Cheating in school is a time (dis)honored tradition that has been around since the invention of formalized education. Crazy Labs celebrates this (debatable) laziness in Cheating Tom which throws you back into the classroom in this simple and addictive arcade game.

Pain in the class

Cheating Tom puts you in the shoes of Tom or Tammy: two students that have decided to take an alternate approach to education by copying their classmates work. 

Each level is set in a different type of classroom during an exam. Your goal is to sneak around the classroom and copy your classmates' work while avoiding the gaze of your teacher who's at the front of the class. The teachers' gaze is portrayed as a large beam shooting out from their eyes and won't affect you as long as you dodge the gaze or sit at your desk. 

Each time you copy a student, your overall grade moves up. Each grade is worth a different point value with an A+ being worth 35 points. However, if the teacher catches Tom or Tammy away from their desks the round is over. There are also goofy power-ups in Cheating Tom that can hide you from the teacher, give you the ability to teleport, and prevent the students from getting angry about copying their work.

Each round rarely lasts longer than a minute, but it's immensely satisfying and addicting. Unlike other time killers such as Flappy Bird, there's a sense a of accomplishment after successfully completing each level.

Despite the simple tap-based controls, there's a surprising amount of strategy involved in Cheating Tom; you need to factor in the teacher's gaze, the students tolerance to your copying, and the path to each student. 

Cheaters gonna cheat

The controls in Cheating Tom are very simple: place and hold your finger on the screen and Tom/Tammy will go there. Taking your finger off the screen causes Tom/Tammy to automatically head back to their desk. As mentioned above, the emphasis in Cheating Tom is strategy.

Psst...you got number 5?

Levels never get old because Cheating Tom does a great job of mixing up students, teachers, and classrooms. The classrooms vary from libraries to grassy fields where the desks are literally rocks and the teacher stands on a tree stump. The students and teachers look adorably cartoonish which inevitably endears them to you. 

The music and sound effects go hand in hand with the comical graphics. The sounds effects all add to the environment: you can hear Tom or Tammy furiously scribble down the answers on paper, the teachers gaze makes a ray gun sound, and a crowd cheers if you win or let's out an "Awwww...." if you lose. The soundtrack consists of zany xylophone music that is similar to the something you'd hear in a Scooby-Doo episode. 

Great time killer

Cheating Tom is an addictive game that's easy to play and doesn't bombard you with ads or in-app purchases. Each level is short enough that it doesn't feel like a time commitment which makes it perfect to play for a few rounds.