Little boxes on the hillside

June 13, 2008 7:19 AM

Friday Flash Java Fun - 'Building Houses With Side Views' Entertaining Java game/exercise/doodad.

A nice little Java game/exercise/doodad where you place blocks in a three-dimensional grid so as to match three different projections. Then, for maximum points, you try to find the minimum number of blocks that will solve the problem. Twenty puzzles in all. Perfect for wasting half an hour.

posted by le morte de bea arthur (31 comments total)

This is loads of fun. Took me a bit to realize that you could leave blocks floating, though.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:49 AM on June 13

Neat game, but the interface doesn't make much sense to me. It seems there are 10 stages and each stage has 2 levels. And then the number under each stage looks like my score, but the scores seem to update randomly. And some stages have dark borders around them, and some have underlines, with no apparent pattern.

On preview, yeah, that too.
posted by scottreynen at 7:52 AM on June 13

And there's a sequel here!
posted by bjrn at 7:55 AM on June 13

On further experimentation, it seems all of my confusion boiled down to the stage list not updating when it should. Switching the level back and forth forces a refresh and then everything makes sense.
posted by scottreynen at 7:58 AM on June 13

And there's a sequel here!

I'd noticed this too. However, the stages all appear to be from the first version. And the interface seems less refined, if anything.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 8:02 AM on June 13

I think it's better thought of as two levels of ten stages each.

Super fun! Level 2, stage 1 is quite pleasing.
posted by jeffj at 8:06 AM on June 13

I think it's rather that "Houses 2" is the sequel to the more free-form "Houses", and that this is really a much more sane interface on the original "Houses 2". I posted about the (presumably) older, less-nice-to-use one a year or so back, but this is really a lot more fun and clear in its interface and I'm enjoying going back at it.
posted by cortex at 8:30 AM on June 13

Level 2. No. 6 is the only one I have left, and it's really starting to annoy me...
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 8:38 AM on June 13

I like putting in all the blocks, and then removing the ones that don't belong.
posted by smackfu at 9:18 AM on June 13

I wish they were handcarved and multi colored.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:25 AM on June 13 [2 favorites]

You could always make your own, Brandon Blatcher.
posted by BeerFilter at 9:33 AM on June 13 [1 favorite]

But seriously, this was a neat diversion. I like spatial puzzles.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 9:36 AM on June 13

Okay...can someone reveal the proper way to work through this puzzle? I keep trying to work through the row of red circled numbers, but, when I do, the puzzles re-set to the previous levels (already complete). Toggling between the Level-1 and Level-2 radio buttons sometimes re-sets the puzzle to a new one.

Right now, I'm at red-circle #3, but toggling between the two radio buttons just keeps giving me previously completed puzzles.

It's fun little puzzle, though.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:40 AM on June 13

I've got all of Level 1, but I've only got a 92 on Level 2...must find extraneous blocks!
posted by echo target at 9:45 AM on June 13

Crappy interface, great idea. This is one of those puzzle types at which men are purported to perform better than women.

Women who grew up with Lego, on the other hand, can rock at this stuff.
posted by rokusan at 9:55 AM on June 13

However, the stages all appear to be from the first version. And the interface seems less refined, if anything.

Woops. I just saw the first screen, remembered playing it and that there was a part 2, and posted a link to it. I guess I had played the version that cortex linked to (which didn't have the levels from part 2).
posted by bjrn at 10:05 AM on June 13

Looks crappy but it's good fun.
posted by fire&wings at 10:06 AM on June 13

Thanks for the post, it was good fun! It took me a while to realize I could drag to change the perspective, though.

I scored 100 on level 1, only 88 on level 2. Good enough for me, though.
posted by owtytrof at 10:25 AM on June 13

Cool little game. But for some reason, I'm now thirsty for some Amontillado.
posted by Atom Eyes at 10:25 AM on June 13 [1 favorite]

Managed to get 100 on both levels after about an hour. Things became much faster after discovering that right clicking removes blocks.
posted by daHIFI at 10:59 AM on June 13

Nice exercise in spatial thinking/tinkering. Thanks.
posted by Glow Bucket at 12:34 PM on June 13

After struggling a little with level 2, I came back after lunch and tore it up. This is a very satisfying game. Just easy/difficult enough to be rewarding.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:38 PM on June 13

I ripped through the first five of level one in a few minutes, realized I have a day job, and got back to work. But fun!
posted by davejay at 1:18 PM on June 13

Some in the second set were stumpers. What's worse, the approach of starting by removing blocks that don't fit will leave you far from the optimal solution. To the person who was stuck on set 2 / puzzle 6: it's the same as set 2 / puzzle 1, except some of the corners get 2 blocks directly next to each other.
posted by jepler at 2:14 PM on June 13

Ha! This is great. Thanks!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 5:35 PM on June 13

hm jepler i found removing those blocks was the best way to reach the solution.
posted by nvly at 5:44 PM on June 13

Really good game. 200 points and I want more levels! The final level is a satisfying capper and the end solution is very nice looking.
posted by painquale at 6:43 PM on June 13

rokusan: Yes, many young years of Lego certainly helped me at this puzzle. Yay!
posted by nat at 4:00 AM on June 14

I enjoyed this very much. I would like more.
posted by Hicksu at 11:09 AM on June 14

♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪
posted by spock at 12:08 PM on July 11

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posted by spock at 12:13 PM on July 11