The iPhone app, also available to use with Facebook, has been created by interactive agency Marvellous, which says the iPhone is the perfect place to show complex technology, on behalf of the Central Office of Information. Retained agency Glue also worked on the campaign.
Called the Royal Navy Engineer Officer Challenge, it puts potential recruits through their paces with five interactive missions, requiring the player to use the iPhone's touch screen to make virtual repairs to HMS Deter.
After each mission, the player sees footage of the outcome of their decisions. Scores are submitted to a leaderboard and then players are invited to challenge a friend to play the game or visit the Royal Navy website for more information.
On the Facebook version users also get a feel for the engineering experience and can share the game among friends.
Maxine Brown, senior interactive services manager at the COI, said: "When thinking of engineering careers potential candidates automatically default to civilian and commercial businesses so demonstrating how challenging and rewarding a Royal Navy Engineer Officer career can be was a key objective in this campaign."