Twisted 23 reimagines classic slider game

I called him Uncle Al, but he wasn't really my uncle, just a friend of my parents. As a 7-year-old kid, I thought Al had the coolest job in the world. He owned string of gumball vending machines and always had loads toy prizes and tchotchkes.

One of my favorites was the slider puzzle. It held 15 numbered squares in a plastic frame. Players would slide the pieces around the frame and use the lone open square to rearrange them into numeric order.

I was reminded of Uncle Al and the sliding puzzle game when I came across Twisted 23. It's also a sliding number puzzle but recreated for playing on an iPhone or iPad.

Early slider puzzle.

Twisted 23 expands the old slider concept. It has a larger game board with 24 slots and 23 tiles. Then it tilts the board on its side to present a diagonal playing field. It also adds a couple of other enhancements.

A game starts with numbers arranged in a specific order. When the player taps the "Shuffle" button, the tiles reappear in a new order and a play clock starts ticking.

The goal it to arrange the board in its original order with the fewest moves or fastest time, then compare your score with others on a leader board. The app also has an optional  4 x 6 puzzle that's similar to the conventional 15 square slider puzzles.

Twisted 23 is available to download from the iTunes App Store. The app is free, with ads, or you can remove the ads for $.99.

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Written by Ric Manning

Follow me on Twitter @ricmanning and read my technology columns at My Well Being.