App O' The Mornin': Finger Physics: Thumb Wars Review

Grade: C
Price: $1

Finger Physics never really knocked me out with its brilliant puzzle gameplay. It's okay, I guess, but the objects, their arrangement, and their behavior always just seemed to fall on the wrong side of the dividing line between "interesting" and "meh."

The first sequel, Thumb Wars, brings the "meh" in spades. This is a new mix of stacking and dropping puzzles that feels like an extended add-on for Finger Physics. As with its predecessor, the puzzles seem kind of random, with object behavior that requires plenty of guesswork. Even if a trial-and-error approach is fine with you, you may well find many of these just a bit stale. I'm not fan of stacking puzzles, but even if I was I'd like something a little more interesting that you'll find on display here.

I puzzled a bit over the title, assuming there were battling thumbs somewhere in the game, which would have made the experience 27.3% more interesting. No, apparently PressOK thinks that people play these games with their thumbs. Am I alone in thinking that's not really the case? I use my index finger for almost all puzzles, and I've never actually witnessed anyone doing puzzles with their thumbs. I understand that "Index-Finger Wars" isn't exactly a snappy title, but something called Thumb Wars should have, y'know, more thumbs in it.

The "Wars" title comes from the competition element that's been slathered across the surface of Finger Physics, much like old Hollywood cameramen used to spread Vaseline on their lenses to make aging stars look less wrinkly. It doesn't work as well here. The competition amounts to international leaderboards, so you can compare your "team's" scores to those of other countries around the world. I surely could care less how many stars were earned by Team Edward in Canada for solving puzzle #3.

By the way, there are some are thumbs in the game.  They're anthropomorphic little guys who occasionally introduce levels. Let me tell you something about a cartoon thumb with a helmet and a face: it bears an unfortunate resemblance to a certain part of the male anatomy. And once you get that image in your head, the game either becomes unplayable ... or absolutely hilarious.