Mark Richardson's turn-based puzzle game Gobble Rush! is one of those weird little games that manages to be both unexpectedly charming and challenging despite not really having any bells and whistles to speak of. Using the [arrow] keys to move, you're trying to get to the checkered exit at the end of each stage without being flattened by the... yellow... crabby thingers that will charge at you like bulls if you enter their line of sight. The catch is, you have to do just that to lure them away, since they won't stop their charge until they hit something, allowing you to shuffle them around the board with careful planning. When they spot you, an exclamation point will appear above them, and you have one turn to move out of the way, and you can't go through the exit if one of them has you in their sights. Don't worry, you can hit [Z] to undo any moves you like, and [R] will restart the stage if you get creamed.

What's neat about Gobble Rush! is how satisfying its puzzle solving really is, encouraging you to carefully study each level layout to pick your way through. In some cases, for example, you'll need to figure out how to make your yellow foes collide in order to stack them in such a way as to provide more stopping points for others. It's a lot harder than it seems, and it made me wish for a turn counter so I could see how many moves I'd managed to complete a level in to try to improve... or even, hey, a level select at all, though the game will allow you to continue where you left off if you stop playing. While it does get a little repetitive simply because of the way it's designed, players looking for simple and smart puzzle designs should look no further.

Play Gobble Rush!