Finnish software house Rovio is the developer of Angry Birds, currently the top-selling paid app on every mobile device in every country on every planet in the known universe. At the time of writing, sales figures run into the hundreds of millions and the game is being ported to just about any device, mobile or not, that can handle it. And that of course includes all smartphones, either Apple or Android or Nokia or Palm, Windows, Mac, all games consoles and even the color Nook e-book reader.

For anyone away in some not-entirely-parallel universe this last year, Angry Birds is a video puzzle game which involves stylized cartoon birds being launched by slingshot at stylized cartoon pigs. There are five different types of birds, each with their own special characteristics, and the pigs are protected in a variety of clever and frustrating ways by an assortment of materials of different degrees of destructibility. To progress through the levels, and there are hundreds of them, requires skill and practice; luck might play a part but it's skill that moves you along.

The description doesn't begin to explain why this is the single most addictive video game ever, leaping from mobiles to all devices and topping the charts all over the world. Nothing can explain that easily, you have to play it to understand. But if I had to pick a few characteristics, I'd say it appeals to everyone who needs to break things now and then - all of us, in other words; it appeals to anyone who loves beating puzzles set specifically to defeat them, and it's pitched at a skill level that keeps players having one more go, and progressing at exactly the right rate to sustain interest and tempt them to the next level. It's also funny and charming and silly enough to appeal to kids and adults alike. Like any good game of skill, you can learn how to play within minutes and then spend hours and hours learning that just knowing the rules is nowhere nearly enough.

And like any media phenomenon, we are now beginning to see the spin-offs: more games, cuddly toys, clothing and more cuddly toys. The movie, the TV series and the sponsored racing team are no doubt being lined up right now.

For this year at least, this is the "killer app" that almost every device is going to offer. It's not on the Blackberry yet, but that's close, so expect the level of attention at your next executive meetings to be less than perfect and don't believe anyone who says they have to answer an urgent call. Also coming soon is the ability to port your scores across devices, so you can carry on the same game on your iPhone, Nook, and PC depending on where you are. Just be careful not to keep Real Life on hold for too long, OK?

Note that this is the developer's website. To buy the app or the port, you'll need to go to the app store appropriate to your device or computer. For Windows, that's Intel AppUpp, and at the time of writing the price is $4.99, which is outstanding value for a game likely to occupy you for hundreds of hours.