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Balance is a challenging physics Time Waster
All you have to do is just balance the stick on your virtual finger. I call it a "stick" for lack of a better name, but it seems to be a rudimentary 2D representation of a rotating plate, or a platform with a weight on it. You use your mouse to move your hand and you just have to keep moving it in the right direction so the stick doesn't lose its balance.
There are no real levels in this game – by that I mean that you never get to rest when a level is over and then start again all fresh and alert. When you manage to balance the stick for around 10 seconds (I tried counting, there's no indicator I could see), you simply level up. Every time you level up, the stick gets a tad shorter, and your task gets a bit harder. It seems like a really simple game at first, but when the stick gets really short, it starts to get pretty challenging. I managed to get up to level 10, so I'm not sure what happens when the stick runs out. Maybe you win, or maybe you just get a new stick, far superior to the one you started out with (tell me in the comments).
Another thing I liked about this game is the fact you can easily play it with your trackpad. Up until recently I was using the trackpad on my laptop exclusively, and it's nice to have a game that doesn't give an advantage to people who have a real mouse. It was even a bit easier with the trackpad!
All in all, a lovely way to distract yourself for a few minutes. You can fantasize about being a juggler in the circus while you play (not that I did, of course).
Comments
4
Subscribe to commentsDarakJan 5th 2011 5:09PM
Seems to me that the physics of it are backwards. Surely it should start out near the hand and get longer as the game goes on?
dimaJan 5th 2011 6:52PM
@Darak
No, it's much easier when it's longer because you have much more time to correct yourself if it's not directly in the middle. I unicycle, and it's much easier to ride a unicycle that has a higher seat. Same deal.
basroilJan 5th 2011 6:47PM
@Darak Not really, if the weight is the same, the ratio between the stick length and correction length (distance you need to move the bottom of the inverted pendulum) should be the same. As the stick length is made shorter, every little twitch you send increases the effect on the position of the pendulum. Since you aren't inputting force, rather position, it all depends on your precision.
If you want to cheat a bit and have a mouse with selective sensitivity, set it on the lowest setting and play. Should be easy past level 10, got almost to 15 on the second try (2177 score).
bradfallon81Jan 31st 2011 8:13AM
I would love to try this game but I agree that the longer the stick, the higher chances of you balancing it for a longer period compare to a stick which is shorter and much difficult to balance. Of course in any game, once you level up its degree of difficulty also levels up.
Brad Fallon