Just released onto Steam on the 22nd February by a small indie developer, Render System, is a little physics-based puzzler called Explomania.

The aim of the game is to get the ball into the little red glowing trap door.   In order to do it, you have to place explosive pads which blow the ball in various directions to get over the obstacles.

This level is a little trickier because it’s in the dark.

Some of the pads have different effects on the ball, such as making it bouncy, floaty, or explodey.    You can only place the pads in certain locations, so the puzzle comes from knowing which pads to place in which slot, and where to direct the explosion, and by how much.

Some of the levels feature these nasty spikes which have to be avoided.

The levels are very short, lasting between 30 seconds and 3 minutes, and are solvable using a variety of different pad combinations, so you can experiment.

Currently there are only 20 levels, but they’re varied and provide just enough of a challenge to make them fun to beat.

Later puzzles alternate between fast-paced explodey fun and intricate placement.

The game only took me about 90 minutes to finish, which matches the £2 price tag fairly well.  Each level grants a steam achievement, so just finishing the game gives 100% completion.  The placing / removal of the pads can be a touch finicky, but you get used to it after the first couple of levels.

It’s incredibly relaxed, the puzzles short and easy but giving you enough brain-tease to be satisfying.   The music is okay, but starts to sound a lot like a collection of Samsung ring tones after a while, so I won’t blame you for turning the music down if it grates.

Placing the pads and choosing the right effect is a nice easy challenge.

It’s not meant to be a long meaningful experience, it’s a short fun, mobile-style physics puzzler that’ll distract you for between 60 and 90 minutes.  The developer is active on the Steam forums, so the game may be expanded later with sufficient interest.