5 Great puzzlers for iOS

Touch technology has given new life to the puzzler. Phones and tablets afford these games a crisp resolution that puts Mario to shame, great sound through your headphones, and a compactness that means you can solve away anywhere you are. It is this new intimacy of gaming that inspires our list of the top five iOS puzzle games.

Contre Jour — artistic design for the eyeball in everyone

Hot on the heels of Cut the Rope, comes publisher Chillingo’s latest offering — Contre Jour. Put on your headphones and indulge in an interactive experience that is both challenging and a pleasure to play. Directing a little round, uh, eyeball you must navigate through levels ultimately to reach a portal that takes you on to your next adventure, all the while collecting three “lights” to achieve the top scores. However the trick to Contre Jour is that you do not control the eyeball directly, but rather the ground around it. Sliding your finger makes part of the ground rise or fall. All in real time you can get the eyeball some momentum and then slide to boost him up into the air. With later levels throwing in ropes and tentacles, jump pads and other treats for your enjoyment, this multi-touch puzzler is one for the books. With four distinct chapters out at the moment and another on the way, we can expect a lot from this lovely little title.