“Doodle Jump,” a simple game originally created for the iPhone and later transferred to both the iPad and the Android operating systems, is an infinite platform jumping-based game. The player controls a green multi-legged “Doodle” with a long—and deadly—nose whose goal is to jump as high as possible using strategically placed platforms. The game is tilt controlled, using the phone’s built in accelerometer to move the character back and forth across the screen, and if the character falls off the bottom of the screen, the game is over.

“Doodle” is not alone in his quest to jump. He is aided by random power-ups like rocket boosters, springs, jet packs, and propeller hats to help him jump more quickly and safely. Doodle also has enemies: a player must control Doodle’s nose by tapping the screen to shoot various aliens and monsters that jump out to attack him.

Adding to the challenge of the game are the platform types; some platforms can provide solid support, but others have only a single use and will break as soon as Doodle jumps off of them. In addition, some power-ups will accelerate Doodle too quickly, and he may not be able to get to a platform before falling off the bottom of the screen.

Doodle keeps jumping as soon as he hits a platform, so the game becomes challenging very quickly, since the platforms become fewer in number as the game progresses. When a player passes 10,000 points—a significant achievement in the game—red lines appear to mark the 100 most recent high scores, if the player’s phone is set to sync with the online high score book.

The graphics of “Doodle Jump” are excellent, with all characters and the background appearing hand-drawn. Though the sound effects definitely fit in with the cartoonish theme, the game does not have a musical soundtrack, which gives a certain sense of lacking.

Being a basic game with no pressure, “Doodle Jump” is great for relieving temporary boredom. At only $3.99 for Android users (and 99 cents for the iPhone), “Doodle Jump” is great value for the price, and should be a part of any casual gamer’s collection.