The great puzzlefests - an IFDB Poll
by Victor Gijsbers
RSS FeedPlaying Curses!, I started wondering which games belong to the canon of great puzzlefests. With this term I mean puzzle based games that are long, difficult and punishing; but also fair, engaging and truly rewarding to work through. The best works of Infocom probably belong here, as do Curses!, Anchorhead, Savoir-Faire and Varicella. But my knowledge of this corpus is hazy. Titles like Christminster, Mulldoon Legacy and Not Just an Ordinary Ballerina strike a bell, but I've never played them. Among more recent works, Counterfeit Monkey and Hadean Lands might be good examples. (The Dreamhold is perhaps not quite what I have in mind, being on the shorter side.) But I'm probably unaware of many other gems, both old and more recent. So help me by voting in the poll!
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| The Wand, by Arthur DiBianca 6 votes "This game is pure puzzles - many of them, and clever" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]...  Vote for this game | |
| Counterfeit Monkey, by Emily Short 6 votes "Large puzzle game based on wordplay" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... "Portal for..." [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Curses, by Graham Nelson 6 votes "The great puzzlefest that showcased the strengths of Inform" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| A Beauty Cold and Austere, by Mike Spivey 5 votes "Math Puzzlefest" [+]... "Impressive visualisation of abstract math-problems." [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Anchorhead, by Michael Gentry 4 votes "Adds creepiness and suspense to a genre that often felt laid-back and purely cerebral" [+]... (No comment) [+]... "The game that got..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Hadean Lands, by Andrew Plotkin 4 votes "Alchemical puzzlefest in which repetition is avoided by powerful automatic puzzle solving" [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| First Things First, by J. Robinson Wheeler 3 votes (No comment) [+]... "Quite hard but..." [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Lydia's Heart, by Jim Aikin 2 votes "Creepy puzzlefest" [+]... "Long, difficult and rewarding. Both puzzles and story are top-notch." [+]... Vote for this game | |
| The King of Shreds and Patches, by Jimmy Maher 2 votes (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| The Axe of Kolt, by Larry Horsfield 2 votes "A huge fantasy puzzlefest. Very oldschool." [+]... "Straight non-ironic Fantasy-quest. " [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Blue Lacuna, by Aaron A. Reed 2 votes (No comment) [+]... "When played in..." [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Illuminismo Iniziato, by Michael J. Coyne 2 votes "The laughing makes the puzzles even harder." [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| The Chinese Room, by Harry Giles and Joey Jones 2 votes "Philosophical conundrums brought to life." [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Worldsmith, by Ade McT 2 votes (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Savoir-Faire, by Emily Short 2 votes "Brilliant game gets a distinctive feel because of the magic-based puzzles" [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Adventurer's Consumer Guide, by Øyvind Thorsby 2 votes (No comment) [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Risorgimento Represso, by Michael J. Coyne 2 votes "Brain-breakingly funny." [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Varicella, by Adam Cadre 2 votes "You must defeat your enemies rather than pass locked doors, but still a puzzlefest" [+]... (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Cragne Manor, by Ryan Veeder, Jenni Polodna, Adam Whybray, Adri, Andrew Plotkin, Andy Holloway, Austin Auclair, Baldur Brückner, Ben Collins-Sussman, Bill Maya, Brian Rushton, Buster Hudson, Caleb Wilson, Carl Muckenhoupt, Chandler Groover, Chris Jones, Christopher Conley, Damon L. Wakes, Daniel Ravipinto, Daniel Stelzer, David Jose, David Petrocco, David Sturgis, Drew Mochak, Edward B, Emily Short, Erica Newman, Feneric, Finn Rosenløv, Gary Butterfield, Gavin Inglis, Greg Frost, Hanon Ondricek, Harkness Munt, Harrison Gerard, Ian Holmes, Ivan Roth, Jack Welch, Jacqueline Ashwell, James Eagle, Jason Dyer, Jason Lautzenheiser, Jason Love, Jeremy Freese, Joey Jones, Joshua Porch, Justin de Vesine, Justin Melvin, Katherine Morayati, Kenneth Pedersen, Lane Puetz, Llew Mason, Lucian Smith, Marco Innocenti, Marius Müller, Mark Britton, Mark Sample, Marshal Tenner Winter, Matt Schneider, Matt Weiner, Matthew Korson, Michael Fessler, Michael Gentry, Michael Hilborn, Michael Lin, Mike Spivey, Molly Ying, Monique Padelis, Naomi Hinchen, Nate Edwards, Petter Sjölund, Q Pheevr, Rachel Spitler, Reed Lockwood, Reina Adair, Riff Conner, Roberto Colnaghi, Rowan Lipkovits, Sam Kabo Ashwell, Scott Hammack, Sean M. Shore, Shin, Wade Clarke, Zach Hodgens, Zack Johnson 1 vote "The biggest puzzlefest" [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Augmented Fourth, by Brian Uri! 1 vote (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Castle Ralf, by Doug Clutter and Steve Vance 1 vote "Large and clever..." [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Mentula Macanus: Apocolocyntosis, by One of the Bruces and Drunken Bastard 1 vote (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| The Mulldoon Legacy, by Jon Ingold 1 vote "Great puzzle-fest game" [+]... Vote for this game | |
| The Dark World, by Terrence Bull 1 vote "It is a very challenging game with lots of twists and turns, but is also very funny." [+]... Vote for this game | |
| The Temple of Shorgil, by Arthur DiBianca 1 vote (No comment) [+]... Vote for this game | |
| Finding Martin, by G.K. Wennstrom 1 vote "Wait, what? I was trying to find someone? Puzzles galore." [+]... Vote for this game | |