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Puzzle video game

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Main page For the video game named Puzzle, see Puzzle (American Video Entertainment). For other uses, see Puzzle (disambiguation).
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Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types Part of a series on
Wikipedia store
of puzzles can test many problem-solving skills including logic, pattern recognition, Puzzles
Interaction
sequence solving, and word completion. The player may have unlimited time or attempts to
Help solve a puzzle, or there may be simple puzzles made difficult by having to complete them in
About Wikipedia
real-time, as in Tetris.
Community portal
Recent changes Contents
Contact page Types [show]
1 Definition and gameplay
Topics [show]
Tools 2 Types of puzzle games
2.1 Action puzzle Lists [show]
What links here
Related changes 2.2 Hidden object game VTE
Upload file 2.3 Reveal the picture game
Special pages
2.4 Physics game
Permanent link
2.5 Tile-matching
Page information
Wikidata item 2.6 Traditional puzzle
Cite this page 3 History
3.1 Origins and popularity
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 Create a book 3.2 Refinement
Download as PDF 4 See also
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5 References

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Definition and gameplay [ edit ]
Languages Puzzle games focus on logical and conceptual challenges, although often the games add time-pressure or other action-elements.
Although many action games and adventure games involve puzzles such as obtaining inaccessible objects, a true puzzle game focuses
Catal on puzzle solving as the primary gameplay activity.[1] Games usually involve shapes, colors, or symbols, and the player must directly or
Espaol
indirectly manipulate them into a specific pattern.[2]

Franais Rather than presenting a random collection of puzzles to solve, puzzle games typically offer a series of related puzzles that are a
variation on a single theme. This theme could involve pattern recognition, logic, or understanding a process. These games usually have a
Italiano simple set of rules, where players manipulate game pieces on a grid, network or other interaction space. Players must unravel clues in

order to achieve some victory condition, which will then allow them to advance to the next level. Completing each puzzle will usually lead
Nederlands

to a more difficult challenge, although some games avoid exhausting the player by offering easier levels between more difficult ones.[1]
Norsk In adventure games, some stages require solving puzzles as a way to advance the story.
Norsk nynorsk
Polski
Portugus
Types of puzzle games [ edit ]
There is a large variety of puzzle games. Some feed to the player a random assortment of blocks or pieces that they must organize in the
Simple English
correct manner, such as Tetris, Klax and Lumines. Others present a preset game board or pieces and challenge the player to solve the
/ srpski
puzzle by achieving a goal (Bomberman, The Incredible Machine).
Svenska
Trke Puzzle games are often easy to develop and adapt, being implemented on dedicated arcade units, home video game consoles, personal
digital assistants, and mobile phones.

Edit links
Action puzzle [ edit ]

An action puzzle or arcade puzzle requires that the player manipulates game pieces in a real-time environment, often on a single
screen and with a time limit, to solve the puzzle or clear the level.[3] This is a broad term that has been used to describe several subsets
of puzzle game. Firstly, it includes falling-block puzzles such as Tetris and KLAX.[3] It includes games with characters moving through an
environment, controlled either directly (Lode Runner) or indirectly (Lemmings).[4] This can cross-over with other action genres: a platform

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 game which requires a novel mechanic to complete levels might be a "puzzle platformer", such
as manipulating time in Braid.[5] Finally, it includes other action games that require timing and
accuracy with pattern-matching or logic skills, such as the first-person Portal.[6]

Other notable action puzzle games include Team Ico's Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.

Hidden object game [ edit ]

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 that are hidden within a picture.[7] Hidden object
games are a popular trend in casual gaming,[8][9] and are comparatively inexpensive to buy.[7][8]
Time-limited trial versions of these games are usually available for download.

An early hidden object game was Alice: An Interactive Museum. Computer Gaming World
reported in 1993 that "one disadvantage of searching through screen after screen for 'switches' is
that after a while one develops a case of 'clickitus' of the fingers as one repeatedly punches that
mouse button like a chicken pecking at a farmyard".[10] Other early incarnations are the video Minesweeper, a popular computer
game adaptations of the I Spy books published by Scholastic Corporation since 1997. puzzle game found on many machines.

Publishers of hidden object games include Sandlot Games, Big Fish Games, Awem Studio,
SpinTop Games, and Codeminion.[7] Examples of hidden object game series include Awakening, Antique Road Trip (both by Boomzap
Entertainment), Dream Chronicles (PlayFirst), Mortimer Beckett (RealArcade/GameHouse), Mystery Trackers (by Elephant games),
Hidden Expedition and Mystery Case Files (both by Big Fish Games).[11]

Reveal the picture game [ edit ]

A reveal the picture game is a type of puzzle game that features piece-by-piece revealing of a photo or picture.

Physics game [ edit ]

A physics game is a type of puzzle video game wherein the player must use the game's physics to complete each puzzle. Physics
games use realistic physics to make games more challenging.[12] The genre is especially popular in online flash games and mobile
games. Educators have used these games to demonstrate principles of physics.[13]

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 Popular physics games include The Incredible Machine, World of Goo, Crayon Physics Deluxe,
Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Peggle, Portal, Portal 2, and Monster Strike.

Tile-matching [ edit ]
Main article: Tile-matching video game

In tile-matching video games, the player manipulates tiles in order to make them disappear
according to a matching criterion. The genre began with 1985's Chain Shot!. It includes games of The Splatters, a physics based
the "falling block" variety such as Tetris, games that require pieces to be swapped such as Xbox Live Arcade game

Bejeweled or Candy Crush Saga, and games in which are pieces are shot on the board such as
Zuma. In many recent tile-matching games, the matching criterion is to place a given number of tiles of the same type so that they adjoin
each other. That number is often three, and the corresponding subset of tile-matching games is referred to as "match-three games."

Traditional puzzle [ edit ]

There have also been many digital adaptations of traditional puzzle games, including solitaire and mahjong solitaire. Even familiar word
puzzles, number puzzles, and association puzzles have been adapted as games such as Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training.[14]

History [ edit ]

Origins and popularity [ edit ]

Puzzle video games owe their origins to brain teasers and puzzles throughout human history. The mathematical strategy game Nim, and
other traditional, thinking games, such as Hangman and Bulls and Cows (commercialized as Mastermind), were popular targets for
computer implementation.

The University of Tokyo's 1979 Heiankyo Alien for the PC-8001 and arcades was an early "trap 'em up" puzzle action game. It was a
precursor to later puzzle action games such as Lode Runner.[15] Another early action game with puzzle elements was Konami's Loco-
Motion (1982), elements of which are seen in Pipe Mania from LucasArts (1989).

Blockbuster, by Alan Griesemer and Stephen Bradshaw (Atari 8-bit, 1981), is a computerized version of the Rubik's Cube puzzle.[16]
Snark Hunt (Atari 8-bit, 1982) is a single-player game of logical deduction,[17] a clone of the 1970s Black Box board game. Sokoban's
crate-pushing puzzles from 1982 have been widely cloned and its core mechanic incorporated into other games.

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 Other early puzzle games include puzzle-platformers such as Door Door (1983),[18] Lode Runner (1983), and Doki Doki Penguin Land
(1985).[19]

1984's Puzzle Panic for the Atari 8-bit computers specifically uses the word puzzle in the game's title. 1984 also saw the release of the
action-puzzle game Boulder Dash, where the goal is to collect diamonds while avoiding or exploiting rocks that fall when the dirt beneath
them is removed. It led to a number of clones categorized as "rocks and diamonds games."

In 1985, Chain Shot! introduced removing groups of the same color tiles on a grid, then the remaining tiles falling into the created gap.[20]
Uncle Henry's Nuclear Waste Dump (1986) has similarities to Tetris, though it was published prior to Tetris reaching the US, and the
author claims he hadn't seen it.[21]

Tetris is credited for revolutionizing and popularizing the puzzle genre. The game was created by Soviet game designer Alexey Pajitnov in
1985, who was inspired by a traditional puzzle game named Pentomino in which players arrange falling blocks into lines without any
gaps. The game was a moderate success when released by Spectrum Holobyte for MS-DOS in 1987 and Atari Games in arcades in
1988, but it sold 30 million copies on the Game Boy alone.[2]

Refinement [ edit ]

This section needs expansion.

You can help by adding to it. (June
2010)

The 1990s saw the release of Lemmings.[22] The game involves a series of creatures who mindlessly walk into deadly situations, and the
player assigns jobs to specific lemmings to guide the swarm to a safe destination.[2]

1994 was marked by a surge in interest in mahjong video games from Japan.[23][24]

When Minesweeper was released with Windows 95, mainstream audiences embraced using a mouse to play puzzle games.[25]

In 2001, PopCap Games released a graphically-enhanced clone of an obscure 1994 MS-DOS game, Shariki,[26] where the player must
touch groups of three or more jewels on a grid, causing them to disappear and new stones to fall into place. A decade later, the match
three mechanic was the foundation for popular games, including Candy Crush Saga and Puzzle & Dragons, both from 2012.

By 2014, puzzle games had become the largest genre in the iOS App Store.[27]

See also [ edit ]

List of puzzle video games

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 References [ edit ]

1. ^ a b Rollings, Andrew; Ernest Adams (2006). Fundamentals of 13. ^ Thompson, Jane (2007-06-15). "Video games getting deeper" .
Game Design . Prentice Hall. The Star. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
2. ^ abc Miller, Skyler. "History of Puzzle Games" . GameSpot. 14. ^ Jim Thompson; Barnaby Berbank-Green; Nic Cusworth. Game
Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. Retrieved design course: principles, practice, and techniques. Wiley. pp. 30
25 September 2016. 31.
3. ^ ab "Action Puzzle Games" . allgame. Rovi. Retrieved 15. ^ http://www.usgamer.net/articles/greatest-years-in-gaming-history-
2010-01-20. 1983
4. ^ "Capcon looks back on 2009, teases new stuff for 2010" . 16. ^ "Blockbuster" . Atari 8-bit Forever.
5. ^ Magrino, Tom (August 4, 2009). "Braid tangled up in PSN" . 17. ^ Powell, Jordan (February 1983). "Ten Best from APX". Antic.
GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2010-01-20. http://www.atarimagazines.com/v1n6/tenbestfromapx.html .
6. ^ Edge staff (June 15, 2007). "Report: Half-Life: Episode 2 Coming 18. ^ "Door Door" . GameSpot. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
Oct. 9" . Edge. Future. 19. ^ "DokiDoki Penguin Land for SG-1000 - GameFAQs" . Retrieved
7. ^ abc "Ally Noble Desert Island Disks". Retro Gamer. Imagine 3 April 2017.
Publishing (53): 79. "Hidden object games ... For example, you're a 20. ^ Juul, Jesper. "Swap Adjacent Gems to Make Sets of Three: A
detective looking for clues in a picture ... they might be in History of Matching Tile Games" .
monochrome on the wallpaper or peeping out from behind 21. ^ "Accidental Innovation, Part 1" .
something." 22. ^ Rusel DeMaria; Johnny L. Wilson. High score!: the illustrated
8. ^ a b George Roush (October 17, 2008). "Everest: Hidden history of electronic games. McGraw Hill.
Expedition iPhone Review" . IGN. 23. ^ Mark J. P. Wolf. The video game explosion: a history from PONG
9. ^ Albert Kim (September 30, 2008). "Casual Games: 'Peggle to Playstation and beyond. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Nights' and 'The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes' " . EW.com. 24. ^ Gameplay Net , GamePlay.Net, 2014, retrieved February 1,
"Mystery titles, particularly hidden-object games, have become a 2014
hugely popular segment of the casual-game market." 25. ^ Jeff Fulton; Steve Fulton. The Essential Guide to Flash Games.
10. ^ Reveaux, Tony (April 1993). "A Trip Into The Odd Land of Multi- Apress.
Media" . Computer Gaming World. p. 40. Retrieved 6 July 2014. 26. ^ Hester, Larry (October 21, 2013). "Inside Bejeweled: An Interview
11. ^ "First casual game with a 'Collector's Edition' " . Game Hunters. with Executive Producer Heather Hazen" . Complex.
USA Today. November 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-30. 27. ^ Hill, Simon (December 15, 2014). "Games rule the iTunes App
12. ^ Ward, Mark (2005-05-14). "Game physics starts to get real" . Store: Most popular genres revealed" .
BBC News. Retrieved 2010-03-27.

VTE Video game genres [hide]

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 List

Beat 'em up (Hack and slash) Fighting Maze (Pac-Man clone) Platform Shooter (First-person Third-person Side-scrolling
Action
Top-down isometric Light gun Shoot 'em up Tactical) Survival (Battle royale)
Action-adventure Grand Theft Auto clone Immersive sim Metroidvania Stealth Psychological horror Survival horror

Adventure Escape the room Interactive fiction Interactive movie Point n' click Visual novel

MMO MMOFPS MMORPG MMORTS

Role-playing Action role-playing Dungeon crawl MUD Roguelike Tactical role-playing

Construction and management (Business City Government) Life simulation (Dating sim Digital pet God Social simulation)
Simulation
Sports
4X Multiplayer online battle arena Real-time strategy (Tower defense Time management) Real-time tactics
Strategy
Turn-based strategy Turn-based tactics (Artillery) Wargame
Vehicle simulation Flight simulator (Amateur Combat Space) Racing (Kart racing Sim racing) Submarine simulator Train simulator

Breakout clone Eroge Exergame Incremental Music (Rhythm) Non-game Party Programming Puzzle (Sokoban
Other genres
Tile-matching)
Advertising Arcade game Art game Audio game Casual game Christian game Crossover game Cult game
Educational game FMV Gamification Indie game Multiplayer video game Nonlinear gameplay (Open world)
Related concepts
Nonviolent video game Online game (Browser game Multiplayer online game Social network game) Pervasive game
Serious game Toys-to-life Traditional game Twitch gameplay Video game clone

Categories: Video game genres Puzzle video games Puzzles

This page was last edited on 30 October 2017, at 16:40.

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