BATTLESHIP, 9 cert, EA, iOS ***

I was never one for Battleshipas a child; it took a little too much strategy and patience, and too much sitting still for it to be of much interest. But as a mobile app, Battleshipis addictive. You can dip in and out of it as you choose, and the games only take a few minutes at a time. As far as casual gaming goes, it ticks all the boxes. And there's enough going on to keep you playing. Apart from Classic mode, you also get Salvo, which determines the number of shots you have on each turn by how many ships you still have in the game, and Superweapons, which provide extra shots in a particular pattern depending on the weapon. You can earn new weapons by sinking more battleships, so there's always an incentive to keep playing, even if it's just against the AI opponent. In between your shots are cut scenes showing the animation of shots being taken, and how they land. The graphics for sinking the ships are particularly satisfying – unless it happens to be yours, of course. Multiplayer can be done over wifi, Bluetooth or by passing the device around.