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
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50th Skywatcher
it's a shame Pheta has not had any port to OS X or Windows, or fan activity.
