One thing we can categorically say about the prolific boardgame and video game designer Reiner Knizia is that he likes his brain-bending logic puzzles.
His latest release, Skyline, is a fiendishly tricky mix of Sim City and Sudoku with a sharp steampunk style. It's only marred by repetition and wallet-taxing hint system.
Towering achievement?Played on grids that increase in size as you take on the four difficulty levels (from Trainee to Master), you have to place multi-coloured buildings of different heights in rows. There can only ever be one of each type of building (from single floor flats to towering five storey blocks) in each line.
Further complicating matters, some rows have numbers at one end. These mean that from that edge you should only be able to see a set number of buildings.
This forces you to think vertically in a brain-taxing way that, were it not for the ample visual cues and the simple tap to select and place controls, could easily become overwhelming.
City break
Still, by the time you're half way through Skyline's generous 56 stages you'll find yourself reaching more regularly for the 'hint' button to give you a gentle nudge in the right direction. So it's a shame you only get five before you have to start paying for them.
Consequently, no matter how fetching the game looks or how rewarding the puzzles are to complete, only the most dedicated Knizia fans will become true masters.
Reiner Knizia's Skyline
The steampunk style enhance the simple cityscape-themed puzzling and there's stacks of challenge for those looking for a real test of their logic skills
Paul Devlin
A newspaper reporter turned games journo, Paul's first ever console was an original white Game Boy (still in working order, albeit with a yellowing tinge and 30 second battery life). Now he writes about Android with a style positively dripping in Honeycomb, stuffed with Gingerbread and coated with Froyo