# Reccomend a puzzle game **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 17, 2020, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831 "2020-09-17T12:02:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/1 "2020-09-17T12:02:14Z")
Anybody got any reccomendations for a good PC puzzle game? My PC is pretty old, I think it ran _Elder Scrolls: Oblivion_ OK but I wouls not want to test it with anything that requires more processing than that, so no “The Witness”, however good it looks. Games I really enjoyed. 1. DROD, all 5 games. This is by far my favourite puzzle game I’ve played; simple mechanics, beautifully clever puzzles. 2. Lemmings: I played all the Lemmings games back in the day 3. Tetrobot and Co/Blocks that Matter. 2 games from same developer with some very clever puzzles. 4. Baba is You, I actually found this from a SDMB thread. Another great concept with some clever puzzles. 5. All the DS Layton games. I find the stories annoying and skip them as much as possible but the puzzles are great. No longer have a DS but a similar format PC game would be good. Some I didn’t enjoy: 1. SpaceChem: don’t know why, but the mechanic just didn’t grab me 2. Any “match 3” puzzle style game. 3. Any “hidden object” game 4. Puzzle Agent: Layton clone with vastly inferior puzzles and much worse mechanics. 5. Myst/Riven ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/2 "2020-09-17T13:16:27Z")
It’s not horribly difficult but I found _Monument Valley_ to be thoroughly enjoyable to play, particularly with the bonus “Forgotten Shores” levels. The visuals are just wonderful. There’s a sequel but I haven’t played it. Played on tablet so I don’t know how (or if) they’ll run on your PC, but both have been out for years. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/3 "2020-09-17T13:28:03Z")
I liked all the games on your list and enjoyed the Swapper. I remember it being too short, though. That it built up the difficulty of the puzzles and once it reached the peak, it was immediately done. ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/4 "2020-09-17T16:52:15Z")
Thanks, I’ve played _Monument Valley_ and enjoyed it, not as much as the 5 I listed though. I forgot I also had an Amazon Fire tablet, so I can also play anything on Amazon’s Appstore, (backed a losing horse there, but not quite enough for me to buy a replacement tablet that actually runs Play Store) ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/5 "2020-09-17T19:05:03Z")
Some recommendations: Portal (and Portal 2) - You have to figure out how to move through a room given a set of parameters. The story is amazing, hilarious, and slowly revealed, and the joy of figuring out how to get out of the room is excellent. The Room series - I played these on my Android, but they’re much more traditional “solve the box” games. Atmospheric and not too challenging. The Talos Principle - like Portal, you move through an environment figuring out how to move onto the next area. Scales well. The Witness - See Portal and Talos Principle. Forgot links: [Portal Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TluRVBhmf8w). [The Room Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syiha-lS04g) [Talos Principle Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAVh4_wnOIw) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/6 "2020-09-17T19:17:35Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > The Witness - See Portal and Talos Principle. Literally listed as a no-go in the original post, but I will add it is probably the best pure puzzle game of all time. They have it on tablets and phones, too, so maybe worth a look on one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Acierocolotl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acierocolotl/32/6241_2.png) [@Acierocolotl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acierocolotl)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/7 "2020-09-17T19:52:32Z")
“Portal” was based off a prototype called “Narbacular Drop” if I recall correctly, created by some interns. So if you wind up liking the conceit of Portal, you may also like “Quantum Conundrum”, which was made by one of those interns as a commercial product. It’s sort of an environmental puzzler game, where you have some tools to help you manipulate the environment in various ways. I see that I last played it in 2012, so if your computer can run Skyrim, it can surely run this. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/8 "2020-09-17T20:14:31Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > > [@Hamlet](#): > > > > The Witness - See Portal and Talos Principle. > > Literally listed as a no-go in the original post, but I will add it is probably the best pure puzzle game of all time. They have it on tablets and phones, too, so maybe worth a look on one of those. I don’t remember _The Witness_ having any heavy hardware requirements; it’s not that kind of game. Worth reconsidering; I’d bet it will run on your PC. Other games? _Rhem_ has lots of puzzles. _The Fool and His Money._ I liked _Obra Dinn_ ---
**Author:** ![Zelski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c67d28/32.png) [@Zelski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zelski)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/9 "2020-09-17T20:25:02Z")
One of my all-time favorite games is [Colourshift](https://www.kongregate.com/games/mrsneeze/colourshift). Each board is a pure puzzle; all you do is click on the puzzle pieces (it isn’t immediately obvious what the pieces are: straights, 90 degree curves, tees, crossovers, crosses, and two opposed curves. They all exist on grid points of an unseen background grid.) You are trying to connect the square light sources (they come in three colours: Red, Green, and Blue) to the round lamps, so that the correct colors fill each lamp. An incorrectly connected or disconnected lamp will look like an empty circle with a border of the colour it requires. There are seven types of lamps: - Red - must be sourced from red source(s) only - Blue - must be sourced from blue source(s) only - Green - must be sourced from green source(s) only - Yellow - must be sourced from at least one red source and one green source but no blue sources - Cyan - must be sourced from at least one blue source and one green source but no red sources - Magenta - must be sourced from at least one red source and one blue source but no green sources - White - must be connected to all three source colours This all based on the rules for combining the colours of light. The boards are randomly created when you start them. If you continue to play the regular game, the boards will get progressively more difficult to a point. My regular game is around Level 4000 but the boards are the same level of difficulty as boards from, I don’t remember, number 100? The downside is that this is possibly still a purely flash game that will stop working in about three months. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/10 "2020-09-17T20:38:24Z")
What site has The Fool And His Money? Fool’s Errand is fantastic and I’d love to get the sequel but I thought it was only ever released on CDI ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/11 "2020-09-17T20:56:31Z")
[fools-errand.com](http://fools-errand.com/06-FM/paypal.htm) aka [thefoolandhismoney.com](http://www.thefoolandhismoney.com) still claims to offer it as a digital download. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/12 "2020-09-17T20:59:39Z")
Thank you very much! ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/13 "2020-09-17T21:13:35Z")
The two (well, three) that popped into my head when I saw the question were Portal (and Portal 2) and Q.U.B.E. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/14 "2020-09-17T22:05:53Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I don’t remember _The Witness_ having any heavy hardware requirements; it’s not that kind of game. Worth reconsidering; I’d bet it will run on your PC. My 2012 computer could run Skyrim, but not The Witness. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/15 "2020-09-17T22:46:21Z")
Lara Croft Go and Hitman Go ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/16 "2020-09-17T23:08:20Z")
Braid is fantastic. It looks like a platforming game but don’t be fooled, it’s actually a time-manipulation puzzle game. https://store.steampowered.com/widget/26800 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/17 "2020-09-18T00:05:25Z")
> [@Dark\_Sponge](#): > > It looks like a platforming game but don’t be fooled, it’s actually a time-manipulation puzzle game. Yes, and from the same person who made The Witness. It is absolutely excellent. I would reiterate what was just said. NOT a platformer! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/18 "2020-09-18T01:04:14Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > The Room series - I played these on my Android, but they’re much more traditional “solve the box” games. Atmospheric and not too challenging. Yeah, I played the first one. It was fun and the puzzles ranged from simple to mildly baffling. A good one for puzzlers. ---
**Author:** ![NoraHensl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/norahensl/32/4784_2.png) [@NoraHensl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoraHensl)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/19 "2020-09-18T02:03:33Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Some recommendations: > > Portal (and Portal 2) - You have to figure out how to move through a room given a set of parameters. The story is amazing, hilarious, and slowly revealed, and the joy of figuring out how to get out of the room is excellent. > > The Room series - I played these on my Android, but they’re much more traditional “solve the box” games. Atmospheric and not too challenging. > > The Talos Principle - like Portal, you move through an environment figuring out how to move onto the next area. Scales well. > > The Witness - See Portal and Talos Principle. > > Forgot links: [Portal Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TluRVBhmf8w)[.](http://backyardstyle.com) > > [The Room Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syiha-lS04g) > > [Talos Principle Trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAVh4_wnOIw) My first attempt to play Portal wasn’t successful. I didn’t like it at all. But a few months later I had nothing to do and decided to give it a try. And you know what? Now it’s one of my favorite games. You can find more puzzle-platformers on steam. This is how I found the game **Inside**. A great story with an interesting, even sometimes creepy atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831/20 "2020-09-18T02:11:26Z")
> [@NoraHensl](#): > > My first attempt to play Portal wasn’t successful. I didn’t like it at all. But a few months later I had nothing to do and decided to give it a try. And you know what? Now it’s one of my favorite games. So, there is not a Portal 3. But many people do not realize that there was a very strong unofficial game that basically serves as Portal 3. [Portal Stories: Mel](https://store.steampowered.com/app/317400/Portal_Stories_Mel/) Story wise, it is not anywhere near as good as the real Portal games. Puzzle wise? It’s up there with the best puzzles in Portal 1 or 2. It was insanely hard. I recommend it big-time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reccomend-a-puzzle-game/920831.md?page=2)