The App That Never Ends (T.A.T.N.E) is a surprisingly simple yet addictive game where Apple device owners follow a moving line as long as they can.
Despite the simplicity of the game, it was actually a programming feat to create.

“It took 9 months, programmers from 5 countries, even developers of very complex games were baffled,” said Donovan Martin, founder of Martin Global Incorporated the creator of T.A.T.N.E.

Being both non-violent and very simple to teach young children, the app is becoming a favorite of parents and caregivers. That is, if the kids ever get to play.

“I can’t stop playing this game,” said Michael Norton a Silicon Valley resident who originally got the app for his nephew “I started on a long bus ride to the Bay area and nearly missed my stop. My nephew got no play time, so I got him an iPod and his own copy.”

T.A.T.N.E., which starts the moment a player puts a finger on the screen, gives you no information about your success. The game cannot be paused; it cannot be exited. The game ends when the player removes the finger being used. Once the game is over, stats revealing how long one successfully followed the line and how far in distance the finger actually traveled is revealed.

“People are creating their own ways to compete in real time or independently, so future versions will incorporate some of these user generated innovations.” said Donovan, who got the idea for the game when struggling to move something on his phone’s screen.

While the hope to have T.A.T.N.E. become the first app inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame may be a long shot, in many ways the program does act similarly to one of the toys inducted in the Hall of Fame’s very first year — the Etch-a-Sketch™.