Author Archive: Lester Newman

Puzzle Games

Puzzles have come a long way from jigsaws and crosswords. You might not think of yourself as a puzzle person, even as a child, you were probably trying to work out how to stuff triangular shapes into square holes. You got it in the end, and you learnt a lesson to boot. Well, adult puzzles are perhaps not as important in terms of what you learn – and are certainly described by some naysayers as a waste of time – but there is something intriguing about puzzles which we all find appealing (even if we don’t all admit it). If you’ve got time to kill, and you face boredom, why not give a puzzle a go?

The Classics

One classic puzzle that most of us have had a crack at (and duly given up on) is the Rubik’s Cube. This nasty cube has been thrown across rooms more times than we can count, but still, our old trusty favourite comes back into play. People have spent years trying to solve one, but that’s not the only puzzle out there you can enjoy.
If you like jigsaws, have you tried 3D jigsaws? These are far more challenging than your ordinary 2D table-top games. They require finesse and patience, as well as skill. If the whole jigsaw genre is a no-no, perhaps something a little more mathematical is for you?


Sudoku is one of the more modern puzzles we have grown to love in the West. Each 3×3 box (9×9 grid) contains the numbers 1 through 9. Each row and column must have all nine numbers involved and no duplicates. As well as that, each 3×3 grid must only use each number once. It’s a mind-bender for sure, but once you get to grips with it, Sudoku can provide hours of fun – often for free.

Other classics you can play include old favourites such as Tetris, Hangman, and Scrabble. While favourites from the nineties such as Magic Eye and Where’s Waldo/Wally are still hugely popular. If you want something more modern, there is always the online puzzle world.

New Puzzles for a New Generation

Apps seem to be the new way to go for puzzles. Most of us have a tablet or a phone, and there is no better way to kill time than by trying your hand at an online puzzle. A few of the more successful ones, you may already be familiar with include 100 Doors, Candy Crush, and Logo Quizzes.

Games such as 100 Doors are genuine puzzles. These games typically involve IQ testing style puzzles with progress to higher levels only assured once you beat each puzzle and ones which can be incredibly frustrating. However, the feeling when you complete a puzzle is unrivalled.

Candy Crush Saga and other “social media games” are very much modern-day puzzles, too. These games do not have to cost money (although you can cheat and buy boosts if you wish) and can genuinely keep you at them for hours, often in frustration.

If none of that works, logo quizzes, ball balancing games, flash images, memory games, and digital jigsaws, or tilting ball-maze apps are all modern-day puzzles which can make even the oldest of us feeling like children once more.