Zen Bound is an experience quite unlike any other on the iPhone. It comes in at a mere $2.99. Its controls are intuitive and play to the strengths of the device. It's a casual game, in every sense of the word, and yet it's much different. While most casual games on the iPhone are designed around quick gameplay that people can pick up and play, and put away just as fast, with lightening fast levels, the goal of Zen Bound is to slow things down and let players work at their own pace.

There is no timer, and the goal and finish line are in many ways what the players make them, but there are limitations and Zen Bound is definitely a game. In each section, players are tasked with painting a wood sculpture. These vary greatly, and the trick is that each is being painted with a rope.

The player uses his fingers to spin and rotate the object, and tilt the device to adjust the direction of the rope. The rope always starts anchored somewhere on the sculpture. As the player twists and turns, binding the sculpture in rope, the rope releases paint within a small space around it. There is a limit on the length of rope, though, and all the nooks and crannies of the particular object sometimes make wrapping it up no easy task. Wrapping in some sort of pattern also helps; otherwise the rope may be what prevents another part of the rope from touching down later on. And the paint doesn't stay if the rope is moved.

At a certain percentage of painting competition, players will hear a chime. This indicates the level can be completed at this point, if the gamer wishes. Hopefully, the rope has enough slack left to touch a glowing nail in the object, which exits the level. If the player wishes, though, he can try to get a higher percentage of the object painted, until three bells have chimed. Each bell chimed and brought to completion earns the player one flower. On the menu screen, players are essentially working up the side of one of three trees, through different puzzles. Lanterns must light the way to higher areas of the tree, and the lanterns light according to goal flower achievements.

What's cool about Zen Bound is that it lets players operate totally at their own paces. If one particular gamer wants to speed through levels, only getting enough to complete it, that works (to a degree). If players want to sit around and mull over the puzzle for minutes on end, strategizing the best way to attack it for full competition, that works too. Zen Bound's winding mechanics also allow for players to simply unravel it all, or a particular section, if things didn't go according to plan.

The latter is actually the preferred method, as earning more flowers makes it easier to progress through the trees. The graphics are phenomenal, and the tactile nature of wrapping the 3D objects is conveyed well, due in part to some rope-on-wood sound effects. Most impressive are the physics of the rope and object. Everything the rope stops on plays a part in how the object spins, or how the rope catches on the corner of another section. It may seem simple, but how it adds to the feeling of actually doing these puzzles is exceptional.

Publisher Chillingo and developer Secret Exit have provided a one-of-its-kind title, packed with 76 levels in Zen Bound. It is all highlighted by a down tempo soundtrack, which gamers get for free with the $2.99 purchase by simply clicking the "Secret Exit" on the menu and providing an email address. With a great value and a unique experience, Zen Bound is a must buy.