The Safe

The object behind The Safe is to crack the combination to unlock a safe, which then “just might take you on a whole new adventure,” according to its app store page. The trickiest part of the game is that it comes with no instructions other than a recommendation that you get the safe open before the cops come to take you away.

The games initial interface is nothing more than a dial like you’d find on any safe. Start spinning the dial to figure out the correct combination, but if you aren’t quick enough a brief video appears of someone being stuffed into a squad car and hauled off to jail. Part of the charm of this game is it lack of instructions, so I won’t give anything away here. I will say, however, that the App Store reviewers who recommend using your headphones while playing is good advice.

The Bomb

Securicy Ventures’ other game, The Bomb, is just as easy to play and just as difficult to solve. If The Safe lacked clear instructions, The Bomb is completely devoid of them. “Disarm The Bomb? Yep it’s that simple…or is it? That’s all we can tell you, really, we promise…now hurry up before it explodes!” says its web site enigmatically.

When you start the game, a bundle of TNT with colored wires attached to a countdown timer appears on the screen. To disarm the bomb, simply tap the wires. If you don’t “clip” them in the correct sequence, a short video clip of an exploding building appears. Again, there’s not much I can say without giving too much away — you really just have to try it.

Neither of these games will increase your IQ by 100 points or win you $1 million, but they’re really fun anyway. Both games are perfect time wasters when you need something to fiddle with but your mind needs to pay attention to something else, like when you’re in a meeting or watching a Webinar. They’re also perfect games to keep kids occupied in short bursts, since each round of play in The Bomb lasts less than a minute, and The Safe limits each session to about five minutes each.

If nothing else, sharpening your safe-cracking or bomb-disarming skills might make you feel like MacGyver for a while.

Both games are available in the App Store for 99 cents, and you can also pick up an ad-supported version of The Bomb for free.

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