TJ-wriggle puzzles ☕
The TJ-wriggle puzzles followed on from the original wriggle puzzles and quickly established themselves as the most popular variant. They are named in honour of Tom Jolly who devised the original mechanic and who helped co-develop many new challenges. The set featured below is based on the 6x6 grid and up to four wrigglers. The goal is the same in all cases, to release the blue wriggler through the gap at the bottom of the grid. Note that in these puzzles the grey squares are blockers, so the wrigglers effectively reside in a mini-maze.
Update Sept 2024: The full set of 80 puzzles from the original Wriggle iOS app (2009) are now playable at clickmazes.itch.io. The original puzzle set was hand-designed in collaboration with Tom Jolly. The iOS app was developed by Conlan Rios. This particular app makes excellent use of PSNext canvas sprites to closely mimic the original java applet from 2006.
Drag the wriggly worms around the maze until you can release the blue wriggler through the light-blue gateway. You can drag by head or tail and it does not matter which end exits first.
Controls
Use the Click here to play button to select a puzzle set.
Use the puzzle drop-list to select a puzzle.
Use restart (action) or the space key to reset.
Movement
Use the mouse to drag a wriggler by its head or tail.
Added to the collection in 2009 was the big-wriggle bonus challenge applet which celebrated the launch of the first Wriggle iOS app. The iOS app was later rebuilt as Wriggle 3D and has been available in the Amazon app store since 2016.
Update May 2025: The big-wriggle bonus challenge has now been rebuilt using PSNext. Click and drag in the frame right here, or click the link below to launch and play fullscreen (direct from source).
This puzzle area is interactive - just click and drag
Links and related pages
Wriggle 3D in the Amazon app store.
Extreme TJ-wriggle: an extensive
set of computer-generated TJ-wriggle puzzles on the 4x4 grid.
TJ-wriggle in SVG:
implemented by Henri Manson.
Hackable PSNext game: A hackable version of the itch.io game (all 80 levels).
Joel's snake-puzzle games review: a comprehensive review of wriggle puzzle genre by Joel Fox (2019-22).
concept - © Tom Jolly - 2006
maze designs - © Andrea Gilbert & Tom Jolly - 2006-09
applet - © Andrea Gilbert - 2006-09
PSNext implementation - © Andrea Gilbert - 2024