Poom!

Here's a really clever little game: Poom. A ball drops down from the ceiling, and you control a little grid of flat squares with your mouse below it. Your goal is to move the grid around so that you bounce the ball; if you accidentally move an empty part of the grid beneath the ball, it falls down and you lose. Sounds easy! Except every time the ball bounces, the grid changes ... giving you barely a millisecond to quickly figure out where to shift it to next.
The gameplay here is so unusual and new that it's kind of hard to explain. Just go play it! But give yourself a half hour, because it's seriously addictive.
Posted by Clive Thompson at October 19, 2005 11:57 PM
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It's a pretty cool idea, but I'd definitely like it better if the grid squares were a different color than the background... I definitely had difficulty with the perspective too. But hey, I like the idea at least.
Posted by: johntunger at October 20, 2005 1:10 PM
Yeah, I've had perspective problems too. But did you figure out the main navigational trick? Watch where the ball casts a shadow. It shows you precisely what grid-square it's going to land on.
Posted by: Clive at October 20, 2005 2:57 PM
ah... so keep your eye *off* the ball...
Posted by: johntunger at October 22, 2005 4:37 AM
Posted by: Clive at October 23, 2005 9:38 PM
Damn it, you're right, it is addictive. BTW, I really enjoyed your NYTM article about interruption science. - Randy
Posted by: Randy Reichardt at October 25, 2005 8:55 PM
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It's a pretty cool idea, but I'd definitely like it better if the grid squares were a different color than the background... I definitely had difficulty with the perspective too. But hey, I like the idea at least.
Posted by: johntunger
at October 20, 2005 1:10 PM
Yeah, I've had perspective problems too. But did you figure out the main navigational trick? Watch where the ball casts a shadow. It shows you precisely what grid-square it's going to land on.
Posted by: Clive
at October 20, 2005 2:57 PM
ah... so keep your eye *off* the ball...
Posted by: johntunger
at October 22, 2005 4:37 AM
Precisely!
Posted by: Clive
at October 23, 2005 9:38 PM
Damn it, you're right, it is addictive. BTW, I really enjoyed your NYTM article about interruption science. - Randy
Posted by: Randy Reichardt
at October 25, 2005 8:55 PM