“Drum like a pro” is JamKit’s slogan, and while we hate to be nitpicky... well, what pro plays a 27-piece drum kit using two fingers? Then again, “Drum like you were playing a really complicated but slick game of Simon, and match your skills against other finger-drummers worldwide” is a bit unwieldy.

The free version features 14 songs and a basic drum kit with 8 zones to tap; spend a buck to take that to more than 40 songs and bigger, badder drum kits. Just tap the colored circles as they pulse up through the super-clean interface (with or without labels for each item in your kit) with hip hop, club, industrial, jangly pop, heavy metal, or good old rock & roll drum samples, all of which sound crisp and fresh.

After you’ve mastered the in-game patterns -- which seems unlikely at anything beyond the easy skill level, because they get finger-twisty quickly -- you can download player-made patterns or create and upload your own. It’s a shame there’s no way to quantize the beats you tap out; any rhythmic mistakes you make are presented raw to the world.

The bottom line. For free it’s a fun and elegantly designed distraction; even if you splurge for the in-game Pro Gear Pack, it’s hard to argue with a buck for all this content. It all comes down to how much and how often you want to play Simon with a 27-piece drum kit.

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JamKit Screenshots

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  Too tricky? No worries. Put the cymbals on auto and focus on the skins.

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  The Pro Gear pack is a 99-cent in-app purchase in the Free version of the app, or available on its own from the App Store.

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  You can toggle the labels on or off; either way, you’ll get colored prompts.

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  The gameplay is Simon-esque: Watch the beat pattern, then tap it out yourself.

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  Neil Peart is jealous.

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  If you’re bored with your current beats, you can download the toughest the world has to offer.

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  Challenge your friends to a rock off!

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  Props. Lots of props.

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