A creative platformer that lets you be creative too? Color us tickled pink.

Anyone under the delusion that few original, creative, nonlicensed games exist for the Mac should immediately play Max & the Magic Marker, a charming platformer with style that goes on for miles.

You play as Max, a cute little kid who loves to draw with his magic orange marker. But a monster he draws comes to life on the page and starts messing up the rest of his artwork. So Max draws himself into the picture so he can stop the monster, chasing him through 15 stunningly drawn levels stretched across three distinct worlds.

Press Space to freeze the game, change the graphics to Max's own drawing, and add elements with the magic marker.

Ingeniously, the marker and the drawings aren’t just story line gimmicks--they make up the core gameplay. You control Max’s movements with the W, A, S, and D keys and use the mouse to control the marker. To solve each level’s clever, physics-based puzzles, you need to draw objects on the screen, which then become real, physical parts of the game world. For example, to jump to a high platform, you could stand Max on one end of a seesaw and draw a big rock in the air above the other end--it’ll fall and catapult Max into the sky. To keep rain or falling rocks from hitting Max, draw him an umbrella. To get him across a chasm, draw a bridge or some stairs.

Adding another layer of strategy, pressing the Spacebar freezes the action, and the graphics change from a smooth cartoon rendition to a child’s hand-drawn style. But you can still use the marker. So sometimes you’ll need to jump into midair, freeze the game with the Spacebar, and draw a missing step or ramp underneath Max.

Developer Press Play doesn’t force you to solve the levels’ puzzles their way. Thanks to the realistic physics of the hand-drawn elements, we found multiple ways to solve the puzzles and make it to each level’s end. Press Play estimates you’ll get about four hours of gameplay, but collectible orbs and unlockable extras, such as a try-anything Playground mode, add decent replay value for your $20.

This blood-free, family-friendly game is great for kids, but the difficulty ramps up pretty quickly, and you gotta solve each level before moving on, which can lead to some frustration. Thankfully you never run out of lives. Still, the gorgeous graphics and brain-teasing puzzles keep the experience fun and engaging even at its most challenging.

It’s original, it’s adorable, and it’s tough enough to really make you use your brain. We just hope there’s a sequel.

Max & the Magic Marker
COMPANY: Press Play
CONTACT: www.maxandthemagicmarker.com
PRICE: $20
REQUIREMENTS: Intel processor, 512MB RAM
Unique gameplay. Challenging puzzles. Forgiving system requirements. ESRB rating: Everyone.
No way to move on if you get stuck on a level.