Ball Jump - A pretty good time

Ketchapp games are often a little hit and miss. It's not that much of a surprise considering how many titles the dev releases.

But when they're done well they're some of the sharpest one-touch arcade experiences on the App Store.

Ball Jump is one of those. It's entertaining, easy to pick up, and there's a compulsion loop that twists and tangles its way around you pretty quickly.

The game requires a single finger to play. You're a ball rolling along a constantly shifting path of blocks. You tap to jump, and that's pretty much it.

It's the path that's the star of the show here. It deforms as you scoot across it, the blocks moving around to surprise you with new gaps and obstacles.

The rhythm of play is strikingly fast. You bump and swoop over the holes. Holding down on the screen extends your leaps, but not by much.

Success is all down to timing, choosing the perfect moment to jump just before you roll off the edge of the blocks. Get things right and you can get a jump in just after you've started to fall.

When things start to change more quickly, you need to react far more quickly. It's here that the game really comes to life. It's challenging, it's interesting, and while it isn't the freshest game on the App Store, there's a little something to it.

This is Ketchapp at its best. It's a small, accessible game, and while it doesn't flash as bright as any of the very best games on iOS, it's still a decent little time sink.

There are better things to stick on your phone or tablet, and there are much, much worse. If you've got your eye on something else this week, then pick that up first, but if not, it's probably worth a crack.