Coin Strike: a tiny arcade game that wouldn't let me go

I'll be honest, Coin Strike landed in my review pile mostly because the icon was charming. Flick a coin, land it in a zone, move on — how deep could it be? The answer, it turns out, is deeper than it looks, and I spent a very silly amount of time finding that out.

The core move is a pull-back flick. You drag to set power and angle, there's a faint guide line, and the board reacts with convincing weight. Early boards teach you the basics, but once tilting surfaces and moving targets show up, each shot becomes a little geometry problem. I started lining up bank shots off the walls without even thinking about it.

What makes Coin Strike stick is fairness. I never once blamed the game for a miss — the physics are consistent, so every retry felt like a chance to actually get better. That loop of 'one more go' is dangerous in the best way.

If you want advice: ease off the power. Nearly all my early failures came from flicking too hard. Soft, controlled slides with a bit of wall rebound carried me through the trickier late boards.

It's not a huge game, and it doesn't pretend to be. But as a pocket-sized arcade timekiller with real skill underneath, Coin Strike earned a permanent spot on my home screen.