For many of us who love jigsaw puzzles, the slow-paced pastime doesn't sound like a natural fit for a smartphone or tablet screen.

Ravensburger, a 100-year-old board game and puzzle company based in Germany, released its $2.99 digital jigsaw app in the App Store Thursday. Ravensburger Puzzle gives players the joy of building puzzles, minus the hassle of losing any pieces.

Players can select from packs of puzzles that are available to download, then choose the number of pieces they want, ranging from an easy 20 to a mind-boggling 500. The app then cuts the puzzle and distributes the pieces on its digital table.

Ravensburger Puzzle adapts to whatever style of puzzle solver is playing. For those who want lots of control, you can manually sort pieces into drawers by color or shape, and drag them into piles. For those who want more help, the game can sort pieces for you — or even arrange all the edge pieces into a border.

Ravensburger spent a lot of time making the digital puzzle experience feel like the real thing, said Thomas Bleyer, managing director of Ravensburger's digital division. The game offers a realistic physics engine that still makes the process of putting a puzzle together feel tactile, even if you're only dragging your fingers across a screen.

Bleyer said the company tested the app on hundreds of die-hard puzzle fans to make sure everything felt right.

Ravensburger Puzzler is available now in the App Store for iPad 2 or newer devices for $2.99.

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