Vice:

Grindstone is f’ing awesome.

The hook is dead simple. You’re tasked with creating paths through a sea of different colored enemies. The longer the path, the more bonuses that appear. The catch: you can only connect to enemies of the same color. However, string together enough enemies and a crystal drops, crystals that allow you to swap colors and go even further.

The act of tracing your fingers across a few enemies, then tracing back as your mind notices a better way through—that tiny, tactile joy reminded me of the early days of iPhone games. There is no reason Grindstone couldn’t be played and enjoyed on a controller, or with a mouse and keyboard, but it feels like a game that was conceived with the finger in mind.

I’ve played several of the initial Apple Arcade games but none have captured my interest as much as Grindstone has. Unfortunately, I’m stuck on Level 16 and can’t get any further. But it was fun while it lasted.