Passion For Puzzles

As a sequel to 2004's Mario vs. Donkey for the GBA, Nintendo's wifi enabled Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis puzzler is getting some solid reviews sans acclaim. The main premise of the game is to direct Mini Marios through a series of puzzles using the touch screen Lemmings style.
via Joystiq

Tags: Nintendo DS | Adventure | Puzzle

Designers at GRID - part of the Innuendo Design team - have launched a new concept in Sudoku Books. Called the Sudoku Saver, the new book offers a range of options for saving, restarting or reusing Sudoku puzzles.
The concept couldn't be simpler, a book of grids, predominately empty ones, that enable the Sudoku addict to either save a puzzle to solve later, from a newspaper, off the internet, or wherever. The saved grids can be completed at any time, and there is the option of copying one from a newspaper that you are doing today, and then do it again in the future when you have forgotten the solution.
Their idea is to offer a customised version of the book as a kind of Day Minder that allows the user to keep diary information, notes, thoughts and ideas while also saving Sudoku grids.
This is a new concept in corporate gift ideas, and will be followed by a range of other items, mailny game related, and a range of diaries, daybooks, and customisable items that can be ordered in the original form, or as customised products. Initially they are looking for feedback on the concept and can be contacted directly at the email shown separately. A dedicated website will be launched in October and a full range of items will be available for purchase for the Christmas season.

Via Newswiretoday

Tags: Sudoku | Puzzle Book

Blokz is another mind bending puzzle by Stacy who is a 32 year old puzzle lover, with passion for puzzles games which are easy to learn but difficult to Master. The object of Blokz is to change all the blocks (or should it be blokz) into white. You start with a small grid of 2x2 and expanding to a 20x02 grid at level 324. With 324 levels this puzzle game will keep you puzzling for a while. You can download Blokz at Stacy's games web page for Mac computers with OS 9 or OS X.

Tags: Mac | Blokz | Puzzle

Suberi Sudo is a combination between a sliding puzzle, like 15 puzzle, and Sudoku. Suberi Sodu is written by Stacy who is a 32 year old puzzle lover, with passion for puzzles games which are easy to learn but difficult to master. The object is to unscramble the puzzle so it applies the Sudoku rules (each row and column contains exactly one occurence of the numbers 1 to 9 and each 3x3 contains exactly one occurence of the numbers 1 to 9).
You can download Suberi-Sudo at Stacy's games webpage for Mac with OS 9 or OS X.

Tags: Mac | Suberi Sodu | Sudoku | Puzzle

Thanks to Mike from Eyehook you are now also able to play on-line COLOR Box at Passion for Puzzles. This interesting and unusual Tetris clone is based on combining colors according to the laws of physics (also called Color Theory).
- The controls for Eyehook's COLOR box are simple.
- Press the left and right arrow keys to move the color.
- Press the down arrow key to drop the color.
But be aware, COLOR Box puzzle is very addictive!
Next to COLOR Box you can find much more on-line puzzle games at Passion for Puzzles.

Tags: Color Box | Puzzle | Color Theory

Yesterday I wrote an article about CDX which is a Flash adventure from the BBC to complete the TV series called Rome.

Probably due to band-with issues CDX is now available for UK residents only. Only if you are using a UK broadband ISP you will have access.

Tags: CDX | BBC | Adventure | Puzzle

CDX is a Flash adventure from the BBC to complete the TV series called Rome. CDX has very nice graphics but is not to hard to solve (just look everywhere and read the emails you receive very carefully). The first Episode is now released (three episodes will follow soon).

The Story : A sacrificial blade forged at the birth of the Roman empire holds the key to an ancient and bloody conspiracy that threatens to erupt into the present day.
Stranded in 21st century Tunis, Adam Foster is plunged into a world of greed, betrayal and murder. But who has the blade, and can the killers be stopped?
Unlock the mystery in this unique interactive-video adventure.

Tags: CDX | BBC | Adventure | Puzzle

At Games Mistress You can find a lot of Puzzle Games. The puzzles are sorted in two separate categories: Puzzle Game Download or Online Puzzle games. And the best: they are for free. The Puzzle game I like most is Cube Buster which can be played online. It is a combination between Tetris and Pannerotto. This puzzle site will keep you puzzling for hours.

Tags: CubeBuster | Flash Puzzle | Pannerotto

Today I came across a website called Old Puzzles created by Bob Armstrong. He has a huge collection of jigsaw puzzles starting from the 19th century. At his website you can find them sorted by category. Next to collection old jigsaw puzzles he also restorates old jigsaw puzzles and even describes the process to do this. This website brings you back to the start of jigsaw puzzles. Enjoy browsing Old Puzzles dot com.

Tags: Jigsaw Puzzle

If you liked a previous post about Orbox than you probably will also love Cubeoban which is a Flash puzzle developed by Klas Kroon. The objective of Cubeoban is to slide colored blocks with your mouse into their places, which are marked by tiny little colored dots. Don't forget to write down the password of the last level you played. This to prevent you from starting all over again when you want to play this game again.
For people who suffer from color blindness (also called Daltonism) there is another version of Cubeoban available called Cubilus. This is the same game as Cubeoban but next to the color also shapes are added so you won't mix up any color. Please note that Cubilus only has 20 levels.

Tags: Flash Puzzle | Cubeoban | Cubilus | Orbox | Color Blindness | Daltonism

A month ago I already blogged about Shendoku. Now you can find at Rorohiko (is the Maori word for computer) a beta version of online Shendoku.

Shendoku Trainer is played by the same rules as Sudoku: you need to resolve a grid of 9x9 cells. Each cell contains a digit between 1 and 9, in such a way that each digit 1-9 only occurs once in each column, on each row, and in each marked 3x3 square.

During the game you get to choose which 'hints' to uncover. You can select a cell, and ask the computer to reveal the hidden digit. This is unlike Sudoku, where the person who creates the puzzle determines what hints you start with.

Enjoy designing and solving Sudoku's at the same time.

Tags: Shendoku | Sudoku | Puzzle

Last week I received a brochure in my mailbox from FostPlus. They are an accredited body and take care of fulfilling the take-back obligation of the parties responsible for household packaging that are members of FOST Plus.

In their brochure they say that from ten recycled drink cartons they can make one jigsaw puzzle. Well I wanted to know more about this kind of recycling and browsed their website for more information and also searched Google. But now luck:-(
If you can help me with more information or if you know somebody who can tell me more about this, please let me know.

Tags: Puzzle | Recycle

At Scanraid.com Andrew has a very interesting collection of methods to solve Sudoku. I discovered some new methods to solve Sudoku's.
All techniques are divided in three kind of methods. Basic Strategies contains the methods like Naked Pairs, Naked Triples, Naked Quads, Hidden Pairs, Hidden Triples, Hidden Quads and Intersection Removal.
The next page contains the Fishy Strategies consisting of methods like X-Wing, Sword-Fish, Jelly-Fish, Multivalue-X-Wing, Turbo-Fish, Finned X-Wing, Sashimi Finned X-Wing. And the last page contains the Advanced Strategies like Singles Chains a.k.a Simple Colouring, Multi-Colouring, Y-Wing (also known as XY-Wing), Y-Wing Chain, XY-Chains, XYZ-Wing, WXYZ-Wing, Aligned Pair Exclusion, Remote Pairs, Unique Rectangles and Guardian/Broken Wings.
With these stratgies you must be able to solve all Sudoku's!


Tags: Sudoku

COLOR Box Puzzle at Eyehook dot com is a nice variant of Tetris. This interesting and unusual Tetris clone is based on combining colors according to the laws of physics (also called Color Theory). The controls for Eyehook's COLOR box are simple.
* Press the left and right arrow keys to move the color.
* Press the down arrow key to drop the color.
But be aware, COLOR Box puzzle is very addictive!

Tags: Color Box | Puzzle | Color Theory

Via Puzzle weblog Puzzlinks I found a few days ago a very nice variation of Sudoku, called Battleship Sudoku. The first (and less preferred by the author) is to put a "minifleet" in a sudoku grid and fill the empty spaces with numbers according to sudoku rules. The second method puts numbers on the fleet of ships so that a correct arrangement of ships will provide clues to solve the sudoku. The author prefers the last one. I really like them as already mentioned in a comment; Battlehip Sudoku could be as famous as Sudoku.

Tags: Sudoku

Yesterday I received an email from Amazon with a few recommendations based upon the books I already bought. This time there was also a book recommended called The Mammoth Book of IQ Puzzles. It is a paperback version with 512 pages and published by Carroll & Graf.
Amazon gives the following book description:
This brilliant new puzzle collection from the creators of the hugely successful The Mammoth Book of Puzzles and The Mammoth Book of Astounding Puzzles features a cumulative IQ scoring system based on the new Haselbauer-Dickheiser Test for Exceptional Intelligence, recently used to find the world's smartest person. Included are five hundred new IQ puzzles. Formulated in association with the International High IQ Society and covering a broad spectrum, the puzzles range from surprisingly easy to a level of difficulty that will challenge even the sharpest minds. Theoretically, all are capable of being solved mentally in just a few minutes. The puzzles vary from math and logic problems to word games, with the emphasis throughout on clarity of presentation and elegance of answer. The collection is endorsed by the new and highly popular International High IQ Society-the second-largest and most rapidly growing high IQ society in the world, with a membership across seventy-five countries.

Tags: IQ Puzzles | Puzzle Book | IQ test

At Life.com you can now solve online sudoku puzzles for free. This online version of Sudoku offers you some very interesting options. Next to the Sudoku puzzle with four levels (easy, medium, hard and expert), you've got instructions, the option to print the Sudoku puzzle, add a background and the option to use pencil marks and hints. So almost all you need to solve a Sudoku puzzle.
If you still wonder how to solve Sudoku's then don't forget to visit Passion for Puzzles Sudoku Solution page.

Tags: Sudoku

Empire Interactive PLC said it has entered a deal whereby SCi Entertainment Group PLC's games software unit Eidos Interactive will distribute Carol Vorderman's Sudoku in North America.

Sudoku will be released on PlayStation 2, PSP (PlayStation Portable), and PC for Windows. The game will include video tutorials featuring Vorderman.

Empire Interactive CEO Ian Higgins said, 'The ever increasing popularity of Sudoku in the US bodes very well for the release of the game for the Christmas season.'

Via Life Style Extra

Please find here articles and video's with Carol Vorderman's Sudoku Tutorial Video's
Rules of Sudoku
Tips for playing Sudoku
Tips for playing Sudoku II
Tips for playing Sudoku III

Tags: Sudoku | Carol Vorderman | PlayStation

GANPuzzle.com announces its latest software offering, Rubik's Cube Tutor for Absolute Beginner which trains a beginner as young as ten year-old how to solve the Rubik's Cube using just three simple tricks, sufficient to solve the very difficult puzzle.

This software is designed to win over millions of frustrated Rubik's Cube owners and a new generation of youngsters who have never touched a Rubik's Cube. It teaches a solution which is easy to learn and intuitive.

Learning how to solve the Rubik's Cube has never been easier: simply complete the 3 tutorials (each with 11 drills) and become a cube solver in less than a day.

By going through the self-paced tutorials, an user will acquire the knowledge to solve the cube. More valuable than knowledge is the insights gained when one completes the tutorial drills.

"Knowledge is enough to solve familiar problems but insights are needed to tackle problems in new situations. So the real selling feature of this software is impart of insights." said Cheong Gan, the principal developer for GANPuzzle.com.

"When an user encounters a unfamiliar term or description during his learning adventure, he wants to see, with as little fuss as possible, the textual explanation accompanied by visual and animation. An user cannot help but be wowed by this revolutionary and rich learning medium; better than book, audio-tape, traditional CD, video or person-to-person."

Based on the pre-release sales generated by beta test, the hype and word-of-mouth are spreading fast, reminiscent of the Rubik's Cube craze in the 1980s.

A free demo of The Rubik's Cube Tutor for Absolute Beginner is available at http://www.ganpuzzle.com/vcTutor333.htm

Via PRweb.com

Tags: Rubik's Cube

Rubik's cube was my first puzzle as almost everybody had one in the eighties.

Though there have been numerous follow-up puzzles to Erno Rubik's cube, there is now also a very luxury version available.

Featuring a chrome frame and inlaid richly-dyed calfskin color cubes, this update was developed by Geoffrey Parker, a British manufacturer of luxury games.

A perfect gift for the geek-turned-executive, the heavy chrome skeleton and beautiful leather inlays are sure to compliment the furniture in any corner office.

Via popgadget

Tags: Rubik's Cube

In a previous post about where to play slitherlink online was very well received as well as a post about how I got in contact with my first slitherlink puzzle book. All this made me make a page at Passion for Puzzles within the Strategy section about the rules for slitherlink as well as some standard situation for slitherlink puzzles. All this can help you solve your slitherlink puzzles. If you have more examples feel free to mail them to passion for puzzles. Sometimes people call Slitherlink puzzles also Number Line or Loops and Fences

Happy puzzling.

Tags: Slitherlink | Puzzle | Number Line | Loops and Fences

In the late 19th century this puzzle drove the entire world crazy. When Sam Loyd introduced the game to the public in 1878 he used a trick to arouse interest for it - he offered a thousand dollars to the one who could solve it. The puzzle consisted of a little box with 15 numbered square pieces that could be slid around to be arranged in rows from 1 in the upper left corner to 15 last on the bottom row. But then only the last two tiles 14 and 15 were scrambled which made the puzzle mathematically unsolvable and made people rack their brains in vain.

This 15 Classic Slide Puzzle game is more humanistic. There is always a solution. The software implements a shuffling algorithm that performs scrambling by random moving, not by random placing. So you can enjoy the game having in mind that "there is always a light at the end of the tunnel".

Besides, you can use some simple effects for a change. The software offers the option of turning on simple sound effects and using different color schemes. You can choose colors for the play-field and tiles yourself or use predefined schemes. You can move tiles or you can use a right click of the mouse button to shift them. It makes the game fun to use even if it is quite simple.

Those who had the 15 slide puzzle in childhood will not fail to try the game in the digital format again. For the younger generation it will be an exciting discovery.

Some say that this game has a therapeutical effect and tile sliding calms down. Well, download and judge yourself.

15 Classic Slide Puzzle is a freeware, runs on Windows platforms and can be downloaded from the Playshot website.

Tags: Slide Puzzle | 15 puzzle | Freeware

Visitors to the Science Museum in west London can expect to find mentally challenging games and memory-enhancing tips.

Experts from the Alzheimer's Society, King's College London and the Forget Me Not Centre, which cares for people with dementia, will also be there. It will take place at the museum's Dana Centre on Tuesday evening.

More information at BBC

Tags: Rubik's | Sudoku | Alzheimer

Following a previous post about the Perplex City Boardgame and Cards this time some more about Perplex City itself.

Perplex City is a cross between a treasure hunt, puzzle game and a story. The first player to solve all the clues and track down the buried treasure will win £100,000. The method of distributing clues are the mysterious silver packs of cards with puzzles on them. The solutions to these give clues as to where the treasure is hidden. This page on Firebox explains the Perplex City in a little more detail.

The main site is www.perplexcity.com where you can also find more information about the missing Receda Cube.

Tags: Puzzle | Perplex City | Receda Cube | Treasure Hunt

Do you still remember the Rubik's cube? elogIQ's Cmetrick Puzzle looks much like Rubik's Clock.

Cmetrick is a puzzle that has nine coloured balls in a 3x3 square. As you move the columns or rows of balls, the coloured faces get scrambled! The goal is to develop an algorithm for bringing the puzzle from any scrambled configuration to its "Initial Configuration" (IC), in which all spheres are positioned in the same orientation. In the IC, the same color shows on top, right, left, front, back, and bottom of all spheres. There is a grand prize available for the person who develops the shorted algorhthm.

You can also play Cmetrick's puzzle online. Cmetrick's puzzle is recommended for ages 8 and up.

Tags: Cmetrick | Puzzle | elogIQ | Rubik's

Well to be honest Plastic Balls is not really a puzzle game, put in my opinion you at least need to figure out how to get to the next level. Plastic Martians developed Plastic Balls and can be seen as a circlular version of Arkanoid. Do you still remember that one? I still have the list for each level on which side to exit to have a less difficult level ;-) You can play five levels of Plastic Balls for free online. If you want more you will have to buy the full version.

Tags: Flash Puzzle | Arkanoid | Plastic Balls

Via Macworld I found the following press release. Big Fish Games on Friday announced the release of Atlantis Sky Patrol, a sequel to last year’s action puzzle game. Atlantis Sky Patrol costs $19.99 and a downloadable demo is available.

Taking a page from the “Zuma” and “Luxor” style of “marble popping” games, you must complete each puzzle by matching marble colors in sets of three. You’re knocking out doomsday devices on each of 100 levels in the game. Atlantis Sky Patrol introduces new game mechanics, such as the need to destroy static orbs that allow additional chains to fill the track.

Coins you earn provide you with unique upgrades, and mini-games help keep up the challenge between levels. A two-player option is available. System requirements call for G3/400MHz or faster, 128MB RAM and Mac OS X.

Tags: Atlantis | Mac | Puzzle Game

Courage, Taste, a Brain, a Heart, a Home. If you know the odd one out of this classic grouping then perhaps you should be playing the brand new game based on the enigmatic world of Perplex City.

Gameplay involves players (or teams) answering a range of questions against the clock, including anagrams, potluck, number trivia, word play and visual puzzles. The object of the game is to collect six coloured glass stones scattered across the “city”. Opposing teams can then challenge opponents and relieve them of their stones. The first team to collect all six wins.

Fun and challenging, the new boardgame can accomodate up to 24 players, and with over 1,200 puzzles included in the pack, there won’t be any shortage of brain teaser questions to stump players.

The game, launched by puzzle design agency Mind Candy, is an extension to the Perplex City brand (the cross media game that’s part puzzle mystery, part treasure hunt) and can be played independently of the main £100,000 treasure hunt.

Beautifully designed using contemporary patterns and pastel colours, Perplex City: The Board game, supposedly heralds from ancient “Perplexian” history and includes an 8-page mini-magazine with background information on the game and the world it originated from. Launching this October, the game will be available exclusively online at Firebox.com, the purveyors of quirky games, unusual gifts and cool gadgets.

Available at firebox

Tags: Perplex City | Puzzle

According to Phaidon Rubik's Cube is one of the 999 selected design classics. You can find all 999 design classics in chronological order in a book called Design Classics. A 'design classic' is defined as an industrially manufactured object with timeless aesthetic value. It serves as a standard of its kind and, despite the year in which it was designed, is still up to date.
The 'design classics' collection presented in three volumes with in total 3300 pages has been put together by a group of experts following the above criteria.

Design classics is also available at amazon.

Tags: Rubik's | Design | Phaidon

Mobile game maker I-play has announced its mobile games line-up for the next three months. One of upcoming mobile games is 24: Agent Down.

24: Agent Down is the follow-up to last year's well-received 24: The Mobile Game. This time the plot involves CTU Headquarters being under siege, with you playing Jack, Curtis and Chloe as they try to escape, keep the terrorists out, and win the day – all without ever going to the loo.

The game features the same blend of puzzles and action missions as its predecessor, including code-breaking, baddie-chasing and that old spy fave, bomb-defusing. It's due out in early December 2006.

Via Pocket Gamer

Tags: puzzle | mobile game | 24

Astraware Sudoku is a great game for beginners and experts alike. And with the thousands of puzzles you can download and the Sudoku of the Day feature, you will never run out of Sudoku puzzles to play.

Pros:
- Easy to learn, difficult to master
- Thousands of puzzles wherever you go
- Different difficulty levels let you pick the game that's right for you.
- "Puzzle of the Day" not only ensures you have new puzzles each day, but also lets you compare your performance to others.
- Astraware Sudoku web site has a wealth of information on playing Sudoku

Cons:
- Puzzles aren't uniquely identified, so you can't easily compare your performance on a specific puzzle against another user (unless playing a Sudoku of the Day puzzle)
- Would like more information about the puzzles that have been installed, including information about how many puzzles have been solved and how many remain.

Via mytreo.net

Tags: Sudoku | Palm OS

At Sudoku Puzzles you can find each day eight free Sudoku Puzzles which you can solve online. Next to that they offer also blank Sudoku grids, printable versions of each Sudoku puzzles. And different levels of Sudoku (Easy, Medium, Hard, Tough and Sudoku's for kids (4x4 and 6x6).
If you want to learn how to solve Sudoku's don't forget to visit Passion for Puzzles Sudoku Solution page.

Tags: Sudoku

Puzzle F is teenage furniture designed by Katja Lipicnik and Jason Batson from the UK. According to them Puzzle F is furniture combined with a puzzle. This project resembles how children play, creating pictures out of their environment by using what exists there. Puzzle F is a set of cushions, covered with printed textiles, that can be used as individual seats, or combined together to make a couch, a sofa, a screen, the possibilities are many. Each cushion has a part of a picture on each of itt's six faces. By arranging the cushions in a particular way different pictures can be made. The arrangement can also create a mixture of a picture, a puzzle for someone to solve. The cushions unite through the use of magnets inside. These magnets attract thereby holding the cushions together.

Tags: Puzzle | Furniture

The Official Blokus Game can be found at http://www.blokus.com and can be played for free. You just have to register and you can play online for free. All of the rules and player tips can be found at this site along with a "Demo" and "Help" menu.
You will see that the game area is renewed with our two Blokus games:
- The Blokus classic (4 colors) that you can play either with two or four players
- The Blokus Travel (2 colors) that you will play only with two players
In each case, robots are ready to compete with you, but you will also enjoy playing and discussing with other players.

Tags: Blokus | Puzzle | Online Game