Sudoku fans with a soft spot for coddling little pink creatures get the best of both worlds with Napsters.
This 99-cent iPhone game has no relation to the online digital music service that was sued by major record labels nearly a decade ago. Its name comes from the little multi-eyed blobs featured in this puzzle app for their expertise in indolence. They sleep in a grid that starts with 12 “napsters” in the first level and then increases as you continue.
Think Sudoku with a sense of humor. It’s your job to wake the Napsters as peacefully as possible by turning on the number of lights between them that corresponds with the amount of eyes each creature has.
That’s where things get tricky. Napsters will frown if you turn on too many lights nearby at once, forcing you to find the perfect combination to keep everyone happy before you can advance to the next puzzle.
With three difficulty levels at 30 puzzles each, the game will keep you entertained for hours with its simplistic, yet mind-racking patterns. (It will give you hints if you get stuck).
Also available for iPod touch, the app is played offline, making this perfect for long car rides and other situations were finding Wi-Fi is impossible. And unlike many other brainteaser games, Napsters lets you revisit previous levels so you can try to beat your high score, which is calculated by how fast you complete the puzzle.
You can also design your own puzzles. Just be careful, outwitting yourself is an easy path to your own bout of drowsy depression.
