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Part of a series on:

Puzzles

Types Guessing game Riddle Situation puzzle Logic puzzle Dissection puzzle Induction puzzle Logic grid puzzle Self-reference puzzle Mechanical puzzle Combination puzzle Construction puzzle Disentanglement puzzle Lock puzzle Folding puzzle Stick puzzle Picture puzzle Hidden object game Jigsaw puzzle Reveal the picture game Sliding puzzle Tiling puzzle Puzzle video game Tour puzzle Chess problem Logic maze Maze Transport puzzle Word puzzle Crossword puzzle Metapuzzle

Topics Brain teaser Dilemma Enigma Optical illusion Packing problem Paradox Problem solving Puzzlehunt Syllogism Thinking outside the box

Lists List of impossible puzzles List of maze video games List of Nikoli puzzle types List of puzzle topics List of puzzle video games

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Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic, strategy, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion.

These games involve a variety of logical and conceptual challenges, although occasionally the games add time-pressure or other action-elements.^[1]

[edit] Types of puzzle games

Minesweeper, a popular computer puzzle game found on many machines.

Some puzzle games feed to the player a random assortment of blocks or pieces that they must organize in the correct manner, such as Tetris, Klax and Lumines. Tetris, designed in 1985, is considered one of the most important video puzzle games and has spawned many sequels, variations, and clones of the "falling block" variety.^[2] Others present a preset game board or pieces and challenge the player to solve the puzzle by achieving a goal (Bomberman, The Incredible Machine). Some of the games in the former category have a mode that plays like the latter. For example, in both Tetrisphere and Tetris Attack, there is a "puzzle mode" in which the player must clear a pre-defined board within a certain number of moves. Another type of puzzle game requires you to build systems out of supplied parts. These games include Microsoft Tinker, Crazy Machines, and Crazy Machines 2.

Puzzle games are often easy to develop and adapt, being manifest on dedicated arcade units, home video game consoles, personal digital assistants, and mobile phones. Because puzzle games are often so abstract, the term is sometimes also used as a blanket term for games with unique and otherwise difficult to describe gameplay^[3] (for instance Every Extend Extra^{[citation needed]}).

The game Minesweeper is notable because of the large installed user base, as the game comes bundled with the Microsoft Windows operating system, many distributions of Linux, and some Palm OS operating system older variants, among others.

[edit] Hidden object game

The first level of Cassandra's Journey, published by Big Fish Games, an example of a hidden object game.

A hidden object game (sometimes called hidden picture) is a genre of puzzle video game in which the player must find items from a list, hidden within a picture.^[4] Hidden object games are a popular trend in casual gaming,^[5][6] and are comparatively inexpensive to buy.^[4][5] Time-limited trial versions of these games are usually available for download.

Publishers of hidden object games include Sandlot Games, Big Fish Games^[4], Awem Studio, and SpinTop Games. Examples of games include Mystery P.I.: The Lottery Ticket (2007; SpinTop) and Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove (2009; Big Fish)^[7].

[edit] Reveal the picture game

A reveal the picture game is a type of puzzle game that features photo/picture revealing. It includes variations where:

1. The picture is fully or partially hidden and must be revealed.
2. The picture is fully visible, but is blurred, and the player must un-blur it tile-by-tile.
3. The picture is fully visible, but is scrambled such that the player must unscramble it by moving or swapping individual pieces.
4. The picture is a collection of vector elements, as opposed to raster images composed of differently colored pixels.^{[clarification needed]}
5. The picture consists of both covered and uncovered tiles.

Other puzzle games are often adapted as "reveal the picture" games simply by adding an image as a backdrop.

[edit] Puzzles in other genres

Many adventure and action-adventure games contain puzzle elements as part of their level design. Examples include Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and The Legend of Zelda series.

The term "jumping puzzle" refers to a particular type of level design found in other genres of video games where players must judge the distance between platforms or ledges and safely jump between them to reach the next area.^[8] One well-known video game that relies heavily upon jumping puzzles for much of its gameplay is Portal (2007).

[edit] See also

• List of puzzle video games

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• History of Puzzle Games at GameSpot