Stories about puzzle design

Stories tagged puzzle design

1. 01

   How we verified 2,000 sliding-block puzzle boards before release

   A pathfinding result is only the beginning. Here is how we replayed a clear for every OutBrick board against the same rules the game uses.

   Mourad Hamdi · 6 min read

   
2. 02

   How computers generate puzzle levels, and why checking matters

   Procedural generation can make endless puzzles, but a board that is merely solvable is not a good one. How generators work, and where they fall short.

   OutBrick Editorial Desk · 6 min read

   
3. 03

   What makes a puzzle feel fair? Difficulty, failure and trust

   Hard is not the same as unfair. What research on challenge and failure says about the puzzles players trust, and the ones they quit in frustration.

   OutBrick Editorial Desk · 6 min read

   
4. 04

   Games like Tetris: what makes a block puzzle last

   Simple rules, a board you can read, fair difficulty and a short loop: what makes block puzzles endure, and how to judge any game like Tetris.

   OutBrick Editorial Desk · 7 min read

   
5. 05

   Tetris proves that simple rules can keep opening up

   A look at constraint, rhythm, and the endless variety inside a very small ruleset.

   Mourad Hamdi · 6 min read

   
6. 06

   Monument Valley and the power of making less feel complete

   A closer look at ustwo’s “less game, more experience” idea—and what OutBrick borrows from it.

   OutBrick Editorial Desk · 6 min read

   

Search the journal for “puzzle design”