Game Reviews

Finger Tied

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Finger Tied
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For some reason, the beloved childhood game Twister has never really made the transition onto iPad.

This is probably for the best, as it eliminates the temptation to put your foot on - or through - your iPad's screen. But what about a scaled-down version of Twister that substitutes the act of contortion for some mobile-focused puzzle gameplay?

Finger Tied is just that sort of game. While it won't imperiously tell you where to put what finger, it will challenge you to contort your hands into ambitious, and occasionally painful, configurations in the name of fun.

Let's twist again

The object of Finger Tied is relatively simple: tap on a coloured block to begin the puzzle, then slide it along a prescribed course without doubling back over a square that you've already moved across.

If you slide your cube outside the prescribed path, your progress on the puzzle is erased and you have to start again from the beginning. The same holds true if you lift your finger from the screen.

In early puzzles, this gameplay is quick and intuitive and amounts to little more than tracing a straight line or figuring out the basics of pathing. Once multiple blocks are introduced, however, the real fun - and challenge - of Finger Tied becomes apparent.

Block blocked

In order to start a puzzle with multiple blocks, you must touch them all simultaneously and guide them along paths with different fingers (often from both hands). Finger Tied slowly amps up the challenge, asking you first to move complete puzzles with two, three, and eventually four separate blocks.

If that doesn't sound difficult, head over to your iPad (I'll wait) and place four fingers on the screen. Try tracing them about in separate, often mirrored, paths without lifting your fingers from the screen. Not so easy in practice, is it?

Thankfully, Finger Tied presents a novel solution to this problem. While all of the puzzles can theoretically be completed by one player with spry digits, Finger Tied will support digital input from up to four sets of hands.

This makes Finger Tied a great social game to play with a friend, family member, or friendly barista as it only requires a single slate to play. With the help of another friend (or three), puzzles that were once impossibly frustrating become a fun mutual experience for you to share.

Knuckling up

Finger Tied is a fun game, certainly, but it's ultimately more gimmick than substance. Its puzzle play is rather simple and one-dimensional, and once another capable set of hands is added to your own there's really very little challenge left.

That said, Finger Tied represents a novel - and affordable - way to bring iPad puzzling to the realm of local multiplayer social gaming. It's an experience that you can share with your children, neighbours, or anybody else in your vicinity with functioning hands.

Finger Tied

Good fun with a friend (or two), this innovative puzzler might be a bit much for those with less nimble fingers
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Matthew Diener
Matthew Diener
Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.