The world is filled with people who take pride in never having played Angry Birds, or who turn their noses up at iPhone games in general. Let them. There was a legitimate case to be made for the possibility of Angry Birds winning game of the year from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, no matter how simple or limited the concept. Now, Tiny Wings is the latest gaming success on the iPhone: $1 can buy you a little drop of happy for your iPhone.

Tiny Wings is a download small enough that you don't need to be on WiFi, and the price tag is low enough that it's the easiest of impulse buys. The gameplay takes one finger, and the game is mostly a matter of timing. This is why it's so magical.

The game may be easy to understand and even simpler to play, but the up-and-down motion, use of color and sound, and rhythmic nature of play all come together to allow you to lose yourself in the kinetic motion of your bird. You touch your finger to the screen to get the bird to dip, trying to fit perfectly into the downward slope of hills and then let go after it gains speed, but that's enough.

You'll be forced to weigh each situation, making choices between speed and getting coins, and the game gives you a variety of tasks to accomplish in order to get a new nest. The goals and rewards are both humble, but they're enough to keep the player locked into the game, working towards those slight rewards. Nothing violent or dismaying happens when the round is over; the sun simply sets and the bird goes back to sleep.

This is a game you can get lost in—one you can spend 15 minutes playing and then walk away from, having already gotten your money's worth. If you're like me, you'll spend much more time than that playing Tiny Wings, and you'll be thinking about it when you're not playing. You can get a round in anytime you want, and at $1, there's little disappointment if you don't like it.

This is what people are talking about when they say their iOS devices mean they don't need a portable gaming system. Lower-priced, high-concept games are helping more games find a larger audience, and that's a good thing. After talking about the game online, I was deluged with messages from people who bought it and loved it—more evidence that there is less separation between the so-called "hardcore" and "casual" audiences than we like to think.

This is a keeper, go get it.

Verdict: Buy