Puzzles and Games

Joker-Games
http://www.joker-games.com
Grade: A+

Date reviewed: 8/13/04

There are 5 unique and addictive games on this mostly free website. All are Java applets; no special downloads are required to play.

My favorite is the Maze of Rah: maneuver the mummy of Pharoah Tutan-Gammon through a series of three-dimensional mazes to rebuild the pyramids of Rah. The mazes consist of a border and various movable tiles, which flip over once crossed. The graphics are terrific, and the mazes are increasingly difficult, requiring an understanding of spatial logic and planning. I spent two days doing almost nothing but solving the first 30 levels (there are 100 in all, but you have to pay for the last 70).

Just Skidding! is another fun and challenging puzzle. When I wasn't playing the Maze of Rah, I was playing this game, which has 50 levels. Both the design and the concept are simple: move a worm across a series of tiles to get to an apple. The catch is, after the worm crosses a tile, it pushes the tile away from it until it hits either another tile or the edge of the playing field. In this way, paths are continuously created and destroyed; you must plan out each move before you make it, or risk destroying your chance of getting to the apple.

Paso Doble is reminiscent of M.C. Escher drawings. In this puzzle, you move a puppet around a three-dimensional grid, occasionally having to walk on walls, to reach a particular destination. Unfortunately, the puppet must move two squares at a time, so figuring out a path that gets you where you want to go can be quite difficult. Every level is computer-generated, so there is a practically unlimited number of levels. In other words, if you get absorbed in this puzzle, you may never stop!

Also on the site are Chess Mazes, which are basically what they sound like, and Think Tint!, Joker-Games' sole action game. Given their ability to design attractive, difficult, and highly creative puzzles, I can't wait to see what Joker-Games comes up with next.