Topple

Written by Matt Swider  on March 04, 2009

Review: Continuing with our month-long iPhone review marathon, Matt Swider reviews Topple, the free iPhone game from Ngmoco that you must own.

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Topple is 50% Tetris, 50% Jenga and 100% entertaining. Surprisingly, that adds up to a completely free game from wizard iPhone developer Ngmoco. The company takes full advantage of the phone's touch-screen and accelerometer capabilities in such a simple way that, as long as you can hold the iPhone straight, this fantastic game can be played just about anywhere. That's a good thing because it's one of iPhone's most addictive puzzle games, free or not.

The gameplay of Topple is all about stacking blocks to reach new heights at the top of the screen while holding the iPhone upright so that your up-and-coming tower doesn't topple over, hence the name. Dragging a new block from the top of the screen to the base is accomplished by simply dragging your finger over top of the shape and then releasing your finger when it's in place. Rotating the blocks with odd shapes is pulled off by turning them with two fingers using Apple's innovative multi-touch.


In addition to trying to form a tower to the sky that doesn't collapse and holding the iPhone in place like a life-dependant level, there's a pesky time limit that makes the game a real challenge. Towards the end, there's no room for time-consuming strategy, as the height in the final stages gets higher and higher. Even though you're franticly slamming down shapes, holding them in place, dragging new blocks onto the heap, and not tilting the iPhone an inch, the game's elegant symphony in the background conveys your exact opposite emotions.

From classical music to colorful graphics, Topple boasts excellent block designs, which contain faces that react every time you stack them. You'll see the eyes of a new shape wince as you slam it down onto your burgeoning tower, then react with a smile once it's settled and, finally, display nothing but horror as the person on the train next to you bumps your iPhone enough to make you have the exact same horror-filled face. Then, the frustration sets in.