Paper Engine Nine

This one is deceptively fiddly. You lay down folded-card components to route power through a puzzle, and early on it feels like a toy. Then it stacks systems on top of each other and suddenly you're staring at the screen for ten minutes plotting a route.

The touch controls are the weak spot. Dragging small pieces on a phone gets frustrating, and I lost a solution twice to a misplaced tap. On a tablet it's much smoother.

Still, the satisfaction of a machine finally whirring to life is worth the fumbling. It's a thinker's game that doesn't hold your hand, and I respect it for that.

What we liked

• Genuinely clever late-game puzzles
• Charming paper-craft aesthetic
• Better on a larger screen