One plus one is two, two plus two is three? It is in Minim from Atomic Cicada Studios and Fishing Cactus a logic puzzle game for the iPhone. In the game you have to combine elements of a molecule until there is only one atom left. Sound confusing? Don’t worry, there’s plenty of tutorial to help out.

Aside from simple numbered elements there are also mathematical operators (plus, minus, multiply, divide) and several bonds between atoms can flip to move the atoms from side-to-side. The game only works in whole numbers from one to ten so don’t worry about having to figure out fractions and remainders, if it’s not a whole number it’s not possible. But that would certainly add an extra level of difficulty I must say.

The game is fairly basic in graphics and sound. Numbers all have their own look as do the operators. There are maybe 96 levels in the game and those will be more than enough. When I started playing I breezed through the first 22 levels but then had some problems with the 23rd. Then again a quick clip until 29. So everyone will find some level they simply can’t see the immediate solution to.

The music and sounds in the game are minimalistic and far from annoying. While there is a bonus timer for each level you essentially have all the time in the world to do them and so don’t need to rush if you don’t care about the overall score.

Speaking of score, you can’t compare your score level by level and if you go back and do one over you have no idea if it was a faster time. But it’s not really about time or score, it’s about challenging your logical thought process and a little math.

Overall - Minim is a game of minimalistic intent and action. It’s challenging and some might say fun. Definitely something that may consume some of your mental processing. Could certainly use a step back from the minimalist approach in the way of gameplay and features.

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