Slide to Unlock: ipad/iphone action puzzle app

This website likes to focus on the best iphone/ipad/ipod touch puzzle apps. Slide to Unlock is not really a puzzle, though it was listed in the puzzle category on the app store. It's an action game. All you're doing is swiping your finger as quickly as possible - no thinking involved.

However, so many people have contacted me regarding all these puzzle apps as a way to ward off Alzheimer’s. Once in a while, it's good to test your brain reflexes and enjoy a speed game like this.

Gear Shift: twisty puzzle modification review

http://www.shapeways.com/model/139482/gear_shift.html?gid=sg13603

Gear Shift is the creation of Bram Cohen & Oskar van Deventer. The official description: Gear Shift is based on an idea by Bram Cohen. This puzzle has eight gears around a cube. All gears can turn together. But it is also possible to pull the gears apart in two sets of four. Each set of four can be turned individually. And there are three ways to split the gears. The object of this puzzle is similar to Rubik's Cube: scramble it and then try to solve it.

Yesterday, I toyed with Gear Shift for about 45 minutes. Came up with an idea, implemented it & solved the puzzle. I do not fully understand this puzzle's mechanism.

As custom 3D printed puzzles go, this one is priced well: $133.40 Order yours at Shapeways

Flup: iphone/ipad/ipod puzzle app review

Just yesterday(!) I was telling somebody that I'm not a fan of rolling cube puzzles. But now, I've played Flup. Flup has is a rolling cube puzzle with 2 types of moves. A cube can be either rolled onto another square, with a new face on top (swipe your finger). Or, it can be shifted to a new square without any rolling (double tap it).

Download the free version & test it out!

Solitaire Chess: iphone/ipad/ipod puzzle app review

Years ago, this Mechanical Puzzle Correspondent was a chess fanatic. Then lost interest. The object of Solitaire Chess: every move must involve a capture of a piece. The puzzle is solved when 1 piece remains.

My friend from Finland Vesa Timonen created this. Still I must remain objective. Solitaire Chess is compelling fun! Buy the full version with 400 puzzle challenges. I've solved about 325 of them. All the easy ones are done. 1 medium puzzle should be reclassified as impossible!

Lumi: iphone/ipod/ipad puzzle app review

Several years ago I bought a Nintendo DS in order to play a set of puzzles called Prism. In the last couple of years this Puzzle App Correspondent has seen several versions of Prism in the App Store. However, the graphics were very disappointing.

Fortunately, we can now say 3 Cheers! to the creators of Lumi. Lumi offers a good set of puzzles: easy to hard. And the graphics are super clear. I thought that 2 of the free levels were impossible. After an hour's thought, I got one of them. The other: one of my students discovered the solution. (I forgot to use the prism!)

Download Lumi. Try the free puzzles. Chances are, you'll buy the level packs too. Please comment, after you've tried it!

The New York Puzzle Party Symposium Saturday 2/12

10:30 The Chinese Puzzle Exhibition by Wei Zhang and Peter Rasmussen
10:45 – 11:45 Lecture: The Making of a Virtual Puzzle by Robert Stegmannhttp://home.comcast.net/~stegmann/halloween/index.htm Please explore the link beforehand.
12:00 – 12:20 Lecture: Puzzles at the Museum of Mathematics George Hart
12:30 – 2:00 Lunch.
2:00 – 3:00 Puzzle buying/selling/trading We all have unwanted puzzles that another puzzle collector would treasure. Bring them!
3:00 – 3:20 Lecture: Newest iphone Puzzle Apps by Tom Cutrofello
3:30 – 4:00 Developing the Shapeways 17x17x17 by Oskar van Deventer

Note: the NYPPS is now by invitation only. If you would like to attend, shoot me a note.

Geo Spin: iphone ipad puzzle app review

Geo Spin is not exactly a puzzle. Object: spin the polyhedron around and try to find the matching shapes/colors for each face. Definitely fun. We don't often see funky polyhedrons!

Witty Bump: iphone puzzle app review

Witty Bump is a maze with bumpers, wormholes and splitters. Object: shoot the red dot into the X. If the red dot enters a blue circle, it will exit the other blue circle - that's one wormhole. Also: each of the bumpers can be reoriented but not moved.

The big gray circle - not in all levels is interesting! If the red dot enters the gray circle from the top, 2 dots will emerge from the gray circle from the right and left and both must hit the big X.

I'm on level 75 - after playing about 2 hours. None of the levels is particularly hard. But it's definitely fun.

Flippin Colors: iphone puzzle app review

Jonathan Smith has created this very interesting puzzle. Object: get grid to be 1 color. Drag your fingers along rows and columns. They will change to another color following a specific formula.

The easy puzzles are very easy. The harder puzzles.....are hard!

A few years ago I wrote an article for Games Magazine about Doug Engel's Circle Puzzles. I detailed how to tackle sequential movement puzzles using trial and error by going through a sequence of moves and recording what changed and what stayed the same. That's how to tackle Flippin Colors.

There's been an avalanche of puzzle apps. Many are variations of the 15 puzzle & sudoku. However, this is a puzzle that you can sink your teeth into & wrestle. We look forward to future puzzles from Mr. Smith.

17x17x17 Cube

Yes, this is the famous 17x17x17 cube puzzle. Invented by Oskar van Deventer and made with the assistance of Shapeways. Oskar will formally introduce the puzzle at the New York Puzzle Party Symposium next week.

Frogiz: iphone puzzle app review

Frogiz is a puzzle masterpiece. It is similar to a peg jumping puzzle. However, matching items must land on each other to disappear. If a pink frog is on a round lily pad, another round lily pad can move to that square: both lily pads will dissolve while the frog will remain.

These puzzles are challenging and extremely fun. I was stuck on level 80 for about 3 weeks. I used up all my available hints on level 34. I have solved all 98 levels - and now I'm sad. I want more! Frogiz is one of the best iphone puzzle apps. Unfortunately, it has not received the attention that it deserves

Haim Shafir http://www.shafirgames.com/index.php?lang=en is the genius behind this simple, yet complex, puzzle.

Watch him give a TEDx lecture: http://www.tedxtelaviv.com/2010/07/18/haim-shafir-the-paradox-of-creativity/

Cut the Block: iphone puzzle app review

Cut the block comes from ColorMoon Games. Object: drag your finger to cover 2 or 3 blocks at a time. Eliminate all the blocks.

Seems random - however one must think strategically. Well done!

The free version has 24 levels, the paid has 1000.

Flipple: iphone puzzle app review

Flipple is similar to Lights Out. The object is to make all the tiles the same color. Double tap on one tile and that tile and its neighbors will Flipple! Here's where Flipple gets interesting: drag your finger along any row or diagonal and make just those tiles flip.

I have a friend who's a retired mathematics professor. He has compiled an extensive collection of Lights Out versions. He will be thrilled to see this one!

The New York Puzzle Party Symposium

The Schedule (still tentative)

10:00 Arrive
10:30 - 10:45 The Chinese Puzzle Exhibition by Peter Rasmussen

10:45 – 11:45 Lecture: The Making of a Virtual Puzzle by Robert Stegmann http://home.comcast.net/~stegmann/halloween/index.htm Please explore the link beforehand.

12:00 – 12:20 Lecture: Puzzles at the Museum of Mathematics George Hart
12:30 – 2:00 Lunch.

2:00 – 3:00 Puzzle buying/selling/trading

3:00 – 3:20 Lecture: Newest iphone Puzzle Apps by Tom Cutrofello

3:30 – 4:00 Mystery Lecture from a Mysterious Guest

Slidetastic: iphone puzzle app review

Do you like the 15 Puzzle? There have been hundreds of variations. On first glance, this version seems easy. Not so!

The object: get the numbers in sequential order with the center blank. Notice the 2 diagrams: That level has 8 spokes - EASY. The second image has 4 spokes - harder.

Altogether there are 10 puzzles. I solved the first 9 puzzles in about 20 minutes. 9:17 on puzzle #9. Puzzle 10 - I'm stuck.

We look forward to future sliding tile puzzles from Chris Sell. Nice job!

Tileavex: iphone puzzle app review

Many years ago I discovered edge-matching puzzles. One company, long forgotten, produced a series called Crazy Penguins and other Crazy Animals. Rubik came out with 4 versions called Rubik's Tangle. All were 5x5. If you had all 4 sets, you could make a 10x10. I spent many hours on just one of the 5x5 levels and did not succeed.

A company called Zoki produced an interesting series of edge-matching puzzles. Instead of producing a square, the objective was to make a 2x6. They also had a hexagonal series.

Tileavex has grid sizes from 3x3 to 7x7. .99 you can't go wrong! These are fun. Who knows, you may get addicted to these, like my friend Luc from Belgium who has an amazing collection of edge matching puzzles.

Awesomechicken.com is the company.

Vi Hart: Mathemusician

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18prof.html?scp=1&sq=vi%20hart&st=cse

It isn't everyday the New York Times features a mathematician. Then again, Vi Hart is no ordinary recent math-major grad.

Watch her videos! http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=vi+hart&aq=f

Quell: iphone puzzle app: review

Quell is another tilt maze puzzle. The object: move the raindrop (blue circle) to collect all the golden dots.

Look at the red arrow. If the raindrop falls down onto that, it disintegrates. Landing onto it from the side or below - you're okay.

Look at the blue arrows. They point to wormhole.

I solved all 80 puzzles in about 2 hours. Good fun & well designed.

You should also download: Blaxx & Brain Freeze. Both are very similar but with different elements.

Lewis Boadle is the puzzle creator of Quell. We look forward to future level packs!

Chrome - 8

Chrome - 8 is terrific! Slide the balls along the lines so that no ball is connected -by a line - to another ball of the same color.

150 'Apprentice' levels. Look at the top diagram - that's one of the 'Master' challenges. Notice the exclamation point. That item cannot move.

The second diagram: look closely. Do you see the outer ring around each of the balls? That ring designates what color ball should go in that slot.

I've done about 40 of the Apprentice levels and 5 of the Master levels. If you like Chrome - 8, try Subway Shuffle

Nice job Marten Saflund!

Brain Freeze: iphone puzzle app review

Brain Freeze is a tilt puzzle. Not a dexterity puzzle! More like a tilt-maze puzzle.
The object is to match up like pairs - blue star with blue star - horizontally or vertically to make them disappear. Grey squares are walls. Black squares are black holes. If a pieces lands in the black hole - it's gone forever. Squares with a padlock cause an object to stick there forever.

Chrisoph Vogelbusch produced this great diversion. The XL edition has 400 challenges. I am on level 35 - after about 1.5 hours.

Cryptoku: iphone and ipad puzzle app: review

We've seen dozens(maybe a hundred?) of variations of sudoku. Cryptoku is the zaniest. It's a combination of Tetris and Sudoku.

The white numbers are fixed - always the bottom row. As numbers fall, place them anywhere in the grid. If that number turns red, it's wrong. Green is correct. If the number turns orange, then the correct number is either 1 higher or 1 lower.

That's for the basic levels. Harder level: as the numbers fall, they increase in value. Look at the orange arrow. It's pointing to a Temporary number. It will fade away after about 10 seconds.

Crytoku has 50 levels. I'm on level 20 right now. One of the bottom numbers alternates between two numbers. Let's say the space alternates between 5 & 8. It's crazy! And fun!

Kira Hamilton is to thank or blame. Her note to me:

I actually thought up the name "Cryptoku" before I had any idea what the game was going to *do*. I was also inspired by the design on a MacHeist splash page from a few years ago (this one: http://www.lightsphere.com/iphone/cryptoku/MacHeist.jpg). My earliest design notes just say "sudoku meets tetris meets the matrix!" I knew I wanted it to be a falling-numbers sort of game; beyond that I had no idea :) I spent several months just figuring out how it would work. I tried a couple of different options with the boxes on the screen, but ultimately just went with the Sudoku-style grid, and numbers 1-9. The earliest designs actually *added* the numbers when a new number landed on a box that already had a number. But that was just impossibly difficult, even for brainiacs like me :) So now the numbers just replace the ones they land on. I also added in various computer-geek-type "hazards"... /tmp, rotating keys, and viruses are all real things in the computer world. In the game they just have some sneaky effects to confound the player. :) Anyway. Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoy the game. :)

Numeric Paranoia: iphone puzzle app review

Listen up kiddies: Numeric Paranoia is one of the best iphone puzzle apps! It's topological in nature. Start at tile #1. Drag your finger over all the tiles. The #2 tile is not necessarily the next tile after #1, but it must come before the #3 tile. Meaning, there could be a slew of blank tiles between #1 & #2.

264 challenges in all. The updated version came out yesterday. No idea who the author is. Some guy who calls himself PurpleRobo! His web page has Korean characters.

Geo Magic Squares

http://www.geomagicsquares.com/index.php

Lee Sallows has written a book on Geo Magic Squares. I've not had a chance to peruse it. However, it is intriguing, though I do not claim to grasp the essence - yet!

On a side note: many people have written to inform me of Rubik's Cube iphone apps. Thanks. There are so many! I am interested in learning about the ones that offer something more novel.

Cohabit: iphone puzzle app review

We admit: sudoku has gotten boring. However, there are many versions that tweak the rules and spice it up. Cohabit is one of them. The object is to assign a number AND color to each cell.

Look at the large photo. We already have green 1, 4 & 5. Can you see why green 2 must be placed in the bottom row in the 3rd column? Next, can you figure out where the green 3 goes?

Bryan O'Malley and his team have provided 4000 puzzles for $1.99 No need to buy sudoku puzzle magazines anymore.

The grid sizes: 3x3, 4x4, 5x5 & 7x7.

Remember: this blog only features great iphone puzzle apps. If you discover a puzzle app that I may not be aware of: shoot me an email. Or post a comment.

Hipercubo: iphone puzzle app review

Many years ago I read Flatland by Edwin Abbott & Sphereland by Dionys Burger. I recommend both highly!

Now we have a wonderful 4-dimensional maze via a hypercube. I was not able to download and sample this set of puzzles because my ipod touch does not have the latest software. However, having watched the video of this, I am 1 step closer buying an ipad. Hipercubo will be the first app that I will download.

Roger Sodre from Brazil is the creator. He spent 6 months on this.

His note to me:
"Hipercubo is a puzzle game that takes place inside a Hypercube, a four-dimensional cube. Within it, there's 8 regular tridimensional cubes interconnected, each one of a different color. You can run through the cubes forever and never reach the end. The goal is to bring all the colors asked to the center of the Hypercube within the time limit. The first levels are easy, but as you progress through the challenge, it starts to get complicated, as connections are closed and obstacles atart to appear inside some cubes.

There's a Full Screen mode where you can appreciate the Hypercube being deconstructed with the accelerometer. With a TV or Video cable, you can watch it on a monitor or TV.

The new version now runs on iPad and is ready for the new Retina display on iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4. There's a new scoring system, based on cubes flipped, the level and speed, with global scoreboard managed by Apple's Game Center. You can also clone the game to a monitor or TV.

The distribution model have also changed. The game was free, with upgrade to the full game after the 10th level. Now there's the free Hipercubo Freestyle, including only the Freestyle mode, where you can flip the Hypercube as long as you can. The full Hipercubo have all the 56 challenge puzzles."



Hipercubo teaser video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEM8Q44vnJ4

Full mode video:
http://vimeo.com/8866559

Carl Sagan explains the nature of a Hypercube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwL_zi9JNkE

http://www.hipercubo.mobi/

Hipercubo Full direct iTunes link:
http://itunes.com/apps/Hipercubo

Hipercubo Freestyle direct iTunes link:
http://itunes.com/apps/HipercuboFreestyle

BlockMan: iphone puzzle app review

Blockman is one of the best iphone puzzle apps of 2011. Trung Trang is responsible! "It's a remake of a similar game called BlockDude I used to play on my TI-83 Calculator." Brandon Sterner wrote the original puzzles for BlockDude.

The object is to move your man to the exit. He may lift blocks. Notice the first image: the blocks have numbers. The number indicates how many times that block can be lifted and moved. Another series of levels has blocks that can only be pushed

80 levels for .99 I have already spent 2 hours on this app and have solved 15 levels. Well worth the money!

Logix Arrows: iphone puzzle app review

Rob Cutler has produced a fine set of puzzles here. This is one of those puzzles that could never be presented for a solver to use pencil/paper.

The object: point all the arrows into the grid so that each numbered square is the target of that many arrows.

Rob has produced some other interesting puzzle apps. We'll report on those at a later date.

Steven Natanson: Maze Man

Steven Natanson is an artist is draws big wonderful mazes. Similar to Elizabeth Carpenter's work. Explore his web page!

Doug Engel's iphone circle puzzle app: review

My good friend Doug Engel is the most under-appreciated puzzle designer today. He produced these 3 circle puzzles in the mid 80's. This app duplicates them just fine.

However, I thought I knew everything there was - mathematically - to these puzzles & could solve them easily. Then Doug decided to expand his circle puzzles to demonstrate how truly complicated they could get.

For example

This puzzle: first align the colors, then make sure arrows point to 12 o'clock. It completely changed my entire analysis of these circle puzzles upside down.

Doug now calls these Battle Gear Puzzles and has added more pieces to some variations. Good God man!

Download the app!

Even better, go to Doug's site http://www.puzzleatomic.com/FLATLAND%20GEARS.htm and buy the physical puzzles & the variations. Tell him I sent you & he might give you a discount if you order a lot.