Remember that children's book, Harold and the Purple Crayon? This is essentially that book made into a game, minus the toddler, and plus a lot of physics elements. Crayon Physics Deluxe has been making fans on the PC and iOS for years, and yesterday it finally hit the Play Store (after slumming it on the Galaxy Note 10.1 for a few months). The objective is to roll a 2D ball over a star, but that's like saying the point of baseball is to hit a ball with a stick: There's a lot more to it.

First, there's the graphics. They're nothing spectacular, but Crayon Physics really does look just like a kid's drawing on worn-out paper. Some nifty texture work makes even your crayon strokes look true to life. What's made the game so popular is its open-ended nature: you're encouraged to move that ball by drawing objects that affect the 2D world upon completion. This is easier said than done, especially in the later stages: elaborate Goldberg devices or a combination of in-game items will be needed to reach the goal.

Draw a small circle inside your creation and it becomes an axel. Draw a large circle on a line, and it becomes a weight. Hinges, ropes, and other simple machines are at your disposal. It's nothing short of an exercise in creative problem-solving. Check out the video of the PC version below for a rough idea of how all this works:

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Crayon Physics Deluxe is a $2.99 download for devices running Android 2.2 and higher. By the way, don't be miffed that we're getting this game so much later than iOS users: it's a solid four dollars cheaper on Android.