Holzweg

You may remember tilting a wooden maze as a child: one marble, one line, lots of holes. Holzweg brings that to your iPhone. You tilt it, and the glass marble rolls across the board. If it drops into a hole, it rolls back under the board to the start, and a new run begins. On every board a line runs past numbered holes. The marble has to pass every hole in order, and only then does the goal open. Cutting corners does not help. 144 boards in 12 chapters, each chapter a wood of its own, from pale birch to dark ebony. Board by board it gets a little harder, really tricky at the end. From the fourth chapter on, night boards in moonlight join in. When you finish a chapter, its seal is burned into the board, and you get a chapter card you can share. Three brand marks on every board show whether you made it quickly, quietly and on the line, each in a single run. The ghost of your best time rolls along as a pale marble. After board 144, Driftwood is waiting: six special boards, each with a twist of its own. A mirror board, a lantern, a board without a line, a switch, silt and the journeyman’s piece. Clear all six and you get the marble Sea Glass. Steer however suits you: tilt the iPhone, drag on the board or steer with two knobs. When you drag or use the knobs, steering assist helps: your finger sets the speed, and the board slows the marble when you let go. Sensitivity has five steps. Marbles cannot be bought. On every third board one rolls out of the goal the first time you clear it, each one of a kind with its own pattern. There are 18 kinds. They live in your box. There you turn them in a close-up and see tempo, calm and safety and their statistics: boards, best time, distance rolled. Hard knocks leave chips in the glass. Played calmly: no ads, no account, no data collected. Everything stays on your iPhone. The first two chapters, 24 boards, are free. The full version (one-time purchase, no subscription, with Family Sharing) unlocks all 144 boards and Driftwood. For iPhone only, in portrait.