Can you remember when I wrote a short review for a game called Crayon Physics Deluxe?

I said it carried off a child-like charm unique to itself with heaps of polish? No?

I included the words ‘phallic’ and ‘cock’ in the opening paragraph? Yeah, that’s the one!

Well if my review wasn’t enough to make you go ahead and buy it, then the fact that you can now choose how much to pay for it might be. To celebrate the games first birthday, the developer, Petri Purho, has taken a leaf out of 2D Boy’s book and is letting you pay whatever you want for the PC version of the game until 15th of January.

Whether you pay the original price of $19.95 or just $1, it’s a great game and well worth your money. Even if it is just to see your own cock-contraptions come to life.

Give a man (or woman, but mainly man) a crayon and it’s only a matter of time before he (or she, but mainly he) draws something offensive or phallic in nature. It’s as inevitable as gravity. So it’s little surprise then, that when given Crayon Physics Deluxe, the first thing I drew was a cock. But, though it may have satisfied my primal human compulsion, it’s not what Crayon Physics Deluxe is all about (and probably says a lot more about me than it does about the game).

What Crayon Physics Deluxe is about, is drawing shapes with your mouse in order to make a small red circle reach stars located at  certain points on the level. However, your only direct interaction with the circle is to nudge it in a particular direction. It’s then up to you to manipulate the situation in any way you like so that all the stars are collected.

This is where the real fun, and often mind bending challenges, are presented. Anything you draw comes to life on screen and is influenced by realistically accurate physics. For example, drawing a line between two platforms can bridge a gap. Drawing a square box with a pivot in the middle and a straight line connected to the pivot can create a see-saw type catapult that can propel the red circle to high up places. It’s entirely up to you as to how simple or intricately complicated you make it.

However, it’s within this fact that Crayon Physics Deluxe shows it’s biggest flaw because once you’ve found a method that works, it can be applied to the majority of levels in the game. Only a handful of later, more challenging levels require the player to really think about creating sophisticated contraptions with which to collect the stars.

Visually, the game looks superb and carries off a child-like charm unique to itself and with heaps of polish. At just under $20 (about £14) it’s well worth a purchase, if only to see your cock drawings come to life.

If you haven’t already heard of Crayon Physics, then I can only assume that you’re either stupid or don’t like videogames. If it’s the latter, then may I suggest you’re in the wrong place. Maybe you took a wrong turning at Google? If it’s the former, don’t worry – we’re all stupid here.

Crayon Physics was originally a experimental prototype game developed by Kloonigames in under 10 days, but having proved so popular on the internets and winning Grand Prize at the Independent Games Festival, has now been made into a fully fledged game.

Crayon Physics Deluxe, as it’s now known, has an official website and is taking pre-orders. Pre-ordering will get you the game for $14.95, saving you a whole $5 dollars off the full price, which itself is only $20. It’ll also give you access to a beta version once that’s released. Having played the original game, I’d say it’s more than likely to be well worth $20.

Go have a butchers for yourself at the prototype and I think you’ll agree. If you don’t, I’ll eat your hat; whether you want me to or not.

*A British cartoon character