- Games that range from relaxing fun to those that will stretch your mind! Very popular game type.
Most Popular Puzzle Games
= Freeware Game New! = Games listed in the last 30 days
Hidden Object
- MCF: Dire Grove
- 4 missing students and a terrifying legend!
- Echoes of the Past
- Save the castle's inhabitants from a stony curse.
- Doors of the Mind
- Discover her darkest secrets by searching her memories.
- Awakening: Dreamless
- Can you solve all the puzzles to help Sophia escape the castle?
- Return to Ravenhearst
- Discover the darkest secrets of the manor before it's too late.
- Murder, She Wrote
- Solve 5 exciting cases with the cast of Murder, She Wrote!
- Mystery Case Files
- Collect clues to solve Huntsville's mysterious crime wave!
- Mortimer Beckett
- Discover the secrets of Spooky Manor!
- Gardenscapes
- Find items to sell as fast as you can to restore a garden.
- MCF Prime Suspects
- Catch the thief responsible for stealing the Queen's diamond!
Match 3
- Bejeweled 2 Deluxe
- The best version of the best puzzle game ever created!
- Chuzzle Deluxe
- Save the cute and fuzzy chuzzles in this match 3 game.
- Super Gem Drop
- Tetris style game play with fantastic sparkling gems!
- Jewel Quest 3
- Travel the globe and find a cure with even more Match-3 action!
- Cubis Gold 2
- Better than the original! More 3D cube matching fun!
- Bejeweled Deluxe
- Addictive gem matching game. Popular!
- Fishdom
- Solve puzzles and create your dream aquarium!
- Puzzle Quest
- An epic match 3 puzzle & RPG challenge!
- Jewel Quest 2
- Play other Jewel Quest fans from around the world!
- 7 Wonders
- Build the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.
Misc. Puzzle
- Zuma Deluxe
- Stop the colored balls from advancing in ancient temples!
- Insaniquarium
- Raise fish to earn money and protect them from alien attack!
- Luxor
- Action-puzzle game just like Zuma with more bonuses!
- Tumblebugs
- Fun spin and match like Zuma and Luxor!
- Azada
- Break free from a magical puzzle prison.
- Super Collapse 3
- The ultimate Collapse game with new Quest mode!
- World of Goo
- What do you do with a pile of goo? Build with it, of course!
- Peggle Deluxe
- Do you have what it takes to become a Peggle Master?
- Slingo Deluxe
- Try to clear your Bingo card and score big points!
- Zuma's Revenge
- Enjoy new Zuma gameplay with boss battles and big power-ups!
Game Shows
- Family Feud
- Get the hit game show now for play on PC!
- The Price is Right
- You are the next contestant so price smart and win big!
- Wheel of Fortune 2
- Enjoy Wheel of Fortune with fun new game modes and puzzles!
- Jeopardy!
- The awesome TV trivia game show for PC!
- Wheel of Fortune
- Join Pat and Vanna as you solve word puzzles!
- Million $ Password
- Compete for a million in this popular game show!
- Press Your Luck
- Watch out for whammies and risk it all on one last spin!
-
Simpsons Jeopardy
- The Simpsons for 500, Alex! Fun Simpsons trivia.
- The 80's Game
- Go back in time with awesome 80s trivia!
- Are You Smarter?
- Are you smarter than a 5th grader? Find out!
Learn About Puzzle Games
What are Puzzle Games?
As its name suggests, the puzzle video game belongs to that category of video games that gives the player some kind of puzzle to solve. No limits have been set relating to the kinds of puzzles a player is presented with, and several different classes of popular puzzle video game have been established. What all puzzle video games have in common, however, is that they challenge a player on many levels by forcing him or her to exercise several different skills in order to solve them. Basic skills that are essential for solving puzzle games include pattern recognition, logic, word completion and sequence solving.
Puzzle games can be divided into several basic categories: the “match 3” games, the action puzzle games, the reveal the picture games, the hidden object games, virtual versions of real life game show, and then miscellaneous puzzle games which blend genres or are difficult to categorize.
Possibly the most popular “match 3” game of all time is PopCap Games’s Bejeweled, where players have to match up three identical pieces so that they can be eliminated to make space for further pieces. Bejeweled is, however, only one of the many “match 3” games available today.
Action puzzles include game set-ups where players move game pieces around in real-time environments so as to complete puzzles on ascending levels of difficulty. Action puzzles include falling-block puzzles like Tetris or fast paced clicking type games like Super Collapse.
Reveal the picture games are those where a picture is exposed piece by piece while hidden object games are those where a player has to locate certain objects that are hidden within a game picture prior to ascending to the next level. The hidden object genre was introduced by Big Fish Studio’s 2005 release of Mystery Case Files: Huntsville.
The History of Puzzle Video Games
Tetris, which was introduced to gamers in 1985, heralded in the era of the immensely popular and easily accessible video puzzle game.
Although an exceedingly large number of games have been developed for every possible gaming platform in the twenty-five years since the introduction of Tetris, highlights comprise Microsoft’s 1990 inclusion of Solitaire as part of its Windows Operating System and the 1998 introduction of Gamehouse’s Collapse!. Solitaire would eventually clock in as the most accessed of all Windows applications, and Collapse! was an early variant of the soon-to-become incredibly popular “match 3” type puzzle games.
Another puzzle video game milestone was the release of PopCap Games’ initial installment in the Bejeweled franchise in May 2001. This quintessential “match 3” game has spawned numerous clones, and its sales figures suggest that it is one of the most sought after puzzle video games of all time. The release of MCF: Huntsville in November 2005 introduced the puzzle gamer to the hidden object game, and Huntsville was soon followed up with no less than six further installments in the franchise and there is presently a seventh in development.
Puzzle games have been developed to offer both single and double player modes (although single player modes are far more common), and even the more advanced games can be played using just keyboard functions and mouse input. Further possible input methods include touchscreen devices, key pads, styluses and click wheels. Puzzle games are available for all types of gaming consoles including Windows, PlayStation, Nintendo DS, Xbox as well as Facebook and the portable mobile phones, Smartphones, iPhones and iPods.
Who Will Enjoy These Games?
Puzzle games are mostly played by casual gamers, and a casual gamer can be defined as anyone who has shown a passing interest in video games and who plays them intermittently. Casual gamers usually engage in game play for only short amounts of time, and games are fitted in between their other daily activities. Examples of casual game play would include playing at work over lunchtime and playing on an iPhone or other handheld device whenever a gamer has free time. Most casual gamers are also older than hardcore gamers and the majority of all casual gamers are female.
The above does not mean that puzzle games are not enjoyed by hardcore gamers, and, indeed, puzzle game elements are regularly incorporated in individual levels of certain hardcore games, including Resident Evil and The Legend of Zelda.
Anyone with a quick intellect and basic problem solving skills will enjoy puzzle games.
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