Super Paper Pool is an interesting mash up of mini golf and pool. You're faced with a top-down view on an area, not unlike one you'd find at mini golf (until the game introduces spikes). Then you're tasked with using a pool cue to shoot your cue ball around the course, knocking pool balls into the spots marked for each ball. Now none of the pool balls are round, they're polygonal shapes, so the challenge is to knock these shapes through obstacles to get them to their spot while also leaving the cue ball in a position to aim for the next shape. Paper Pool is a lot closer to mini golf with the scoring system, trying to keep your score under 'par' is the best way to keep progressing to new courses/tables.

The visuals are calming as you knock 'paper' shapes around the courses with nice scenery in the background; usually it is stars or mountain ranges at different times of day. The sounds are soothing as at night time you can hear the cicadas. The only other sounds come from hitting the shapes.

Controlling the pool cue is easy enough; you can spin the cue around the ball as a guide line shows up to show the ball's path. If you feel it's just missing the spot you're after, you can fine tune it with arrow buttons that move the cue slightly. Then after you're all lined up you can pull back the pool cue as far as necessary to either give the ball a tap, or smack it across the course! The controls work well; the fine tuning goes a long way to ensure you have the positioning just right.

Thankfully, since its release Paper Pool has seen an update that has reduced some of the crazy-difficult obstacles that appeared way too early in the game. The learning curve can still be a bit steep if you're trying to clear each course under par, but it is no longer as punishing which is fine by me. I like being able to finish games.

Conclusion

Super Paper Pool is a different puzzle game for the app store. It's always good to see developers doing something that isn't the usual. It's fun and is challenging, and I keep finding myself aiming to finish a course with the best score I can. While the visuals and sounds are calm and soothing, the game itself can get a bit frustrating when you mess up a shot or rack up penalty points for causing the ball or shapes to overlap, but it's worth playing on.