Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design

Puzzle Games

Many single-player computer games contain puzzles. In action games, you often have to figure out the boss opponent's weakness. Adventure games are full of puzzles, frequently about obtaining inaccessible objects or getting information from other people. Even first-person shooters have the occasional puzzle, figuring out how to get past locked doors and other obstacles. Puzzle design is an essential element of game design, and it's harder than it sounds.

Puzzle games are games that are primarily about puzzle solving, sometimes without incorporating the puzzles into a story line or larger goal. That doesn't mean that they're a random collection, however. Puzzle games are usually variations on a single theme. To be a commercial success, ...