Clockwork Cascade

Clockwork Cascade starts friendly — line up a few gears, let the marble roll, clear the goal. Then it quietly turns into one of the smartest puzzle games I've played on a phone. New mechanics arrive one at a time, each fully explored before the next shows up, so you always feel capable even when a level has you stumped.

The touch controls are precise, with a snap-to-grid that never fought me. There's an undo button that undoes exactly as far as you'd expect, which sounds minor until you've suffered puzzle games that don't have it.

Around level forty it stopped being relaxing and started being a proper brain workout, in the best way. I kept a notebook. That's a compliment.

What we liked

• Mechanics introduced perfectly
• Precise, forgiving touch controls
• Difficulty that respects your intelligence