Invisible Links is one of the most unique games I’ve seen in the app store in a long time. It puts an entirely new twist on the game of golf by forcing the player to make par by drawing lines on a blank piece of paper. With great graphics and challenging gameplay, this game will have you frustrated for hours.

The game takes place in a school classroom where you play the role of a student. There are other students in the class who represent different levels to play in. For some reason, these students are really into drawing sketches of golf holes. These pictures are hand drawn and really look great. The sketch is placed on your desk, giving you the ability to move the entire paper around, flip it in any direction and zoom in to get a better look at the path you have to take. Your job is to place your finger on the ball and draw a line all the way to the hole. There may be one or multiple paths you can take to get the ball in the hole. However, these paths are always very complicated, challenging you with zigzags, twists and narrow corridors. Obviously, the ultimate goal is to get the ball in the hole by drawing only one line, thus achieving a hole-in-one. However, this game is so challenging, you will most likely take more than one stroke to get to the hole.

The trick to the whole game is that as soon as you touch the ball, the entire course disappears, leaving you with only a crinkled piece of blank paper. You must rely on your memory of the path in order to draw an accurate line and stay in bounds. You can take as many practice strokes as you’d like to before the real shot. If your line starts to go out of bounds, your attempt will stop and the device will vibrate. This whole concept seems crazy, and will surely be frustrating when you first play the game. However, there are some secrets to help you play the game better. For example, the crinkles in the paper serve as reference points for the twists and turns. So, if you remember that a darker crinkle is located at a specific turn, you can use that to draw your line accurately. Also, you can move the entire paper around, so using the edges of the screen can also help you out. These are both tips that are included in the game’s description. Using these tips is almost a required part of the game. If you don’t use them, you will definitely become aggravated.

Depending on how many strokes it takes you to get the ball in the hole, you may receive a grade anywhere from an A to an F. You must receive a certain GPA in order to unlock the next student’s sketches and the new golf holes. You can always retry each hole to get a better grade.

The art style in this game is undeniably top-notch, and the hand drawn golf holes are gorgeous. There is no music in the game, which is a bit disappointing, and the sound effects are only adequate. The sound you hear when you actually hit the ball isn’t quite what you’d expect from a golf swing. Also, it would be nice to hear some ambient noise, whether that be classroom chatter such as talking or pencils moving, or outdoor sounds such as birds and wind.

Invisible Links is absolutely a solid game that will challenge your hand-eye coordination. It’s certainly a fun experience, but even with the help of the crinkles and screen edge trick, it is an extremely difficult game to play. I would consider this more of a puzzle game than anything else. Don’t expect it to be a casual experience, as it will definitely make you think. If you like puzzle games, even if you don’t like golf, you’ll love this one. If you are easily frustrated with puzzles, then I would stay as far away from this game as possible.