to take on.

In this way, Jounce refuses to play by the rules. It's simply there for you to experiment with, never pushing you to complete a goal or meet a quota. As such, it's questionable just why you should play beyond any opening curiosity. With absolutely no requirements and no global scoreboard, you end up drifting aimlessly.

There's nothing wrong with abandoning convention, but the structure that Jounce rejects is sorely needed to provide motive for extended play. Though beautifully presented, its only saving grace is a budget price – it simply isn't sufficiently engrossing to keep you locked in for hours, rather than minutes.