Friday Flash Fun: Cosmic Crush

From CrazyMonkey, the powerhouse of internet Flash fun, comes Cosmic Crush, a deceptively simple game of meteor might. The rules are straightforward: propel your sentient lump of rock through space, absorbing smaller asteroids whilst avoiding the gravity wells of larger planets. If this sounds fun, you've been conned. It is fun, but it's also fiendishly difficult.

Unfortunately for you, large planets wield a gravitational pull that extends far beyond the visible screen, meaning that by the time you see them, it's too late. Driving blind, you must be sensitive to the minor tugs and drifts pulling you off course to predict the size, location, and number of planets off-screen. Even then, avoiding them is only possible in the far distance. Once you are properly in their grasp, no amount of back-pedalling will save you - instead, like all good space pilots, you must ride the gravitational ripples and slingshot yourself around the planet with some nifty fingerwork.

It's infuriating and utterly addictive. But keep at it long enough and you'll see your barren lump of space stone develop into a brightly coloured planet. Keep at it longer than I have patience for, and you might even grow into something bigger.