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dojo_b
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icon Your must-play puzzle games? (+2)  
I'm looking for logic games that stand the test of time and provide a real challenge. Creative mechanics are a plus.

I've played puzzle games since the '90s, but I was a kid and didn't exactly keep records; so below are my faves from the Steam era, in rough preference order starting from the best. (I am just now coming back to DROD after long absence.)

However, I would *love* to hear about older games with depth comparable to these or DROD. (e.g., your favorite version of Sokoban or Atomix) Thanks!!


1. Stephen's Sausage Roll

2. Braid

3. Portal

4. English Country Tune

5. The Witness

6. Snakebird

7. All Zachtronics games*

(*I like all I've tried, but their open-endedness can make them a bit less exciting for me... I have reasonable programming skills but don't
care to obsessively optimize)

8'. Great Permutator

9'. Cosmic Express

10. A Good Snowman is Hard to Build

(8-9 with the caveat I have significant chunks left unplayed)

Honorable mention:

Zen Puzzle Garden, Sokobond.

Bonus round! Solid puzzlers on the NES: Adventures of Lolo games, Fire 'n Ice, Alter Ego (homebrew).

11-14-2017 at 08:27 PM
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Jacob
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icon Re: Your must-play puzzle games? (+3)  
Jelly no puzzle and Hanano spring to mind.

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11-15-2017 at 12:35 PM
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dojo_b
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icon Re: Your must-play puzzle games? (+1)  
Those are fantastic, thanks! Exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.

So Broken is a recent Sokoban variant with Braid-like time manipulation, for some concise yet devilish puzzles. You have to keep track of an evolving timeline, so it tends not to reward casual play.
11-16-2017 at 05:19 PM
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Tetrobot and Co. was released and sank without a trace, which was badly undeserved.

Heaven and Earth is essential and still floating around out there. Can't really say the same about the Smart Games Challenge series, unfortunately.

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11-16-2017 at 10:25 PM
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Daneel
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Recursed is great.
11-17-2017 at 02:43 AM
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Nuntar
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icon Re: Your must-play puzzle games? (+2)  
Rather than attempt a preference order, I'll list my favourites in chronological order of when I discovered them.

1. Repton series (BBC Micro, 1985; PC remakes available from Superior Interactive)

Rocks-and-diamonds games similar to Boulder Dash, but with a different flavour due to some differences in game mechanics and selection of game objects. Probably the most significant difference is (from Repton 2 onwards) the existence of "spirits", which patrol the wall using left-hand rule and have to be guided into cages. This can lead to extremely intricate logical puzzles in working out how to connect certain cages to the wall, or the order to open the cages to allow all diamonds to be obtained.

2. Spacestation Pheta (b/w Mac, 1988)

A grid-based puzzle platformer where the main task is to collect a key and open the final airlock (sometimes with other airlocks en route), but levels could be intricate mazes where a variety of objects have to be manipulated to make this objective possible.

3. Lemmings series (many platforms, 1991; modern clones available from Lemmings Forums)

You've probably heard of Lemmings. Guide the mindless critters to the exit by assigning them certain skills, which are available in limited quantities per level. Similarly to the evolution of DROD, the modern Lemmings clones (NeoLemmmix and Lix being the best) have removed execution difficulty by providing clear-physics mode (= puzzle view) and backwards and forwards frameskipping. This has paved the way for usermade levels with absolutely fiendish levels of difficulty :P

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11-18-2017 at 05:59 PM
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disoriented
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Spacestation Pheta reminded me a lot of Lode Runner. I had lots of fun as a kid making levels for both games.

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11-18-2017 at 06:59 PM
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dojo_b
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Reactions to the above:

-Yeah, I have fond memories of Spacestation Pheta, and its action-puzzle sequel Gold Digger :) it's a shame Pheta has not had any port to OS X or Windows, or fan activity.

-With a game like Tetrobot I worry that its design/marketing is a bit confusing. Its production values and character design almost seem too good for a 'serious' puzzle game, and I worry I'm being led into generic adventure-game territory. That said, I bought it and intend to play.

-I wanted to like Repton, but found myself wishing the Map screen were the play screen. I dislike having such a limited view during the actual action, and it breaks immersion to go back and forth. Feels more like an exploration game than a puzzler, although I'm sure it has its charms and difficult puzzles.

-Lemmings seems to have an amazing community and support for its freeware clones. Thanks for the tips!

Two other old nerdy games stand out in my mind for having a great freeware afterlife with fans: Oxyd, a marble-manipulating dexterity/puzzle game, which lives on as the clone Enigma; and the Marble Blast series of 3D platformers.
While I'm at it, the Sokoban Online folks have done a damn good job of making a nice engine and community for sharing puzzles, both classic Sokoban and with a number of added mechanics.

[Last edited by dojo_b at 11-18-2017 10:22 PM]
11-18-2017 at 10:17 PM
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Kalin
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icon Re: Your must-play puzzle games? (+1)  
I generally prefer logic puzzle games over action puzzles. My favorite is PrismaPix, which is like a multi-layer Picross using Minesweeper clues. The free demo has 75 puzzles, and the full version gives another 4575 puzzles (1550 puzzles if you only do the hard versions).
https://www.kpixgames.com/PrismaPix/download.htm

I recently picked up a bundle of similar games, which are fine but short.
HexCells: 30 puzzles
HexCellsPlus: 36 puzzles
HexCellsInfinite: 36 puzzles + random puzzle generator
SquareCells: 36 puzzles
CrossCells: 50 puzzles
http://store.steampowered.com/bundle/3331/Logic_Puzzle_Pack/

For anyone looking for more action, the classic Chip's Challenge is available on Steam with its sequel and level editor.
http://store.steampowered.com/sub/64119/
11-19-2017 at 12:56 AM
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dojo_b
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Just getting into Trap Them, got cheap on a Steam sale. It's a wonderful mix of difficult logic puzzles within a cool set of mechanics, and frantic Pac-Man-style arcade action... or something. It explicitly divides its levels into Puzzle, Action, and Mixed, to suit your fancy. Funky and fun old-timey presentation, like DROD. :thumbsup
11-28-2017 at 04:21 AM
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slimm tom
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I can really recommend trying out the demo/teaser of Akurra https://gojirra.itch.io/akurra). It's a decent ~2.5 hours of fun, and the developer is launching a Kickstarter in May to finish development on the full game. It's something I will definitely back!

Shout out to Alex Diener (ThemsAllTook) for featuring it on his YouTube channel where I found out about the game.

[Last edited by slimm tom at 03-26-2020 10:30 AM]
03-26-2020 at 10:30 AM
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Wield the power of forced perspective, and navigate a surreal, disjointed, dreamworld by deliberately letting it screw with your mind in Superliminal.

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03-26-2020 at 08:35 PM
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Rheb
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Into the Breach has a really nice puzzle game feel.

It's a procedurally generated Rouge-like game I love!

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03-31-2020 at 04:28 PM
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tytyh
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English Country Tune I played
07-16-2020 at 09:52 PM
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Lamkin
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Amanita Design’s Creaks is definitely a must-play puzzle game. It’s a puzzle-platformer, actually, though it’s very light on the platforming, IMO. It’s only on Apple Arcade now, but will be coming to Steam (Windows and Mac), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on July 22nd.
07-17-2020 at 12:09 AM
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dojo_b
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A Monster's Expedition, log-rollin' puzzler by Draknek & Friends, is out today. I probably won't get to it for awhile (midway thru Gunthro just now!), but it's an auto-buy on the strength of Draknek's other games, especially Cosmic Express.
09-10-2020 at 09:30 PM
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HopeMetal
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Point and click puzzle/adventure games count too, right? If so, the Cube Escape series is one I really liked. The Submachine games are pretty interesting too.
12-08-2020 at 07:36 PM
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ErikH2000
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I think I may come back and add to this list later:

* Portal 2 (Portal 1, also good. But P2 is a perfect game.)
* The Witness (So much careful design here. New kinds of puzzles not seen before. Use of scientific method.)
* Chip's Challenge (where I got the original lesson that level design can be much more important than the game engine. Heavily influenced DROD.)

I was tempted to add these:
* Manifold Garden
* Obduction

...Wholistically, they are outstanding puzzle games, but puzzles are not the thing that makes them remarkable.

-Erik


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12-08-2020 at 08:02 PM
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ErikH2000
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Lamkin wrote:
Amanita Design’s Creaks ... will be coming to (Windows and Mac), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on July 22nd.
I'm getting it when it arrives on Xbox. I love playing games on my couch in a cozy, non-fiddly way.

-Erik

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12-08-2020 at 11:22 PM
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ErikH2000
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Nuntar, you are doing a fine job of reminding me of great games I haven't played in a long time.
Nuntar wrote:
Rocks-and-diamonds games similar to Boulder Dash,
I always hoped for a non-arcadey, puzzle-focused version of Boulder Dash. Do you think Repton works for this?
You've probably heard of Lemmings.
I really liked the 3D Lemmings. It's hard to say any game is a "first", but this was a bit unique in the early Post-Wolfenstein days as a 3D puzzle-solving game.

You're reminding me also that some of the early lemmings games were proper puzzles with constrained solutions. I think they got more tactical later.

-Erik

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12-08-2020 at 11:31 PM
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Dischorran
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Filament is good and relatively recent.

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12-09-2020 at 04:48 AM
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xpym
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Supraland is easily the best real time adventure-puzzle hybrid that I've ever played, which deserves more recognition. It's decently difficult, but most importantly avoids the obnoxious adventure trope of the obtuse "moon-logic" puzzle
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12-09-2020 at 10:00 AM
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Dischorran
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xpym wrote:
Supraland is easily the best real time adventure-puzzle hybrid that I've ever played, which deserves more recognition. It's decently difficult, but most importantly avoids the obnoxious adventure trope of the obtuse "moon-logic" puzzle
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I don't know, Portal 2's final boss had a pretty solid moon logic puzzle.

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12-09-2020 at 09:05 PM
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dojo_b
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Oh heck, I don't know what "moon logic" is, and now I can't let myself find out until I go back and finish Portal 2...
12-09-2020 at 09:16 PM
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ErikH2000
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Dischorran wrote:
I don't know, Portal 2's final boss had a pretty solid moon logic puzzle.
Ha! Yes, it did.

-Erik

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12-10-2020 at 05:40 AM
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ErikH2000
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What was the game with the two fish that push shapes around? That one qualifies for "puzzle classic". I'm ashamed I forgot the name.

-Erik

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12-10-2020 at 05:42 AM
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Schik
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ErikH2000 wrote:
What was the game with the two fish that push shapes around? That one qualifies for "puzzle classic". I'm ashamed I forgot the name.

-Erik
Fish Fillets.

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12-10-2020 at 06:28 AM
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Jordthro
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Mrs. Hudson.

It's a really obscure puzzle game from Everett Kaser ( www.kaser.com) that has a really steep learning curve along with terrible graphics and a really hefty price tag so I think me and my Mom and maybe a handful of other people on the planet have played it, but I can't recommend it enough as it's such a fun way to spend an hour on the hardest puzzles the game has to offer. All of the puzzles can be solved with perfect logic and there are thousands of them.

The good news is that Mrs. Hudson has a free shareware demo that lets you tackle several of the puzzles before you commit to the $20.00 price tag. I'd recommend starting with Sherlock first as kind of a stepping stone to learning Mrs. Hudson (it's like Sherlock with the addition of a pathing component that forms a single continuous loop. I think $20.00 is well worth the price for Mrs. Hudson as I've gotten hundreds upon hundreds of hours of enjoyment and I'm still amazed that most puzzles seem to all have fairly unique solves despite being generated from an algorithm. There are a few different puzzle sizes as well so you can spend 5-15 minutes on the smaller ones if you only have time for a quick coffee break.

Honeycomb Hotel is another really solid entry from Kaser games and also has a shareware demo so you can try it before you commit to a purchase. I'm pretty sure most (if not all) of his games have demos, so have fun. DROD players should enjoy the HERO series as it's very similar to DROD mechanics where the hero moves on a grid and all objects on the grid (to include monsters) follow rigidly defined moves and the puzzles can be quite difficult even early on.

Here are the links:

Mrs. Hudson: http://www.kaser.com/mh.html
Sherlock: http://www.kaser.com/sherwin.html
Honeycomb Hotel: http://www.kaser.com/hotel.html
Hero's Hearts: http://www.kaser.com/mesh.html

Also, since no one has mentioned the Sistine Chapel of puzzle games yet: Baba Is You

Baba Is You: https://hempuli.itch.io/baba

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01-04-2021 at 05:32 AM
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nand
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Kalin wrote:
I recently picked up a bundle of similar games, which are fine but short.
HexCells: 30 puzzles
HexCellsPlus: 36 puzzles
HexCellsInfinite: 36 puzzles + random puzzle generator
SquareCells: 36 puzzles
CrossCells: 50 puzzles
http://store.steampowered.com/bundle/3331/Logic_Puzzle_Pack/

Tametsi is another fantastic addition to this list. If you enjoyed the Hexcells series of games, you will most like enjoy Tametsi. I personally loved it.

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02-21-2021 at 02:58 AM
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Dischorran
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nand wrote:
Tametsi is another fantastic addition to this list. If you enjoyed the Hexcells series of games, you will most like enjoy Tametsi. I personally loved it.
Pearls can confirm this.

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02-21-2021 at 06:06 AM
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