Tap ‘n’ Slide – If you long for a game that challenges your reflexes, such as Simon Says or the popular iPhone app Tap Tap Revenge, a fun but simplistic challenge awaits you in Tap ‘n’ Slide.

The game takes advantage of the iPhone’s touch screen by quickly throwing up a series of taps and finger motions for you to follow. Do it correctly and it’s on to the next task. The more you tap in time, the faster the choices fire at you. Soon you will be swiping, tapping, and circling your fingers around your iPhone in a frenzy to keep up.

Tap ‘n’ Slide gets high marks for that simple, catchy fun factor you want in a short time killer. It’s pretty cheap — only $1.99 at the App Store. But if you want to stick with free games that offer just as much fun, consider Tap Tap Revenge or the lite version of Labyrinth.

The game, complete with a strange-looking character with a David Bowie-like poof of hair, gives a variety of directions to you while playing. You may have to tap, double tap, swipe to the left or right, or make a circular motion (the one that tripped me up the most).

The challenge is not exactly at the level of World of Warcraft, but it’s not meant to be. It’s for those few minutes when you find yourself stuck in line somewhere (or waiting to vote as I was on Election Night) and when you are lounging on the couch and just want to mindlessly bang your screen.

For those of you with a competitive spirit, Tap ‘n’ Slide saves high scores and lets you adjust a few options. If you choose to play it during a boring meeting, you can turn off all the sound effects so you don’t get caught. Should you find yourself in an environment where you want to blare the obligatory annoying music or sound effects, the options menu lets you crank the volume.

Tap ‘n’ Slide runs solid, without any crashes or hiccups. It makes for a few minutes of mindless fun when you need a break from all the emails, IMs, and web sites you are probably busy with on your iPhone.

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category: Arcade, Games