Digitron: puzzle app for iphone and ipad

Digitron: basic mathematics meets Tetris. Numbers fall down to the grid. Basic math symbols also fall down. Arrange them strategically to make true equations and score points.

Hog Frog: free puzzle app for iphone ipad

The objective of Hog Frog is to catch all the flies in 3 flicks of the tongue. The tongue will have to ricochet off the wood to bend around objects.

There's definitely a mathematical puzzling element to Hog Frog. It's worth a free download and testing.

Cast Loop: mechanical puzzle of the week

Cast Loop was designed by my Finnish Puzzle friend Vesa Timonen. Object #1: take apart the 2 pieces - not hard. Object #2: restore them - harder than you think!

Click here for the solution.

Last summer I bought 2 extra copies to give away as gifts.

Triple Town: iphone ipad puzzle app

Triple Town is very similar to one of my all-time favorites: Tripevo. Triple Town has received a couple thousand ratings so far on the app store. My guess is that Apple listed it as What's Hot.

Place 3 grass tiles together and they turn into a bush. 3 bushes turn into a house. You get the idea. This is a very good game, one of the best puzzle apps of 2012. However, for my money, Tripevo is the better game.

Word BullsEye

Word BullsEye is similar to Mastermind. The object is to guess the correct 4 letter word. Suppose you guess B-L-U-E. If the bull says you got 1 bullseye, then one letter is correct. 1 star means that the letter is correct, but in the wrong location.

Why this is better than Mastermind: 1. You cannot guess AAAA, because that's not a word. 2. Your list of guesses is not on display, which means you have to work your memory.

My first success was after 5 tries. Easy I thought. My next one took 18 guesses. This is definitely one of the best word puzzle apps of 2012. Saba Kazi is the author.

Rubik's Cube in the News

Click here for the NY Times article which mentions our friend Jerry Slocum.

Photon: puzzle app?

Photon is listed as a puzzle app, but it's really an arcade game. Discs fall down. Drag your finger across discs of the same color to score points and eliminate them.

Not up my alley, but you might like it.

Pipeman: free puzzle app for iphone and ipad

Pipeman is a free puzzle app where the objective is to connect the pipes so nothing leaks. I was able to do 2 levels, but the controls were not very smooth. So I gave up.

Not one of the best puzzle apps of 2012. Sorry

Cast Plate: mechanical puzzle of the week

The object of Cast Plate is to remove the ring. Swivel it around from hole to hole until it escapes. This is actually a maze puzzle: with dead ends and unending loops. It's difficult to see the path. Hint: think about equilateral triangles.

Click here for the solution.

Pudding Battle: free puzzle ap for iphone ipad

Pudding Battle is similar to Bejeweled. Switch adjacent colors to get 3 or more in a row or in a column.

There is a time limit, so hurry up and score points!

Does this make the list of best puzzle apps of 2012? Not really.

Games Magazine: March 2012

The March 2012 issue is now on the newsstands. Read my review of what's new in the world of mechanical puzzles.

Games Magazine does not have an on-line presence. It is sold in Barnes & Noble, Target and various well-stocked magazine/newsstands. For some reason, my local supermarket carries it.

Addictive Puzzle SquarO: puzzle app for ipad iphone

The title of this puzzle is 'Addictive Puzzle: SquareO'. The number in each square indicates how many corners should be lit. Your task: figure out which corners to tap on.

There are 4 levels of difficulty. The Evil level: the number in the square represents the number of halves in each corner. I have not solved one of these levels yet.

Good mathematical logic puzzle. Good smattering of easy, medium & evil-hard puzzles. One of the best puzzle apps of 2012? Quite possibly!

Dr. Pipe: free iphone ipad puzzle app review

Dr. Pipe: connect the start & end point with the pipes that are given: look at the top of the image to see which pipes are to be placed next. As you can see, this is a very serious puzzle! One of the best puzzle apps of 2012? Possibly. You tell me.

Cast Duet: mechanical puzzle of the week

The object of Cast Duet: swivel the two half rings (in the picture it looks like 1 ring, but it's actually 2 half rings) to various parts of the grid.

This double maze was invented by Oskar van Deventer about 10 years ago. At that time, it was called Matchmaker and it was made exclusively by Tom Lensch, master woodcraftsman. Tom Lensch's version is made of wood and is much larger. It's a gem.

Fortunately, Hanayama has created this smaller, more affordable version.

Click here for the solution.

Sliding Tiles: great puzzle app for iphone and ipad

Sliding Tiles consists of 100 sliding tile puzzles. Some of the puzzles are just square tiles. Most of the puzzles have funky shapes that make for very challenging puzzles. I have solved about 60 of them. None of the last 20 which are really challenging.

Full disclosure, these puzzles come from the Grabarchuk family. I know them from the International Puzzle Party meetings. They are extremely prolific at producing challenging, fun puzzles. This set of puzzles: if they were made of wood, I'd probably buy them all at $10 each. But this app makes it so much more affordable!
Unquestionably, this is one of the best puzzle apps of 2012.

Letris 2: word puzzle app for ipad, iphone

Letris 2 is similar to Tetris. Letters fall down and you must spell words. Extra points if you can clear the board. I've done the first 2 levels and must admit: it's fun. And hey, it's free.

One of the Best puzzle apps of 2012? Possibly.

Math Riddles about Age

Click here for some classic math riddles. Some of the problems require basic algebra; others are sneaky!

Neon Zone: free iphone ipad puzzle app

Neon Zone is a free iphone ipad puzzle app. Keep your device horizontal. Tap anywhere on the screen to place your cube. Then glide it by tilting to capture all the lights.

Very slick graphics. Fun too. But not puzzley enough for me.

Mixt: free iphone ipad puzzle app

Mixt has great graphics, download it just to check that out. The object: drag the colored balls to the matching holes. Combine balls into bigger balls for more points.

Definitely cool. But more action than puzzle.

Cast Marble: Mechanical Puzzle of the week

Cast Marble comes from Oskar van Deventer & Bram Cohen. The object is to separate the 4 pieces and then restore them. Yowsa, this one is fun. Buy a couple of them - one for yourself and the other as a gift to your boss.


Click here for the solution.

Tripevo: truly one of the best iphone ipad puzzle apps

Previously, I bemoaned the fact that my high score of 1.7 millon could not be recorded by the game center because I was not on-line.

Recently, another Tripevo player named Tophe490, scored 913,759 points. He or she must have thought they were closing in on my top score of 1.4 million. Imagine their surprise at seeing my new high score of 2,273,930.

Note to Tophe490: I am now retired from Tripevo. Best of luck in catching up.

Update 1/29/12: I just got 2.4 million.

Crazy Cubes: iphone ipad puzzle app review

Crazy Cubes is similar to TEC and to Hex-A-Hop. The object is to roll your cube over each of the green tiles once and only once to destroy them. A big red X tile: roll over that and you have 5 seconds to get out of the way before it explodes itself and the surrounding 8 tiles.

Will this make the famous Best Puzzle Apps List of 2012? Maybe. It came out in 2010, but I just discovered it, so yes it will count for 2012.

Tiny Invaders: puzzle app update

I played Tiny Invaders about 6 months ago. The object is to manipulate the virus to infect the person. It's half puzzle, half arcade. The Hogrocket public relations man, Pete Collier, recently informed me of an update. So I'm informing you. As I said in my review 6 months ago, it's not the greatest puzzle app, but it's fun and worth your time.

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.