Series

Paper Digest

A serial that digests academic papers on puzzles and games into a form anyone can read.

Última entregaAhn et al.: Puzzle Difficulty Lives in Concepts, Not Looks — Fukai Reads

Puzzle Soundtracks

A serial devoted to puzzle game music. How do you design sound that never wears out, no matter how long it plays?

Última entregaSoundtrack: Human Resource Machine — the quiet office, built from a single synth

Design Roundup

Developer interviews, talks, postmortems — a serial that gathers and introduces conversations around puzzle design.

Última entrega“Writing the rules of a puzzle as mathematics”: an attempt to systematize pencil-puzzle rules

The Designer's Philosophy

One puzzle designer per episode, read through their own words — searching for the consistent question behind each body of work.

Última entregaInside Jason Roberts's Philosophy — Turning the Space Outside the Frame into a Playground

Retro Revisited

Replaying classic puzzles with today's eyes — from Sokoban to Professor Layton, digging through the strata of eras.

Última entregaMini Metro (2013) — A Transit Map Born from a 48-Hour Game Jam

The Counter-Review

Rereading acclaimed classics through their negative reviews — testing the criticism buried under the praise.

Última entregaCounterpoint on Superliminal — Reading Through the Negative Reviews

Puzzle Incident History

A serial unearthing the moments puzzles stirred up society — from the 15-puzzle prize hoax to the birth of real escape games.

Última entregaTangram (Qi Qiao Ban) — Around 1810, Seven Pieces of Lies and Truth

The Nature of Play

A serial that dissects what makes things fun through philosophers' eyes — starting with Huizinga, pausing the making of games to ask what play is.

Última entrega¿Tiene sentido el juego? — Camus y el bucle de muerte del roguelike

The Lineage of Meta-Puzzles

The lineage of games that turn rules themselves into something you operate on. How the idea of rewriting unfolded from Sokoban to Baba Is You.

Puzzles That Turn Looking into Play

A rare lineage where the act of looking is the progress. We read the design of observation puzzles through The Witness, Obra Dinn, and Lorelei.

The Design of Undo

A single rewind button reshapes the entire experience. Designs that forgive trials and designs that punish them.

Carving the Learning Curve

Where do you make the player stop, and where do you let them flow? From Baba's vertical wall to Cocoon's unbroken stream.

Recursive Puzzles

Boxes inside boxes, doors inside doors, worlds inside worlds. Games that translate recursion into puzzle mechanics.

Single-Verb Design

How deep can a single-verb game go? The lineage of Sokoban, Sausage Roll, and A Monster's Expedition.

Best of Puzzles

Annual and thematic roundups of recommended puzzle games — only the titles we can vouch for after playing them in depth.