We don’t usually recommend iOS games here at IvanExpert, but we wanted to make an exception for Monument Valley. It’s beautiful, both visually and aurally. It’s mildly challenging, but by no means  impossible, and there’s no time pressure, no score, no way to die, and no way to get stuck. It just waits for you. It’s strangely relaxing to play. It’s no accident it was an Apple Design Award winner.

Monument Valley is a puzzle game in which you move a figure named Ida, a character in a deliberately vague storyline, through a series of three-dimensional “monuments” that resemble a cross between M.C. Escher and Dr. Seuss in their oddball geometry. In fact, what makes the game fascinating is that you have to do things that are only possible as a result of your 2-D perspective on the 3-D environment. It’s hard to explain; you should just try it out. For $3.99, it’s well worth it for such an enjoyable labor of love.

If you solve all the levels, there’s a $1.99 in-app purchase to acquire eight newly released ones. If you have an iPad, I suggest you play on that, to get the full impact of seeing the game on the larger screen.

Highly recommended!