I’m not sure how many of you were able to regularly visit an arcade growing up, but I absolutely loved our local arcade. There were a ton of different amusements, from classic arcade games to skee-ball to first person shooters with light guns. But as cool as all of these games were, the game I ended up spending the most tokens on was a bit different.

I can’t remember the name of the device, but it basically consisted of a ring of neon light. Another light would spin around the ring of light: your goal was to tap a button and “catch” the flashing light as it passed between two points on the ring. It sounds a little complex, but the game was addictively simple. I can’t tell you how many tokens I pumped into that thing over the years.

I bring up this game from the arcade of my youth because a new iOS game called 1800 just debuted, and it’s quite similar to this arcade game.

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

1800 is an iPhone game that challenges your reaction time. Your goal is simple: stop the cursor when it is at the dead center of your screen.

Pros

• Gorgeous minimalist design
• 2 games modes and over 20 levels
• Addictive gameplay

Cons

• Getting a 3-star rating for each level can be really frustrating
• Timed mode is arguably the most fun mode, but you have to unlock it
• Annoying banner ads

Discussion

1800 is a really simple game. You want to land your cursor in the dead center of the screen. The game’s name comes from “1800,” the perfect score you can get in this game. Different levels have additional levels of difficulty: additional static vertical lines across the screen give you an even smaller target area.

There are also moving vertical lines: you need to stop the cursor on these lines when they are as close to the center as possible. It sounds easier than it is, believe me.

Your enjoyment of the deviously simple little time waster will likely depend on your gaming style. If you hate games that stress you out, the high level of difficulty and low margin for era may infuriate you. But if you love games that are truly challenging, 1800 is probably right up your alley!

I do wish that timed mode was available right from the get-go. You have to unlock it, however. Timed mode is great because you have a set time limit in which to get the highest number of hits to the center line. I vastly prefer this more rapid-fire mode to the arcade mode.

There is some Game Center integration for both modes of the game, but additional levels and a more robust system of unlockable achievements would be great additions to this fresh new game.

Conclusion and download link

If you love games that test the speed of your brain and your fingers at the same time, 1800 is a really fun little title. It is a very, very simple game, but that simplicity is what gives this game such charm. This game rekindled fond memories of playing similar games in an arcade setting during my youth. But even if you’ve never played a game quite like this in the past, casual gamers will enjoy this tricky game.

Price: Free

Version reviewed: 1.0.0

Requires iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, iOS version 4.3 0r later

Download size: 24.4 MB

1800 on Apple App Store