After writing about some Arcade games, it’s now time to show you the …drumroll… Puzzle games!
I’ve added here some titles that put your mind to work, usually great for passing the time. I played a lot of these in the subway on the way to work or in the train. Or on the toilet.
Blocked
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
In Blocked you need to slide away the gray blocks, to make space for the blue block to slide out of the screen. Simple mechanics, with mind-bending puzzles. Tons of fun, and the doodle design is really nice.
Blue Block
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
This game is very similar to Blocked, but it has an Aqua-like interface. It also has a nice extra “challenge”, having a “par”, making you try to solve the puzzle with making the least number possible of moves.
Bloom
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
Bloom is a beautifully simple-yet-complex game. You need to tap the screen to create a “ripple”. When the ripple reaches dots, it makes them blow up and extends the ripple. Your goal is to clear as many dots as possible.
Chuzzle
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
Another PopCap hit launched before they got purchased (and ruined) by EA, Chuzzle is a simple matching game with some mechanic differences (you slide rows of chuzzles, rather than swapping them). Multiple game types and really fun atmosphere make this a very replayable game.
CubicMan
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
CubicMan is another great title of the era. You control a cube and you need to roll it around on its sides until you can place it upwards on the destination tile. You have some nice mechanics, like gates, teleports and traps and is one of my favourite games on the iPod.
Cut The Rope
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
The original title (which this year is turning 15!!!) doesn’t need any kind of introduction. Cut the ropes holding the candy in the correct order (and sometimes at the correct time), collect the stars and give that candy to Om Nom. Simple gameplay, great design, it spawned a ton of sequels, cartoons, etc. I still have it on my iPhone XS, along with some of the sequels.
Flood-It!
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
This is another puzzle game with simple rules and fun to play. You start from the top-left corner and you need to change its colour to include the colours around it. Repeat this (in less than 22 changes) until you make the whole board the same colour. Great game, a ton of fun.
Flood-It! 2
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
The sequel to the great Flood-It! game brings some new game modes. As good as the original. Great game, a ton of fun.
Jumbline
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
You have six letters. Mix them up, find all the possible words. If you find the longest one you proceed to the next level. Wordle before wordle was cool.
Lucky Coins
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
This feels like an Arcade game. There are many arcade games like this, but this one has a small catch. You drop a coin and you need to collect as many thingies as possible, to get a higher score. I’ve added this as a puzzle, not as an arcade one, because it has some spots where the coin gets “caught” and you can launch it again in the desired location, so that makes it more a strategy game then a reaction one.
Orba
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
Orba is a classic tap-em-out game, similar to Collapse Chaos, but the gameplay is not time-based, the board gets filled when you have no more valid moves. The more you progress, the game gets more complex by introducing new colours (I started with 3, got to 8)
PicGrid
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
PicGrid is a game where you need to fill in the pixels, based on the numbers on the edges to discover what the image is. Simple pixel-filler game with many puzzles and tons of fun guaranteed.
I am still playing something similar on a Huawei P20 Lite, but got tired of it because they have only very hard puzzles, so they can sell powerups and hints. Thankfully, PicGrid doesn’t have these awful features.
Solebon Solitaire
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
This is a free version of Solebon Solitaire, containing only 5 games (of the super many card games it has included). I’ve spent a lot of time playing this as well
I particularly enjoy Lady of the Manor and Baker’s Game, that’s why I still have it installed on my iPhone XS (App Store link), and still play it a lot.
Spikey’s Bounce Around
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
Made by the same developers as Lucky Coins, you are a spiky-bouncy ball which is thrown around the screen to clear plants and free butterflies. While fun, I found it a bit hard
Sudoku
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
Sudoku doesn’t need any introduction. This particular version has easy to tap numbers, various degrees of difficulty and a timer. What’s more to ask?
Wordjong
🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ 🕹️ / 5
Another game that I’ve played a lot. It’s a combination between Mahjong and Scrabble. Combine available letters and clear the board. The longer the words, the bigger score you get. You also have daily challenges that work. Luckily, this game still exists in the App Store and can be downloaded and played even in 2022.
That’s it with the games for the moment, I have another thing planned to write, but it all comes down to if I find the other First Generation iPod Touch I have laying around here somewhere.
