Games and Fun: Magic Pen

When I first heard of "Crayon Physics" through Penny-Arcade's 1/11/09 comic strip, I was really interested in seeing it in action. Believe me, there's quite a few videos of it on YouTube. But this particular visual physics engine is as yet unavailable for people without a tablet pc or an iPhone. So I decided to seek out an online version. And lo and behold, there was "Magic Pen". Although this free online game only has 26 levels, it's plenty. You can keep playing to see the fewest number of shapes needed to finish each level.

For those unfamiliar with "Crayon Physics" or "Magic Pen", these are 2-d physics engines which allow the user to draw elements into the world which interact with existing fixed and moving parts. Your goal for each level is to get the red shape to any and all red flags on the level.

Quirky and fun, the user can create circles and polygons and use hinges and pins to create more complex machines and shapes (you can make a car by making two circles with hinges in the center of each and a box over the hinges). Remember to take gravity into account!

You want me to get the ball to a flag floating in SPACE?!??!

You make it look so easy.

You WILL, however find yourself cursing at flags which are obnoxiously higher than your shape's starting point, or confused by flags which appear to be floating serenely in space. It's a solid challenge that kept me entertained for a good 6 hours last night. I didn't even find the music obnoxious!

To check out Magic Pen by clicking here