HT Games
Classic Puzzle Games
Not every type of puzzle game is digital. Crossword puzzles are classic puzzle games available in practically every newspaper. The board consists of a number of intersecting boxes. Players fill these in by answering clues listed below the puzzle. Difficulty usually increases throughout the week, with Monday the easiest, Saturday the most difficult and Sunday falling somewhere in the middle. Sudoku is another classic puzzle game that has only been adapted by western newspapers recently. Each puzzle features a nine by nine square grid made up of smaller three by three grids. Players fill in the squares with numbers from one to nine. Each row, column, and three by three grid must have all nine numbers without repeating any numbers. Collections of both Sudoku and crossword puzzles are also available in books.
Classic Video Games
From the very start, puzzle games flourished on personal computers and video game consoles. "Tetris" is a classic game that has been available on almost every gaming platform since its development in 1985. The game was extremely popular on the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Nintendo Gameboy, but new iterations are constantly being released. Differently shaped blocks fall from the top of the screen and have to be placed in straight lines. If players leave gaps in a line, the blocks pile up until they reach the top of the screen and the player loses. "Minesweeper" is another classic puzzle game that is a available on the Windows operating system. Players click on gray squares to uncover empty squares below them, while trying to avoid uncovering mines. When an empty square is touching a mine, a number appears, indicating how many mines that square is touching. The goal is to clear all the empty squares without clicking on a mine.
Contemporary Games
A number of popular, contemporary puzzle games have dominated the gaming landscape. "Bejeweled" is a popular puzzle game with a number of iterations available across many platforms. The game board is filled with colorful jewels that must be moved into horizontal or vertical rows of three or more matching jewels. Each round ends when the player advances, after making a sufficient number of matches, or loses, after there are no moves left. Puzzle games are well suited to smartphones, and no smartphone game has been more popular than "Angry Birds," which has sold more than 12 million copies. In this game, players must attempt to destroy all the green pigs in a level by launching various birds using a slingshot.
Hybird Games
A number of video games have taken traditional puzzle game elements and applied them to other genres. "Puzzle Quest" is a series of games that combines role-playng game elements with the framework of a puzzle game. Players match rows and columns of three matching symbols to initiate attacks and other actions. Your character gains strength as he goes up in level or purchases new weapons, armor and accessories. "Portal" and its sequel are puzzle games that take the form of first-person shooters. Players take the roll of Chell as she tries to escape a deadly, but humorous, test facility. Chell is equipped with a portal gun which allows her to place two connected portals on flat surfaces around room.