Physics games: balls, water, towers and ricochets

In these games the rules are set not by a level designer but by gravity, inertia and bounce. Balls roll, cubes tilt, water flows, and you have to predict the result of every action much as you would in the real world. That makes physics games puzzles and a test of intuition at the same time.

Most of them are ball puzzles. In Rolling Maze and its sequel you flip the level so the balls tumble towards the exit, while in Rotate the Pipe! and Balls: Puzzle the ball won't obey you — you control the level around it instead. Physics Drawing and Water Flow: Happy Glass hand you a pencil: the line you draw becomes part of the world and steers balls or a stream of water. In High Tower physics fights your construction, and in Sand Blocks Tetris pieces crumble into grains of sand.

Physics turns up in action games too. In Block Shooter, Balls: Ricochet! and Compass it all comes down to the bounce angle, Pixel Chaos gives you 10 shots to wipe out an entire picture, and in Tanks 1944 shells fly according to distance. Vehicle fans should try Punching Excavator and Taiga: Expedition, both with weighty, detailed machine physics.