TUAW's Daily App: Pinch

Pinch is an ingenious little game that I'd almost call a puzzle platformer, except that there aren't any actual platforms in it. Instead of navigating a jumping avatar through a series of gates and switches, you navigate little colored orbs, called Norbs, by dragging them around on the multi-touch screen towards a goal at the end of each 2D stage. On the way, you'll put them through their paces by combining or dividing them to match shapes or colors or hitting switches and opening panels to reach the end. The game starts simple -- just drag the Norb to the end of the level -- but quickly develops an awful lot of depth with some extra rules; the puzzles you'll face get mind-bending fast. OpenFeint achievements and leaderboards provide even more of a challenge for those interested.

Pinch is Coatsink Software's first game, and it shows a lot of promise; this is a simple but really smart idea that is presented very well. It's US$0.99 in the App Store, and while there is no lite version yet, I'd say take the plunge if you're at all interested. The game's 48 levels offer more than enough enjoyment. Even if the trailer above doesn't give you a good idea of what it's like to drag the Norbs around, just a few minutes with the game will have you figuring out the intriguing concept in no time.