When All is Said

Hit the Light dropped on iPhones and Android handsets this week.

Billed as a “magnetic stress killer”, it’s not exactly challenging for your mind or your fingertips.

But it’s making waves in the mobile gaming world with its unique charm that keeps you entertained… for around 20 minutes at least.

Players use metallic objects to smash through neon lights. Your fingers flick items ranging from pinballs and bombs to ninja shurikens in order to completely destroy any bulbs present above.

And when you’ve done that, you move on to the next level. Developers have basically put a modern twist on a 1976 classic arcade game called Breakout.

How it’s a stress killer is anyone’s guess, but it is good fun and may keep you amused on the commute for a bit.

Once you beat the starting levels you advance to win gems, with each try increasingly challenging.

The best thing is, it’s free to play.

APP

To drink with vegetable-based dishes Romanians – now Britain’s second largest foreign nationality – have had a bad press despite working for our NHS, banks and farms. Historian Tess Dunlop looks at our long and surprising links with the country, and asks a multi-layered immigrant community for their thoughts about us.

Anne Griffin

Sceptre. Out Thursday

Pull up a chair and join Maurice, the hero of this superb debut. On a Saturday night in a small Irish town, the elderly farmer sits at a hotel bar and raises a glass to the five people who have meant the most to him, telling the tale of his life through those he loved. From hard childhood to meeting his beloved wife, raising a family and making a fortune, he shares his memories – and more than a few incendiary secrets. Told in a dry, witty voice, it’s incredibly moving without ever straying into sentiment. A book to savour, and pass on. An absolute joy. DEIRDRE O’BRIEN Frankie is shocked to find a letter from her late mother revealing the identity of her father… but not as shocked as he is – or his wife and grown up children – when she bursts into their lives. Dealing with some tough topics, this charming family drama is upbeat and fun. This epic yarn follows gifted and privileged Alice as she moves from high school to New York in the 80s, experiencing tragedy along the way. Relating a changing US political climate, it’s an ambitious tale from a reliably compelling story teller.