The Phantom Sliding Squares Puzzle Test was produced by The Roalex Company in Forest Hills, New York, USA in the 1960s. The puzzle contains 15 tiles which come shuffled, with the player required to slide the tiles within the black tray to form a picture of the Phantom. The puzzle is fully licensed by King Features Syndicate.
The Roalex Company was established by Alvin M. Borenstein in Forest Hills, New York, USA in 1952. The company specialized in producing toys and novelties for the local market. Alvin created the Roalex puzzle which was made of 15 square pieces, which slid and interlocked in a square tray, forming either a single illustrated image or various versions of the same image.
The 2.5” x 2.5” plastic puzzles become hugely popular amongst both adults and children, with hundreds of differential images produced across a number of themes, including comic book characters, number marching, word arrangement, crossword puzzles, tick tack toe, world maps and more.
The the 1960s, the Roalex Company produced a large number of licensed sliding square puzzles featuring a variety of comic book and TV cartoon characters, including Mandrake the Magician, Flash Gordon, Superman, Batman, Popeye, Mighty Mouse, The Munsters, Pinocchio, Tin Tin, Felix the Cat, Yogi Bear, Green Hornet, Casper, The Adams Family, Aquaman, Astro Boy, Bugs Bunny, Davy Crocket, The Flintstones and many more.
The Roalex Company puzzles continued to be produced through until 1971.
The Phantom Sliding Squares Puzzle Test was made from plastic containing 15 black and white tiles in a black framed tray measuring 2.5” x 2.5”. Once completed, the puzzle forms an image of the Phantom seated on his skull throne. The puzzle was sold in retail stores glued to a one sided color cardboard backing measuring 5-1/8” x 6-1/8”. The front and back can be seen below.
An image of the Phantom in a standing pose is seen on the cardboard backing, plus King Features Syndicate copyright information. The Roalex Company is also noted, however a year of production is not present.
Text is also printed on the card setting a time challenge for the player, based on how quickly the puzzle can be completed, 5 minutes = The Phantom!, 10 minutes = Wonderful!, 30 minutes = Lost Game!
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