Splinter's Mazes

Splinter J. Spierenburgh recently contacted me about his book of mazes. They look like fun and I will definitely print these out. He also told me that he's looking into making a physical maze puzzle - possibly later this year.


Here's his website.

Oh yeah!

Crate: free ipad, iphone puzzle

Crate is exactly the same as Move the Box: scroll down a few inches to see that review. The puzzles are exactly the same too.

I contacted Viktor Reutskyy, who made Move the Box and this was his response:

Yes, I saw Crate. It's probably the first clone of MtB. Its history starts here:
http://www.rentacoder.com/RentACoder/misc/BidRequests/ShowBidRequest.asp?lngWMId=2533&lngAVDRId=790162&lngBidRequestId=1788798#true,2,1788798,,

Move The Box: free iphone ipad puzzle review

Object get 3 in a row or column to make them explode and disappear. When that happens, the boxes above will slide down. You must solve each puzzle within the given number of moves.

Challenging? Some are really easy. Others: surprisingly difficult - even when they can be solved in just 2 moves.

I have solved about 50 of the puzzle levels. Tomorrow's review will be of a similar puzzle. Viktor Reutskyy is the author of Move the Box.

This could make the list of best puzzle apps of 2012.

L'Oeuf: Mechanical Puzzle of the week

I first got this puzzle in 2003 at the International Puzzle Party that was held in Belgium that year. That was the plastic version which was called Mysterians. It broke too easily and I foolishly let a non-puzzler handle it.

This metal version is indestructible! The object is to separate the pieces. You may find this hard to believe, but there is mathematical element behind it. From the mind of Oskar van Deventer.


Here is the solution.

Ellipsis: free iphone ipad puzzle app

Ellipsis: colored dots scroll onto the screen. Your task: drag them into the corresponding colored rectangle. This was categorized by the App Store as a puzzle, but it's really an arcade action game. It's fun!

Probably will not make the list of best puzzle apps of 2012

Best Lights Off: free iphone ipad puzzle app

This is another Lights Out type puzzle. However, the graphics are absolutely charming!

I highly recommend looking on ebay for the Tiger Electronics version: Lights Out, Lights Out Cube and Lights Out Deluxe.

There are 50 levels here. So far, this is one of the best puzzle apps of 2012

Fuzzy Logic: iphone ipad puzzle app review

Fuzzy Logic is a great puzzle app! It is very similar to Lunar Lockout, Fling, and Frogiz. The object is to eliminate the board with matching colors. Blue will cancel with blue. But blue will combine with red to make purple. Like Lunar Lockout, blue will stop at the space just before green, or purple.

I think it's hard for me to really show you what Fuzzy Logic is all about. Just go ahead and download it, there's a free version. I have the premium version which has all the level packs. I couldn't stop playing it!

Jokers can explode any color. A bomb destroys the colors around it.

Fuzzy Logic, so far, is the best puzzle app of 2012.

River Test Trilogy: free iphone ipad puzzle app

There are 3 puzzles here: get everybody across the river given the different parameters. Two of these, I've known about & solved ages ago. They're all good. The graphics are minimal, but that's okay.

There should be a 4th puzzle added: 3 explorers traveling with 3 cannibals and the explorers can never be outnumbered by the cannibals. It's another classic.

The free version of River Test Trilogy has only 1 puzzle available - but it's tough! I've given it to my students over the years.

Cast Laby: Mechanical Puzzle of the week

Cast Laby was invented around 1900. The object is to separate the 2 pieces. One disc has 2 different mazes on each side! The other disc has 2 pins - one for each maze. This is a terrific puzzle. It's not easy! It took me about 1 hour to solve.

Bits and Pieces used to make this puzzle in brass. However, their version was not an exact duplication; this made the puzzle much easier with an unintended solution.

Here's the solution.

Penguin Glide: free iphone ipad puzzle app

Penguin Glide: tap on the ice floes to make them solid. The penguin can then land on it or bounce off it. Basically, the idea is to guide your penguin to the buoy. Cute graphics. Strictly for kids.

Sudoku X4U: free iphone ipad puzzle app

Here is another free sudoku puzzle app. This one has 'jigsaw' sudokus, which another company calls squiggly sudokus. I really like those; I'm tired of the standard sudokus.

I still feel that sudokus should be solved with pencil on paper. Call me old-fashioned.

Chem IQ: free iphone ipad puzzle app

Object: cut the bonds and form new compounds. Probably good for chemistry students!

TEC: free iphone ipad puzzle app

TEC is an interesting puzzle app that is very similar to an online puzzle known as Hex-A-Hop, which I absolutely love. The object: drag the robot over each tile to light them up. On some levels, the robot must pass over the same tiles more than once.

I would love TEC except for one thing. There's a time limit for each puzzle. Also, the robot does not move as quickly as my finger is swiping or tapping. Otherwise, this is a fine set of puzzles.

Mechanical Puzzle of the week: Cast News

I was fortunate to know the inventor of this puzzle: Nob Yoshigahara. Nob invented this when he was just 19. The object is to separate the 2 halves. Each piece is identical. This puzzle has been made in many forms by unscrupulous businessmen. This form, in metal, is the best rendition. I solved another rendition by using an alternate method, which would not work on this model. Highly recommended! Buy 2 copies: one for yourself, and one as a gift.

Click here for the solution.

Fillupblocks: free iphone ipad puzzle app

We've seen this type of puzzle a million times. This one has many levels: easy to difficult. Hey, it's free.

Will this make the Best Puzzle Apps of 2012 List?

Dino Blocks: iphone ipad puzzle app

Dino Blocks is very similar to Angry Birds. You are given a slingshot that must be placed within the given circle. Aim to knock off the the red blocks while leaving the green blocks unharmed.

I'm not a fan of Angry Birds. But if you like that, you should definitely try Dino Blocks which is a free puzzle app.

Will this puzzle app make it onto the list of best puzzle apps of 2012? I'm hoping that better puzzle apps will arrive.

MagyPath B.C. iphone ipad puzzle app

The object of MagyPath B.C. is to find a route from the bottom to the top. Start on a green tile and work your way up. Blue and red tiles are forbidden. A yellow tile will cost you 1 life.

Here's where it's a bit weird: each time you step on a tile: green or yellow, some of the other tiles change color in a random order.

MayPath B.C. has gotten some very good reviews. I've played the first 30 levels. I can see where it's addicting, but I'm not feeling it. But you might. So go ahead and download it - it's a free puzzle app.

Will this make it onto the 'Best Puzzle Apps of 2012'? I'm hoping better apps will come along.

Picklock: free iphone ipad puzzle app

Picklock is a free puzzle app from Wang Subo. It's very similar to Mastermind. Object, try to arrange the 5 numbers in the correct order. The given numbers are listed on top.

Good for kids. Will this make the final list of best free puzzles apps of 2012? No.

Best Puzzle Apps of 2011

It's almost impossible to keep up with the 100 new puzzle apps that get released each week. Below is a simple list: the best, most fun puzzle apps that I played in 2011. Most of these were brand new in 2011. Some came out earlier. What distinguishes a Best Puzzle App from Honorable Mention Puzzle App? I like them all, but the Best Puzzle Apps are the ones I've spent a lot of time on!

Alphabetical lising:
2Bik's Cube
Align It!
Aqueduct
Beam Puzzle
Blockado
Boxat
Boxed In
Continuity 2
Cubetastic
Deadlocked
Duality
Frogiz
Full House
Galaxy Express
Hi Lo Sudoku
Kunundrum
Monorail
Mortal Coil
Mystic Glyph
Numeric Paranoia
Quaz-x
Qvoid
Solitaire Chess
Strimko Gold
TJam
Tripevo
Tumblox
Witty Bump

Honorable Mention Puzzle Apps 2011

This list is composed of very good puzzle apps. Perhaps they didn't make it to the Best Puzzle Apps list because I didn't spend enough time on them to recognize the genius behind it. Without a doubt, they are all worthy of your consideration!

100!
Amtalee
Best Lights Off
Blaxx
Brain Freeze
Bumpling
Chrome-8
Cohabit
cubyrinth
Cut the Block
Escape: The Room
Flip Them All
Fun
Hierogrid
Inakube
Lumi
Muzzle
Nadibom
Neon Zone
Numbrosia
NumDom
OpenValve
Primokakuro
Quell
Rogo
Rotatoland
Ruby Capture
Rush Hour Holiday
Shapzzle
Slidetastic
Spins 3D
Synchrony
The Square
Tiny Invaders

2Bik's Cube: free iphone ipad puzzle app

My first thought: ugh, another sliding tile puzzle. However, this one is different. Entire rows or columns shift only where the gap is. Align the colors by columns. Harder than I thought!

Check out the image of the guy wearing a brain vest. Reminds me of the french restaurant in mid-town that offered calf's brain as an entree. We decided to get Thai instead.

Cubyrinth: iphone ipad puzzle app

Cubyrinth is a series of maze puzzles. Object: get the green ball to its home. To do this, move the middle layers right/left and up/down to align the path. You may have the right piece in the right place....but it might not be oriented correctly.

There are 28 levels. I have done about 9 of them. This puzzle is similar to Cubetastic. Those users should definitely download Cubyrinth.

Christoph Grossegger from Austria is the author. http://www.dust-bit-games.com

Sphinx: free iphone ipad puzzle app

Sphinx is a free puzzle app. The goal: assemble the pieces into each of the outlines. Pieces can be flipped & rotated. Not my cup of tea. But I've never been a huge fan of these types of puzzles.

Monsters Fall: iphone ipad puzzle app

Monsters Fall is a quasi tilt-app. The object is to get each colored monster into their corresponding home. The blue monster always falls down. You can adjust him left or right. The green monster always falls up. Again, you can adjust him left or right.

The red monster falls to the right and the yellow monster falls to the left. You can adjust their positions up and down.

Monsters Fall right now has 20 levels. A very nice change from the puzzles that have so many puzzle levels that it's almost impossible to finish. The first 5 or 6 levels are really 'learn the rules' type levels - very simple. Then they get challenging.

I have solved all 20 levels. It took about an hour. I should mention that some levels have wormholes. In this case, they are depicted as telephone booths. Quaint!

Nikos Detsikas contacted me about his new app and informed me that more levels will come out. I look forward to solving them.

tJam: iphone ipad puzzle app

tJam looks a lot like one of the greatest puzzle apps of all time: Subway Shuffle.
It is not a rip-off.

Cars may travel on roads of their own color. When that happens, the color gets erased. Any car can travel on a white road - then that road becomes that car's color.

Object: get all the roads to be white.

This is one fabulous puzzle app. A likely candidate for the upcoming Best Puzzle Apps of 2011 List. 199 levels. At this moment, I have solved the first 45 levels.

99 cents for many hours of addiction and frustration. Bravo to Ivan Vassilev

Ruby Capture: iphone ipad puzzle app

Ruby Capture is a terrific chess puzzle app. Object: capture all the rubys by moving each chess piece once. If a chess piece crosses over or lands on a blue plus sign, it gets an additional move.

The puzzle has 100 Easy, 100 Medium, 100 Hard and 100 Very Hard levels. I solved all 100 easy levels. Then I moved on to the Very Hard Levels and solved 25 of them.
Without a doubt, Ruby Capture is fun and addictive! The Very Hard puzzles were not as hard as I thought they'd be. Still, this is a fine set of puzzles. Young chess players should definitely play these.

Tumblox: iphone ipad puzzle app

Tumblox is a a tilt maze puzzle. The object is to get the colored boxes onto their matching colored targets.

We have seen numerous tilt maze puzzles. Tumblox is extremely well done. For one thing, instead of swiping left/right or up/down, the user manipulates the arrows and the entire board will shift 90 degrees. This is a very cool feature.

Tumblox has wormholes. We've seen them before. However, some wormholes only work for particular colors. Some wormholes only work in 1 direction. Finally, some wormholes only work when the block approaches it from 1 direction.

At a certain point, the levels go from a 2-dimensional grid to 3 dimensions.

I have solved 56/80 levels. I want to solve them all! But that's going to take a lot of time. $1.99 - less than a slice of pizza.

Best iphone iPad puzzle apps of 2011

I'm working on the first annual 'best puzzle apps of the year'. There were several thousand new puzzle apps in 2011.

Next week I will post the list. Stay tuned.

New York Puzzle Party Symposium

Mark your calendars: The annual New York Puzzle Party Symposium will take place Saturday 2/11/12. Contact me for more details.

Rubik's Cube in today's Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204319004577088513615125328.html?KEYWORDS=rubiks+cube

A gift for the puzzle collector in your family

http://www.giftideasforeveryone.com/

Temples of the Sun: free iphone ipad puzzle app

Temples of the Sun is a free iphone ipad puzzle app. Move the mirrors to various points on the grid so that the light beam will bounce off them and through the crystals to score mega points. This is a great fun app - for kids. For the serious puzzler, skip it.

iklotski: free iphone ipad puzzle app

I got my first computer in 1994 - a Gateway. Soon thereafter, I got a CD-ROM of puzzles. One of them was Klotski - which was a lot of fun.

This version iklotski, is a bit boring. All the puzzles have the same grid size. Nevertheless, if you've never done it before, this is a respectable puzzle app. Is it one of the best fun puzzle apps of 2011? Not really. But hey, you may disagree

Magic Hexagons: free iphone ipad puzzle app

Magic Hexagons is an interesting point scoring puzzle activity. Tap on 3 or more hexagons of the same color if they are grouped together. At the bottom, the next level will emerge onto the bottom of your grid.

After playing for about 28 minutes, I finally cleared the board completely, before the next level popped up. Nothing happened! It just kept going.

The presentation is nice, and I must admit, it was fun. Is this one of the best puzzle apps of 2011? I don't think so. Still, I played it for 28 minutes!