Most of the Internet is probably absorbed with Ubuntu 10.04 right now, and that’s a good thing. When you get tired of messing with the location of the buttons, you can check out Krank, which is a rather unusual game.

Krank plays like a simple puzzle game, with the goal being to remove magnets and anchors from the screen by attaching or drifting balls and links toward them. If the connections are held for a sufficiently long time, the magnets or anchors burst and you proceed to the next screen.

That’s all. No zombies, no guns, no bombs. No zombies with guns or bombs. Sorry.

The challenge comes in maneuvering your snake to bounce the links and balls correctly. There are some smooth friction effects and the physics appear both natural and predictable, but that doesn’t make it any easier to get things swinging in the right direction.

And if you can’t get one level completed, the game is rather forgiving and will allow you to skip to the next screen without suffering for hours on end. Nice touch.

One of the strongest points of the game is the visual element; the backdrops are brightly colored and neatly mirrored, which gives a kaleidoscope effect. At the same time, the audio track is enjoyable, and the sound effects change between levels. So some of the more commonplace sounds — like a ball bouncing off the edge of the screen — are rather humorous. All in all, it’s both visually and audibly appealing.

Krank is in the repos for Karmic and Lucid, and in AUR for Arch. When the luster of 10.04 begins to wear off, give it a spin.