Passion For Puzzles

Thanks to KrazyDad I am still working through a lot of print outs of the Penrose Slitherlink variant. Now KrazyDad has another addictive and more difficult version created of Slitherlink.

It's called Altair Slitherlink and is based on the medieval Islamic tiling. The pattern contains tiles with 4,5,6,7 and 8 sides, which makes the puzzle a little more interesting than my previous Slitherlinks, which only use tiles with four sides. You can preview some sample puzzles by downloading this PDF file and printing it at the KrazyDad website. This is an interesting variant as you have to find new ways to solve this kind of Slitherlink puzzles. Enjoy !

Tags: Altair Slitherlink

Puzzle Freak is a Flash based puzzle game and looks like Monopoly, but this games does not come with cards but with puzzles. Try to be the best puzzle freak on the planet and show the world just how brainy you really are.

You can play Puzzle Freak with up to four persons. You can play with your friends or against the computer. The game board is divided into two types of squares - puzzles and special 'chance' squares. Puzzle squares have a randomly selected puzzle from a range of 14 puzzle types (Jigsaw puzzles, sliding game, etc.). 'Chance' squares may help or hinder your progress through the game.

If you solve a puzzle, you get another turn (up to three turns in a row). Each puzzle has a different time limit depending on how difficult it is. When solving a puzzle correctly you are awarded with IQ points depending on how quickly you solved a puzzle - the faster you are, the more points you get.

The winner is the person / computer with the highest IQ after reaching the finish line. Happy Puzzling !

Tags: Puzzle Freak | Puzzle Game

A few years ago I made some wooden puzzles myself, not very successful but the puzzle worked. This weekend I received two books from Amazon I ordered about crafting wooden puzzles yourself:

Crafting Wood Logic Puzzles - Very nice book with 126 pages explaining into detail how to make 18 different kind of three dimensional games for the hands and mind. For each puzzle there are lost of pictures showing how every step of crafting wooden puzzles is explained including a cutting list and the tools and material needed to make one of the puzzles. This is really a good book to start with.

Puzzles In Wood - About this book I can be very short just as the book itself. Puzzles In Wood explains 45 simple patterns for creating puzzles in wood. This is almost one puzzle per page with some copies of handmade drawings. It just shows what is possible but does not explain really how to make these wooden puzzles. I think this book is for the more experienced puzzle maker.

For me it's now time to make a shopping list and start practise to make my own wooden puzzles. Happy puzzling !

Tags: Wooden Puzzles

Tetris Tower is a large 3D version of the original puzzle game Tetris with flashing electronic lights and high-tech sounds. This will guide you as you build this incredible 3-dimensional Tetris Tower. Compete with yourself or another player against the clock, selecting tetrominoes to build lines and collect points. Tetris Tower 3D is a great family game that combines strategic thinking and intense competition into one adrenaline-packed experience. For ages 8 and up and Tetris-Tower is available via Amazon.com

Tags: Tetris

Domino pressure is a nice Flash based puzzle game at GameDesign.

Object is to find the domino that, when pushed, will make all the others domino's topple and squash the tomato at the end. All this has to be decided within twenty second. If you pick the right domino, you will start the next stage with again a twenty seconds to find the correct domino. You can also skip up to three levels by clicking any of the small tomatoes in the bottom right of the game window. Happy Puzzling !

Tags: Domino Pressure | Puzzle Game

At the BBC website there is an interesting 'Point and Click/Escape the Room' kind of puzzle game for students called Questionaut.

First of all Questionaut looks great with very nice graphics and comes with eight levels of different kind of questions (writing, grammar, math, science etc.). Object on this magical mission to recover your friend's hat. To get to the questions you first have to 'point and click' and after this you'll have to answer at least five answers correctly to move with your hot air balloon to the next stage.

Very nice puzzle game which is also educational. Enjoy Questionaut !

Tags: Questionaut | Escape the Room | Point and Click

Two fun puzzle news items for today:
- A video of a three year old Chinesse girl solving Rubik's Cube in 114 seconds.
- A story with a video about a parrot who can solve chain puzzles faster than visitors at a Tokyo botanical garden [via nzherald].

Tags: puzzle

This year there are several Blokus tournaments. One of them is called 2008 Blokus Palooza which will be held in Montréal, Quebec, Canada from June 13 till the 15th 2008.

Another Blokus tournament will be held in Malaysia where the biggest Blokus tournament will take place over three venues. The qualifiers will begin at My Sci-Fi Fan Outpost on April 6th and ending at Toybox on April 20th 2008. The finals will be held at My Sci-Fi Fan Outpost in Cineleisure on April 27th.

More information about Blokus Tournaments can be found at the official Blokus Weblog.

Tags: Blokus

The Mind Bender is another Flash puzzle game developed by Armor Games.

Object is to move crates with your telekinesis powers to move through obstacles and to reach the entry to the next level (a pink triangle). Use the mouse (or the WAD-keys) for moving around and your mouse to move the crate (this is your telekinesis power).
There are twenty levels in this puzzle platformer. Enjoy!

Tags: The Mind Bender | Puzzle Game

Hopickston is a new original design and a very nice and interesting puzzle game.

Game play isn't easy at the start but after a few tries it will become clear. At each turn random numbers of hops are given at the top of the game grid. You can move in four directions as long you end up on the free spot. Spots you have moved over become closed. Gather all the red stones from the board to move up to the next level. If you get stuck and can't move, closed spots are free but number of freeing moves is limited. Run out of moves and it's game over. Happy Puzzling.

Tags: Hopickston | Puzzle Game

Open Doors is a simple looking puzzle game with very challaging levels. It contains one game element (spinning doors) from Puzzle Boy.

Game play for this puzzle games is simpl. Just move the square to the X with the arrow keys. Moving through lots doors which you can open just by the way you pass them. Use the R key to reset the level you are playing and press the S key to toggles sound on/off. Enjoy this great puzzle game.

Tags: Open Doors | Puzzle Game

Puzzle Boy is another very addictive Flash Puzzle game which will keep you busy this weekend. Some people may recognise Puzzle Boy as it was once made for the Nintendo Game Boy and known as Kwirk.

The game play of Puzzle Boy is simple, but this puzzle game is so addictive! Object is to guide Puzzle Boy (the little boy in a blue hat) from one end of the screen to the goal by navigating through a series of obstacles (spinning doors, boxes, holes). Sounds very easy but as you move to the next levels (Floors) it's getting larger and more difficult. Happy Puzzling.

Tags: Puzzle Boy | Puzzle Game

Easter Eggs is a small Flash puzzle games especially for the Easter season.

Object is simple, remove as much eggs as possible. Use your mouse to swap adjacent eggs, when four or more eggs of the same color line up they will disappear and the eggs above will drop down. By swapping the right eggs you can also create multiple lines of eggs and thereby removing more eggs at once. Happy Puzzling !

Tags: Easter Eggs | Puzzle Game

Skew Slide is a Flash based puzzle game which is another variant of slide game (also known as Puzzle of 15). Skew Slide looks like Lego building block, not only it's shaped like Lego but also the colors are Lego look-a-like.

Object of Skew Slide is to slide the red and yellow tiles to the 'goal' position shown at the right side of the game, in less than 32 moves. A move is the continuous sliding of a tile from one position to another no matter whether its direction is changed during the slide or not. To slide a piece, click it, following the direction of the highlighted arrow. Happy puzzling !

Tags: Skew Slide | Puzzle Game

Jan van Haasteren is known for a lot of Dutch comics but most of all for his design of creating a line of fun, collectable, and humorous jigsaw puzzles.

Jan started in 1983 with the first jigsaw puzzle and now there are more than 80 different Jan van Haasteren Jigsaw Puzzles available, and in each of them there is a Shark hidden. Most of his fans directly search for the shark after opening the puzzle.

More information about Jan van Haasteren can be found at the Jumbo website (they manufacture the jigsaw puzzles). Some of the Jan's Jigsaw Puzzles are available via Amazon.

Tags: Jan van Haasteren | Jigsaw Puzzle

Magnetic is another nice Flash based puzzle game by LightForce. This puzzle game is originally known as No Walls and designed by Andrea Gilbert.

Magnetic is a single level puzzle game based on tilt. Object is to unite all the blocks into their color groups by sliding them around until they stick together. All blocks move at the same time, except those that are prevented by other blocks. Use the arrow arrows to tilt the tray and press the 'ctrl' key to reset the game anytime. Happy Puzzling!

Tags: Magnetic | Puzzle Game

At the UniPuzzle.com website you can find a variant of the famous slide game (a.k.a. puzzle of 15) called Four Hearts Puzzle.

Object is to slide the twelve square tiles within the tray until four complete color hearts, Blue, Green, Red and Yellow, appear. To slide a tile, simply click it so it moves to the empty space (tip: you can also slide multiple slide at once as long as they are in a horizontal row / vertical column). There are also two other versions available : Three Hearts Puzzle and Five Hearts Puzzle. Enjoy!

Tags: Four Hearts Puzzle | Puzzle Game

Yesteday I received an email from David Chipping about the launch of his SudokuWorld website (available in English and Dutch). It's comprised of millions of unique, self produced Sudoku's that all have one unique solution. The Sudoku's are produced using a comprehensive method of pattern matching to have fun and intriguing puzzles. SudokuWorld was launched with 1,000,000 puzzles but has continued to add to this throughout its up-time to provide millions more. They have one of the largest collection of Sudoku's online today and offer a website service completely free of charge.

Currently the website offers 2 variations of playing Sudoku: web based puzzles including Safe For Work Sudoku Puzzles. SFW Sudoku's are a variation upon which a Excel spreadsheet screen emulates business activity, while offering fun sudoku playing (to be clear : by this I do not promote solving Sudoku's during working hours). Second to this, SudokuWorld offers a continuously expanding set of e-Books which are available as downloadable PDF's. Each book contains a set of unique Sudoku puzzles and are provided completely free of charge. Happy Puzzling

Tags: Sudoku | SFW | Sudoku World

Arcade Lines is an addictive online Flash based puzzle game. Arcade Lines is played on a 9x9 game board, which is filled with colored game pieces.

Object is to align five or more pieces of the same color into horizontal, vertical or diagonal rows. The rows with five or more pieces of the same color will disappear and your score will increase.

Moving game pieces is very easy: Click with the left mouse button on the piece you would like to move, and move the mouse to the destination fieldand click on the left mouse button again and watch the piece slide over the board. You can move game pieces to any field on the board, as long as there is a free path to their destination. Pieces can be moved vertically and horizontally, but not diagonally! The movement shown on the left would therefore not be valid since there is no free path.

Apart from the regular marbles, you will encounter many game pieces which add more variety to the game. Most of them, like the paint bucket or the dynamite bar, help you dissolve marbles more quickly. Use them wisely to maximize your score!

More tips on how to play Arcade lines can be found in the instructions. Happy Puzzling !

Tags: Arcade Lines | Puzzle Games

Jungle Crash is another block removing puzzle game like Same Game. Make a group of 3 or more similar colored tiles disappear, before they reach the top and try to get a high score.

In this puzzle game you have to find gorups of three or more blocks of simular color and try to clear the entire field before the blocks reach the top of the game grid. New rows of colored blocks are added to the field from the bottom and they continue to rise upwards. Click with your left mouse button on a group of three or more similar colored blocks to make them disappear.

The level completes when all the rows of blocks are added to the field. Try to score as many points as you can before the last row is added. But remember that randomly clicking on the field will not give you points! You'll lose points for every incorrect match. Happy Puzzling !

Tags: Jungle Crash | Puzzle Game

Jumble.com is the new flagship site for "everything Jumble." The site also offers a Jumble shopping experience where fans can buy books, board games and other puzzle and game products. Later this spring, Jumble.com will feature a Jumble "Player's Forum" and a blog where Jumble creators David Hoyt, Mike Argirion and Jeff Knurek discuss classic and new Jumble puzzle games. Now you can already find some printable Jumble puzzle games, online Jumble puzzle games, and Jumble puzzle games for your mobile.

Jumble has been the most popular and most syndicated word puzzle in newspapers for more than fifty years and has a fanatical player base in print. In the last ten months, TMS and their game development and publishing partners uClick have created interactive and mobile versions of the popular newspaper puzzles-Daily Jumble, Jumble for Kids and Jumble Crosswords -- and five all-new Jumble-themed games, with more to come.

The Daily Jumble, Jumble for Kids and Jumble Crosswords interactive and mobile games feature the same daily clues and answers found in more than 600 newspapers in the United States and abroad. The new games are:
- Jumble Word Vault : requires unscrambling words using the dials on a bank vault and offers nested vaults, each getting more difficult.
- Jumble Solitaire : combines the phenomenally successful interactive solitaire game play with Jumble : uses letters and scrambled words instead of card suits.
- Jumpin' Jumble : the thinking person's game of checkers requires the player to build word chains by jumping board squares.
- Jumble Jong : adds a Jumble twist to the popular game of Mah Jong.
- Word Web : players build words on a spider's web while trying to fit in new letters that drop onto the web and beat the clock.

Enjoy !

Tags: Jumble | Word Puzzle | Puzzle Game | Mobile Puzzle

Puzzle developer Alex has released a new version of Puzzle Maniak 0.2 for the iPhone (1.1.3) and iPod Touch (1.1.1). This version of Puzzle Maniak inlcudes 17 different puzzle games.

The list of puzzle games contains (in alphabetic order): Blackbox, Bridges, Dominosa, Flip, Galaxies, Guess (aka Mastermind), Light Up (aka Akari), Loopy (aka Slitherlink), Map, Net (aka Netwalk), Netslide, Pattern (aka Picross), Samegame, Slant, Rectangles, Tents and Untangle (aka Planarity).

With this new release it is also possible to save your scores. As I look at the comments there are still some bugs but they are solved very quickly, just as all feedback which is given. Thanks to Alex for this great collection of puzzle games. Happy Puzzling !

Tags: Puzzle Maniak | iPod | iPhone

Koozac is a Flash based mathematical puzzle game and looks like a combination between Tetris and Sudoku.

Object is to clear the game grid by adding up the values of a minimum number of block. The minimum number of blocks you need to remove are shown on the right side of the game grid. This by dropping the colored numbered blocks onto each other to add up to the target value as shown in the red cube on the right side of the game grid. The next target value is in the right bottom corner of the red cube. Happy Puzzling!

Tags: Koozac | Tetris | Sudoku | Puzzle Game

Pickies is a small Flash based puzzle game which starts very easy but becomes more difficult very fast.

Object is to match Pickies of the same color in a row or column to remove them form the board. Use the power of specialist like Ninja to clear a Pickie. Enjoy !

Tags: Pickies | Puzzle Game

Finally Shift 2 is there and continues where the first version of Shift ended. If you don't know the puzzle game Shift please play the first version Shift before you start with Shift 2.

Shift has taken a step forward, adding in a some new twists to the original format - flipping between black and white dimensions (by pressing the shift key). Now, using the arrow icons, you can rotate the screen in 90 degree increments, as well as deleting new shadowy blocks with the magic of lightbulbs. Anyhow, it's even better than before. Shift 2 now comes with a built-in level editor. Happy Puzzling!

Tags: Shift | Puzzle Game

Puzzle Express is a Tetris look-a-like puzzle game by hipsoft. You can buy and download this game but you can also play this Puzzle Express online.

Object is to grab the colorful puzzle pieces from the conveyor belt with your mouse (use space bar to rotate them) and place them together to fill up the train cars. The more you fill up the train cars, the more of the picture you get to see. There's two game modes to play and new pictures are downloaded automatically so you may never see the same picture twice. Happy Puzzling !

Tags: Puzzle Express

Traffic control is a small Flash puzzle game.

Object is to control the stoplights, but don’t make traffic jams or you'll be stuck for good! This puzzle game is trickier than it looks initially.

Instructions: Traffic lights can be changed by clicking on the junctions. Every time a car passes across the city you score 1 point. As you score increases the amount of cars entering the city will increase.

Tags: Traffic Control | Puzzle Game

A few months ago I received a powerpoint with a puzzle inserted. As I am not keen on publishing this kind of files I didn't do anything with it. But now I found a website where the Car Puzzle can be played online.

Although the instructions are in Russian (?) the object is simple, drive the car to the exit. If you like more puzzles with cars you can also play online Rush Hour and Parking Zone. Happy Puzzling.

Tags: Car Puzzle

Via Puzzlinks I found an online puzzle word game called WordConnect which is similar to the classic game Tetris.

Object of WordConnect is to place the falling letters to form a word horizontally or vertically. You can form a lot of English words but to get to finish a level you have to arrange all words as shown on the right side of the screen with the falling letters. Once you formed a word the letters are removed from the board.

There are three puzzle modes. Easy (the next block is shown in advance), Hard (next block isn't shown in advance) and Random Words (you need to find a list of random words). At this moment there are just two levels as this game is still in development. But this could be a nice puzzle word game to teach your kids some English words. Happy Puzzling!

Tags: WordConnect | Puzzle Game | Tetris

At the Kurohak website (known from the Railz Puzzle Game) you can also play Colliso Puzzles.

Object of Colliso Puzzles is to slide tiles into the correct positions. If the tile collides directly with another like tile at the end of the move, both tiles will be removed from the board.

To move a tile, first select the tile by clicking on it, hold down the mouse button, and move the mouse in the direction you want the tile to move. Once you release the mouse button, the tile will slide towards the direction you have specified (an arrow shown indicates the direction).

If two different tiles collide, they will swap colors. Obviously, this will not have any effect if the tiles are of the same color. Later on in the game there are also red tiles next to the black and white at the beginning.

To solve a level, you must remove all the tiles from the board. If you solve a puzzle within an indicated number of moves, you will unlock a bonus + level. In this bonus level, you will solve the same puzzle four times consecutively. However, the level will be somewhat different each time - the level can be flipped horizontally, vertically or both ways. Just when you think you have solved a level, having the level flipped will disorient and twist your mind! Happy Puzzling !

Tags: Colliso Puzzles | Puzzle Game

DropSum is an addictive Flash based puzzle game created by Nick Harper that takes logic and quick thinking to survive.

The object of DropSum is to take the random numbers you are given and make rows or columns that add up to the number 9. The game board consists of seven columns and seven rows. Place each number in the column of your choice by clicking on it.

Make as many combinations of nine as possible. Once you make a combination that adds up to 9, the numbers that made that combination of 9 turn blue. When you make another combination of 9 which contains a blue number it will turn yellow. When a yellow number is part of a combination of 9 it will turn red and when a red 9 is another combination of 9 it will disappear from the game grid and the numbers above it fall down and can make another combination of 9. The game ends when the game grid is completely filled with numbers.

Players need to make a certain number of combinations of 9 before moving to the next level. The combinations of 9 that are needed to make it to the next level are off to the side of the board. There is a grid containing little bubbles and the number of bubbles that are shaded dark gray are the number of combinations of 9 the player needs to achieve before making it to the next level.

There are three different game play options available, basic, arcade and timed. Once the game ends, DropSum shows you your brain size and speed. The higher level you can achieve the bigger your brain size. The faster you complete each level the higher your speed. Happy Puzzling !

Tags: DropSum | Puzzle Game

Sparks is a small but nice puzzle game by Justin Poel, which becomes more difficult each level (and the music by Da Rude won't help you to concentrate).

The objective of Sparks is to flip the bridge (white lines) so the spark can follow its path to the center of the game grid. The black lines are what the sparks move on and each spark has a predetermined path. It's up to you to flip the white bridges by clicking on them with your mouse and allowing the spark to fulfill its path. As you progress further in the game, the number of sparks and level of difficulty gradually increases. Happy Puzzling !

Tags: Sparks | Puzzle Game

Blockarelli is Tonypa's version of the famous puzzle games Same Game and Collapse, but with minor differences.

Object is to remove tiles from the game grid by selecting a group of three (or more) tiles of the same color. The game is conducted in a series of stages, each with increasing difficulty. Difference is that in Blockarelli removed tiles will be replace by new tiles from the top or from the bottom.

Best thing about Blockarelli is that also this puzzle game can be played by puzzle lovers with Daltonism (color blindness) while all tiles do not only have a color but also have a unique symbol, downside is occasionally ads appear between two levels. Enjoy Blockerelli !

Tags: Blockarelli | Puzzle Game

At the National Geographic website there is an online jigsaw generator with more than 1600 pictures of their collection which you can select to create an online jigsaw puzzle.

Via options you can select the size of the puzzle pieces (small, medium and large). The smaller the jigsaw pieces the more difficult the puzzle. Enjoy these beautiful online jigsaw puzzles!

Tags: Jigsaw Puzzle | National Geographic

Torus (a circular version of Tetris) is a puzzle game especially made as a widget for the Opera browser.

Object of Torus (Circular Tetris) is to complete a ring to clear the row. The latest version of this Opera Widget has many additions like high score tables, customizable appearance, shadow (or ghost) pieces and more. At the Opera Widget page you will find many other puzzle widgets.

If you don't have the Opera browser installed yet on your computer I recommend to do this, if only for playing Torus. Enjoy Torus.

Tags: Torus | Tetris | Opera | Widget

BrickS is an interesting Flash puzzle game in which you have to make three or more of a kind of a certain color. The puzzle part is that you need to change colors of the bricks by clicking on them, but the Bricks change colors based on the color they are pointing to.

Each brick has an arrow on it that points to another brick. The brick the arrow points to is the color it will turn when you click on it. BrickS gets complicated because you have to remember to look at the arrow before clicking a brick. Combinations of at least four bricks creates a Bonus Star Brick, combinations of at least five bricks produces a Super Bonus Brick. Use these for extra points. When a Super Bonus Brick is triggered it will collect all bricks of the particular color.

Downside of BrickS is that it is not always easy to see the colors in the vast amount of arrows. Anyway, happy puzzling.

Tags: BrickS | Puzzle Game