So A-mazed

Once in a while McDonald’s comes out with a really ingenious not-just-based-on-some-movie toy for its Happy Meal.  This one here is a Feed the Monkey Maze.  In the tradition of the classic steel ball inside a maze, you maneuver said ball without falling into the holes.  You’d think it’s such an easy feat considering there are only four holes, but wait till you get your hands on it.

And unlike our old-school petty mazes inside our plastic rulers, this time there are sound effects (for as long as the built-in battery holds out I guess).

When you successfully get that ball down the monkey’s mouth, you’ll hear a sound, like a monkey’s truncated belch, perhaps.  Other times, but very rare, it’s longer and more cheery, a la pinball machine triumph.  I’ve always thought it was just factory defect, the arbitrariness of that metallic jingle until I read the instructions: 7 consecutive drops down the monkey’s mouth and the special sound plays.

For sheer digital fun though, there’s Labyrinth Lite available in the Android Apps Market, which has you tilting your phone this way and that.  The steel ball’s behavior is so realistic you’d think it was the real thing.  Only downer is that just ten levels are free in the trial version, which feels awful short.  If you think you’re really, really hooked, you can buy the full version which has over 1,000 levels and which also, in the tradition of Battle City (of the Famicom-era), lets you invent your own obstacle courses for your steel ball.

Also see Perplexus.

Who would have thought such a simple concept of a steel ball inside a maze could still be improved on?