Fundamentals of Puzzle and Casual Game Design

Puzzle Games

Puzzles appear in games in several genres. Many single-player computer games contain puzzles. In action games, the player often has 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; and even first-person shooters offer 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 you might think.

In puzzle games, puzzle solving is the primary activity, though puzzles may occur within a storyline or lead up to some larger goal. That doesn’t mean that you can offer a random collection of puzzles and call it a game; ...