Puzzle games are more than fitting the pieces together–they are about solving a mystery in a whole new world. I have spent more money on them than I would like to admit. Throughout COVID, I played one or two everyday. It used to take me several days to complete one, but now I can do one just in a few hours.

That being said, these games are the ones I’ve enjoyed the most, and have played multiple times:

1. The House of 1000 Doors Series:

This is a story about a woman named Kate in a family of mediums that are in danger. Kate has to go through the House to help her family deal with the ghosts that are tied to the house through their trauma and help them move on. In the first game of the series, you are first introduced to the house and meet all the ghosts within the house. In the second game, it expands outside the house and on a foreign planet. The third leads you through portals around the world. 

The game is friendly for all ages and great for a family to play. I first played this game when I was 10 with my siblings and still enjoy replaying the series. 

I would rate this game a 8/10. I would just like this game to be more creative with a few of its puzzles.

2. The Nutcracker

The infamous tale of the Nutcracker is now a puzzle game. The Christmas tale about Prince Albert saving his beloved Princess Mary. You have to fight the evil Rat King. The story is set within a castle and the village surrounding it. The imagery and puzzles are so fun while still keeping true to the original story.

Although I do celebrate Christmas, I no longer play the game around Christmas because I just enjoy the puzzles and how the game is formatted.

I would rate this game a 9/10 only because the normal animations for these types of games are out of the ordinary.

Both of these games and many more can be found on BigFishGames. You can also purchase other great puzzle games on XBox, PlayStation, Steam, and other gaming platforms.

Photo courtesy of: “puzzle game” by Konstantin Lazorkin is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.