Basketball Arcade Machine

Thirty seconds, a hoop, and as many balls as you can get through it. Lemondo's Basketball Arcade Machine replicates the shooting cabinet by the arcade entrance on a phone, minus the coin slot. Each round is timed, and sinking shots back to back adds time, so a streak can stretch well past the nominal half-minute.

Four levels are included, one mode apiece, and the developer's main boast is the physics-based ball behaviour. Scores run through Apple's Game Center, so friends and the wider leaderboard are built in. It was once a paid app and is now free, according to the listing.

Flick to shoot, watch the ball arc, adjust. The first round is about finding the right throw; after that it's about keeping the rhythm while the clock ticks. A streak of makes adds time and the round keeps going, which is where the tension lives: one miss and the bonus seconds stop.

With four modes across four levels, there's some variety, though the listing doesn't describe how they differ. A full session is a handful of rounds, perhaps five minutes, and then a glance at Game Center to see whether your best moved up the board. It's a game for a queue, not a sofa.

People search for this because they know the cabinet and want the same twitchy, timed loop without feeding it coins. The Game Center integration appeals to anyone who wants scores to count against friends, and the previously-paid history suggests a game that was built with care rather than as an ad shell. It's quick, small and needs no explanation.

Only four screenshots, which suits a game with essentially one view: the hoop, the ball, a timer and a score. Physics-based ball movement is the selling point, so expect a 3D hoop rendered from the shooter's perspective. Mode differences across the four levels may show as different backdrops or hoop arrangements, but the listing doesn't say.