Sablo, by Disportium, claims to “let you explore the nebulous boundary between order and chaos — complexity”. The experience I’ve had with it was really trippy and memorable.
You start out by selecting the shape you want – square, hexagon, or triangle. The playing field changes with your selection. There are colour swatch options as well. Swipe your finger across the screen to start the journey. Shapes form, patterns die, things merge and everything becomes chaotic. The app is actually based on math and science. It uses the Abelian sandpile model which makes sure that no two experiences in Sablo are the same. Sablo is fun and the patterns formed keep you engrossed. It makes you interact and observe for the most part. A few minutes into it make you’re fingers take a back seat to the near hypnotic visuals. The iPad screen benefits heavily here thanks to its larger canvas that helps create a more complex and immersive experience.
The triangle mode with the red colour option in particular is really great. I enjoyed creating absolute chaos on the screen in it. Looking at the pixels dance was fascinating. Watching them collide with each other and disappear is quite something. When it comes to apps and games like this, I usually lose interest rather quickly. With Sablo, I was engrossed the whole time. This may sound clichéd but I ended up questioning the meaning of life after a few minutes. There were no narcotics involved.
I haven’t experienced anything like this before. It really leaves me thinking about it over and over again. If you’re into abstract art and intense mental experiences, Sablo is available on the App Store for just $0.99. It is more than worth the asking price.