Paper Toss is a fun and addicting game that brings the thrill of throwing crumbled paper into a garbage can to your iPhone & iPod Touch. The app is simple, yet refined to allow for hours of competition between you and the global scoreboard.
The app opens with a nicely presented office cubicle scene. Your high scores are listed for each difficulty level and there is also an option to turn sound on or off. Your difficulty choices are easy, medium or hard. Easy will start you off tossing from a close distance to the garbage can, while hard will force you to throw from much further away. Each level shows a difference part of the office. These scenes are nicely done, with plenty of detail such as computer monitors, desks, chairs and water coolers.
The sound is great, with plenty of ambient noise such as copy machines and telephone rings. My only gripe about the sound is that when you toss your paper into the garbage can, it's the same sound each time. There is no difference if it lands in the can hard due to strong wind, or soft with no wind.
The goal of the game is simple. You must toss as many crumbled pieces of paper into the garbage can in a row, without missing. If you miss, the streak starts from zero again. The mechanics are simple as well. Tossing is achieved by touching the paper and flicking upward. The speed of the toss is always the same, so flicking harder or softer does nothing. I'm not really sure how I feel about this. It makes the game simpler to play, but also takes away from the reality of tossing harder or softer. The decision to make the speed of the paper constant might have been due to the added difficulty of the fan. The fan blows the paper off course. A number is presented before each toss to let you know how hard the fan is blowing and in what direction. You'll want to flick the paper in the opposite direction of the wind at a steep angle for higher speeds and a shallow angle for lower speeds. This aspect of the game makes it a real challenge to achieve a high score.
The animations in the game are also done very well. The fan blades spin and the paper rotates in the air. When the paper hits the can on the edge, it bounces a bit and either goes in or out. The sound effects make getting the paper in the garbage can a solid and satisfying experience. Also, the ability to upload your high scores to the global scoreboard add a much welcome community aspect to the game.
Overall, this game is a solid and refined application that should be experienced by all. I don't think there's a single person that hasn't crumbled up a piece of paper and tried to toss it in a garbage can from a distance. It's an activity that is fun for all and can now be experienced whenever and wherever you are right from your iPhone or iPod Touch. I strongly recommend downloading this app.
