Angry Birds

Finnish studio Rovio released Angry Birds in 2009 after reportedly building and scrapping over 50 prototypes before landing on the slingshot format, a decision that turned it into one of the best-selling mobile franchises of all time. The premise stayed simple through every sequel: birds versus egg-stealing pigs, one slingshot, and structures built from wood, glass, and stone that each break differently.

The real puzzle is picking which bird to use before you even aim. The stubby red bird is a blunt battering ram, the yellow bird accelerates mid-flight for glass, and the black bird detonates on impact, useful for cracking stone from the inside rather than trying to smash through it directly. Aiming for structural supports instead of the pigs themselves usually brings a whole tower down in one shot, which matters far more than raw slingshot power once levels start stacking multiple materials together. Cut the Rope scratches a similar physics-puzzle itch, trading the slingshot for rope-cutting precision.