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Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including
logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...
,
pattern recognition Pattern recognition is the automated recognition of patterns and regularities in data. It has applications in statistical data analysis, signal processing, image analysis, information retrieval, bioinformatics, data compression, computer graphics ...
, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and
word completion Autocomplete, or word completion, is a feature in which an application predicts the rest of a word a user is typing. In Android and iOS smartphones, this is called predictive text. In graphical user interfaces, users can typically press the tab ...
.


History

Puzzle video games owe their origins to
brain teaser A brain teaser is a form of puzzle that requires thought to solve. It often requires thinking in unconventional ways with given constraints in mind; sometimes it also involves lateral thinking. Logic puzzles and riddles are specific types of ...
s and puzzles throughout human history. The mathematical strategy game Nim, and other traditional, thinking games, such as Hangman and
Bulls and Cows Bulls and Cows (also known as Cows and Bulls or Pigs and Bulls) is a code-breaking mind or paper and pencil game for two or more players, predating the commercially marketed board game '' Mastermind'' and the hit word game Wordle. The game is p ...
(commercialized as ''
Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a title also held by his daughters: ** Martinique Jason, the first daughter and successor of th ...
''), were popular targets for computer implementation.
Universal Entertainment formerly known as and Universal, is a Japanese manufacturer of pachinko, slot machines, arcade games and other gaming products, and a publisher of video games. Aruze possesses licenses to both manufacture and distribute casino machines in the ...
's ''
Space Panic is a 1980 arcade game designed by Universal. Predating Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong'', and lacking a jump mechanic, ''Space Panic'' was the first game involving climbing ladders between walkable platforms. The genre was initially labeled as "climbi ...
'', released for the arcades in 1980, is a precursor to later
puzzle-platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
s such as
Apple Panic ''Apple Panic'' is a game for the Apple II programmed by Ben Serki and published by Broderbund Software in 1981. ''Apple Panic'' is an unauthorized version of the 1980 arcade game ''Space Panic'', the first game with ladders and platforms. While ...
(1981), ''
Lode Runner ''Lode Runner'' is a 2D puzzle-platform game, developed by Doug Smith and published by Broderbund in 1983. Its gameplay mechanics are similar to ''Space Panic'' from 1980. The player controls a character who must collect all the gold pieces in a ...
'' (1983), ''
Door Door is a single-screen puzzle-platform game developed by Enix and published in Japan in 1983. Originally released for the NEC PC-8801, it was ported to other platforms, including the Family Computer. Controlling a small character named Chun, the p ...
'' (1983), and ''
Doki Doki Penguin Land ''Doki Doki Penguin Land'' is a series of puzzle platform games developed and published by Sega, and which began in 1985. All games in the series feature a very similar formula whereby players guide an egg to the bottom of a level by moving or de ...
'' (1985). ''Blockbuster'', by Alan Griesemer and Stephen Bradshaw (Atari 8-bit, 1981), is a computerized version of the Rubik's Cube puzzle. ''Snark Hunt'' (Atari 8-bit, 1982) is a single-player game of logical deduction, a clone of the 1970s ''
Black Box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...
'' board game. Elements of
Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casino ...
's tile-sliding '' Loco-Motion'' (1982) were later seen in '' Pipe Mania'' from
LucasArts Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as part of a large ...
(1989). In ''
Boulder Dash ''Boulder Dash'' is a 2D maze-puzzle video game released in 1984 by First Star Software for Atari 8-bit computers. It was created by Canadian developers Peter Liepa and Chris Gray. The player controls Rockford, who collects treasures while e ...
'', which was released in 1984, the goal is to collect diamonds while avoiding or exploiting rocks that fall when the dirt beneath them is removed. In 1985, '' Chain Shot!'' introduced removing groups of the same color tiles on a grid, causing the remaining tiles to fall into the gap. ''Uncle Henry's Nuclear Waste Dump'' (1986) has similarities to ''
Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
'', although it was published prior to ''Tetris'' reaching the United States. ''
Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
'' revolutionized and popularized the puzzle game genre. The game was created by
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
game designer Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...
Alexey Pajitnov Alexey Leonidovich Pajitnov. (born 16 April 1955) is a Russian-born American computer engineer and video game designer. He is best-known for designing and developing ''Tetris'' in 1984 while working at the Dorodnitsyn Computing Centre under the ...
in 1984. Pajitnov was inspired by a traditional puzzle game named
Pentomino Derived from the Greek word for ' 5', and " domino", a pentomino (or 5-omino) is a polyomino of order 5, that is, a polygon in the plane made of 5 equal-sized squares connected edge-to-edge. When rotations and reflections are not considered ...
s in which players arrange blocks into lines without any gaps. The game was released by Spectrum Holobyte for
MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
in 1987 and Atari Games in arcades in 1988, and sold 30 million copies for
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...
. In 1991, the game ''
Lemmings A lemming is a small rodent, usually found in or near the Arctic in tundra biomes. Lemmings form the subfamily Arvicolinae (also known as Microtinae) together with voles and muskrats, which form part of the superfamily Muroidea, which also include ...
'' was released. The game involves a series of creatures who walk into deadly situations, and a player who assigns jobs to specific lemmings to guide the swarm to a safe destination. Interest in
Mahjong video game A Mahjong video game is a video game that is based on one of the many ways to play mahjong. The majority of mahjong video games are developed and released in Japan and use the rules for Japanese Mahjong, although several have also been made for A ...
s from Japan began to grow in 1994. When ''
Minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...
'' was released with
Windows 95 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturi ...
, players began using a mouse to play puzzle games.


Modern puzzle games

In 2001, PopCap Games released a graphically enhanced clone of a 1994 MS-DOS game, ''
Shariki ''Shariki'' (Russian: Ша́рики, "The Marbles") is a puzzle video game written in 1994 for MS-DOS by Russian developer Eugene Alemzhin. The goal of the game is to gain progressively higher scores by matching three or more balls of the same ...
'', 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 is a puzzle video game with role-playing and strategy elements, developed and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for the iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire platforms. ''Puzzle & Dragons'' is a match-three puzzle game, requiring players t ...
'', both from 2012. Since the release of '' Portal'' in 2007, there has been a rise in popularity of physics-based logic puzzle games.


Subgenres


Physics game

A physics game is a type of logical puzzle video game wherein the player must use the game's physics and environment to complete each puzzle. Physics games use consistent physics to make games more challenging. The genre is popular in online
flash game A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on co ...
s and mobile games. Educators have used these games to demonstrate principles of physics. Physics-based logic puzzle games include '' Portal'', ''
The Talos Principle ''The Talos Principle'' is a 2014 puzzle video game developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital. It was simultaneously released on Linux, OS X and Windows in December 2014. It was released for Android in May 2015, for PlayStation 4 ...
'', '' The Witness'', '' Braid'', '' Fez'', ''
World of Goo ''World of Goo'' is a puzzle video game developed and published by independent game developer 2D Boy. The game was released on Microsoft Windows and Wii platforms on October 13, 2008, with releases on Nintendo Switch, Mac OS X, Linux, and var ...
'', and '' Cut the Rope'', and projectile collision games such as ''
Angry Birds ''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish action-based media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment. The game series focuses on the eponymous flock of angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Crush the Castl ...
'', '' Peggle'', '' Monster Strike'', and '' Crush the Castle''.


Coding

Coding games are logical puzzle games that require programming elements. Examples include '' The Incredible Machine'', '' SpaceChem'', and ''
Infinifactory ''Infinifactory'' is a puzzle video game developed and published by Zachtronics, initially released on Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux on June 30, 2015. The game was later released on PlayStation 4 in December 2015. In the game, the player t ...
''.


Exploration

This subgenre includes point-and-click games that often exhibit similarities with adventure games and walking simulators. Unlike logical puzzle games, these games generally require inductive reasoning to solve. The defining trait is that the player must experiment with mechanisms in each level before they can solve them. Puzzle elements often do not have consistency throughout the game, and thus require guessing and checking, and exploration to reveal more of the puzzle. Exploration games include ''
Myst ''Myst'' is a graphic adventure/puzzle video game designed by the Miller brothers, Robyn and Rand. It was developed by Cyan, Inc., published by Broderbund, and initially released for the Macintosh in 1993. In the game, the player's charact ...
'', ''
Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...
'', '' The Dig'', '' Monument Valley'', and
escape room An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, exit game, or riddle room is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limite ...
games such as ''
The Room ''The Room'' is a 2003 American drama film written, produced, executive produced and directed by Tommy Wiseau, who stars in the film alongside Juliette Danielle and Greg Sestero. The film centers on a melodramatic love triangle between amia ...
''.


Sokoban


Hidden object game

A hidden object game, sometimes called hidden picture or hidden object puzzle adventure (HOPA), is a genre of puzzle video game in which the player must find items from a list that are hidden within a scene. Hidden object games are a popular trend in
casual gaming A casual game is a video game targeted at a mass market audience, as opposed to a hardcore game, which is targeted at hobbyist gamers. Casual games may exhibit any type of gameplay and genre. They generally involve simpler rules, shorter sessio ...
.


Tile-matching

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!'' and has similarities to falling-block games such as ''Tetris.'' This genre includes games that require pieces to be swapped such as ''
Bejeweled ''Bejeweled'' (also referred as ''Bejeweled Deluxe'' in some releases) is a tile-matching puzzle video game by PopCap Games, developed for browsers in 2001. The first game developed by PopCap under their current name, ''Bejeweled'', involves ...
'' or '' Candy Crush Saga'', games that adapt the classic
tile-based game A tile-based game is a game that uses tiles as one of the fundamental elements of play. Traditional tile-based games use small tiles as playing pieces for gambling or entertainment games. Some board games use tiles to create their board, givin ...
Mahjong such as ''
Mahjong Trails MegaZebra is a game development company located in Munich, Germany. The company develops free-to-play games for social networks like Facebook and mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets. As of July 2018, the company employs 55 people. H ...
'', and games in which pieces are shot on the board such as '' Zuma''. Puzzle games based on ''Tetris'' include tile-matching games where 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.


See also

*
List of puzzle video games This is a partial list of notable puzzle video games, sorted by general category. Tile matching Tile-matching video games are a type of puzzle video game where the player manipulates tiles in order to make them disappear according to a matchi ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puzzle Video Game Video game genres Puzzles