Stephen Sondheim's crossword puzzles for "New York Magazine." Incredibly rare.
posted by grumblebee on Oct 29, 2009 - 35 comments

Difference Games offers you 9 spot-the-difference games. The 3 categories are Graphic Novels and Comics, Play With Mum and Difference Xtreme! My favorite is The Dragon and the Wizard, which makes failure interesting.
Difference Games offers you 9 "spot the difference" games. The three categories are Graphic Novels & Comics; Play with Mum and Difference Xtreme! My favourite is The Dragon and the Wizard, which makes success interesting.
posted by Kattullus on Dec 16, 2008 - 33 comments

   MEFI
   META
+ ASKME
-------
 FILTER

Each letter corresponds to a number 0-9. The solution is unique. [more inside]
posted by Upton O'Good on Sep 3, 2008 - 27 comments

A virtually unlimited supply of randomly-generated logic puzzles, in a variety of sizes and difficulties: Nonograms. Slither Link. Nurikabe. Bridges. Light Up.
posted by Upton O'Good on Nov 28, 2007 - 18 comments

Since Wordplay has come out, crossword puzzles have been on the rise. If you want to join in on the fun, read this primer by Will Shortz to get started, then download Across Lite, head to Cruciverb, and do free puzzles in the right-hand sidebar. Will Johnston's page contains a huge repository of Across Lite puzzles. If you get stuck, can't figure out why an entry is correct, or just want to chat about a grid's brilliant construction, try reading the crossword blogs. The best two are Diary of a Crossword Fiend and Rex Parker Does the New York Times Crossword Puzzle. (Caution! Spoilers abound!) And, if you want to try your hand at constructing some crosswords of your own (submission guidelines for various papers here), Crossword Compiler is an outstanding piece of software. [Via this AskMetafilter question]
posted by painquale on Jan 22, 2007 - 26 comments

Labor Intensive is a new online puzzle extravaganza in the style of the MIT Mystery Hunt and the aforelinked Puzzle Boat. Appease the Gods by performing twelve puzzly labors. Good luck!
posted by painquale on Sep 22, 2006 - 3 comments

AcceleRacers: Track Mod is a fun little Pipe-Dream-esque Flash game in which your object is to manipulate sections of track in order to get each of your six racecars to the finish line inside the time limit. Gets a lot harder as you go up in levels and more obstacles are added. Yes, it is a HotWheels game.
posted by Gator on Jul 19, 2006 - 7 comments

"King Anfortas currently owns this magic stone, schmooze him, take him surprise, how ever you will get it, but bring me this stone! As award I promise you my daughter and a place on the crown!" -- The Mystery of Castle Wildenburg, a slightly goofily-translated game that combines point-&-click with classic text adventure gameplay, and photos of the lovely German countryside. Read the "Prehistory," mouseover everything, save often (though you lose your accumulated points on loading a saved game), and be careful not to die of thirst.
posted by Gator on Jul 17, 2006 - 6 comments

Cityscape. (Flash game) Build a city with 18 available components. The order in which those components are employed determines how they'll interact and how far the city will develop. There's one correct order that will score the full amount of points. (via)
posted by Melinika on Mar 10, 2006 - 22 comments

More point-n-click Flash puzzles, this time in a series: Escape to Obion, episodes one, two, three, and four.
posted by Gator on Feb 27, 2006 - 7 comments

Inspector Wombat, a point-and-click Flash puzzle game somewhat clumsily translated from the German. Inspector Wombat has a seemingly-bottomless sack in which to store all the random crap he picks up, like banana peels, his lady friend's stereo system (dude, she's standing right there. Ever try asking?), and tasty foodstuffs somebody left in the street. Your object is twofold: Find and apprehend the kooky blackmailer who's messing with the museum director, and fix the museum's paintings which have mysteriously gone all wonky (hint: it's because of evil, unhappy bacteria).
posted by Gator on Feb 25, 2006 - 3 comments

Tetrod is a jigsaw puzzle and a four-sided domino game mixed together. -- Java puzzle game; choose 3x4, 4x4, 5x4, or 5x5.
posted by Gator on Feb 24, 2006 - 9 comments

Flea Circus! It's just like Lemmings! Only tinier! And faster! And you can only make three moves: Block, ramp, and other ramp! (java)
posted by Gator on Feb 17, 2006 - 11 comments

Attic Escape is another little "escape the locked room" Flash game along the lines of Crimson Room, Viridian Room, White Chamber, The Doors, and MOTAS. Also by the creator of Attic Escape are Nightmare Escape and, er, Cannibal Escape (which is worth clicking for the lovely, cello-heavy strings music if nothing else). Click everywhere in Attic Escape; important items are hidden behind, above, and under everything.
posted by Gator on Feb 4, 2006 - 16 comments

A Case of the Crabs, and its sequel, The Goat in the Grey Fedora, are a couple of point-and-click black-and-white Flash games that parody the old Sam Spade-type noir films. You are Nick Bounty, private detective, and it's up to you to solve the mysteries of the counterfeit crabs and the miniature goat statue, respectively. Very, very jokey; guaranteed to induce eyerolling. Look at everything, talk to everyone, and pick up everything that's not nailed down. Hints are available, but they're crammed with jokes too.
posted by Gator on Jan 29, 2006 - 5 comments

The Flowering Nose in Slugland adventure game. As a goblin with a flower for a nose, your ultimate goal is to find the lost sprout. Defeat enemies by throwing flowers at them; power up with hearts; teleport from level to level with such esoteric trinkets as donuts and cherries. (Java.)
posted by Gator on Jan 27, 2006 - 15 comments

"You awaken from an uneasy dream.You are in a small, bare apartment. You are alone. You have no idea how you got there. You don’t even know who you are." Fans of Franz Kafka may appreciate Kafkamesto, a bleak and bizarre point-and-click Flash game.
posted by Gator on Jan 20, 2006 - 27 comments

Cubeoban -- Arrange the colored blocks so that they cover the colored dots. (Flash.)
posted by Gator on Jan 19, 2006 - 37 comments

Yet another Flash puzzle game: Shift. Very beautiful, with low-key music.
posted by Gator on Jan 10, 2006 - 28 comments

Things Came Up To My Brain...Museum? A little Flash game, from the same Samorostian/Goldbergian mind that brought us Find The Treasure. Warning: There doesn't appear to be any way to toggle the sound off.
posted by Gator on Jan 9, 2006 - 10 comments

Fsaturday Flash Fun: CryptoQuote. Other word games featured at East of the Web are the Tetris-like PopWord (and its multiplayer companion [beginner and advanced, respectively]), the MasterMind-like CodeWord, and the vaguely Scrabble-ish 8 Letters in Search of a Word.
posted by Gator on Jan 7, 2006 - 6 comments

For those who tire of the usual paper and pencil-based puzzle, try Websudoku.
posted by Rothko on Nov 10, 2005 - 42 comments

Have you ever wanted to be a repressed homosexual suicidal genius? Now's your chance. The UK's GCHQ has set up a series of codebreaking challenges to try and attract your attention in the hope it gets you interested enough to apply for a job. This is the latest. A previous challenge here. Plus some other puzzles they've set. GCHQ: It's not all about selling out your fellow man/woman.
posted by biffa on Dec 16, 2004 - 31 comments

Quzzle. Using the basic 'dad's puzzle', a 5X4 grid with a number of blocks, Jim Lewis calculated the most difficult solvable variation (yes of course that's quibbleable). Read more here.
posted by biffa on Dec 8, 2004 - 21 comments

"WARNING!!! The puzzles on this site are very difficult, and most require the use of a good spreadsheet program in order to solve them. It will take many hours, perhaps days, to solve each puzzle..."
posted by limitedpie on Aug 11, 2004 - 7 comments

Alien Tiles Game. Play the game, then see the scientific papers from the UK and from Rutgers University on the subject. Enjoy.
posted by Morphic on Nov 11, 2002 - 11 comments

Nonograms (also known as "Griddlers" or "Paint By Numbers") were invented by Non Ishida in 1987. Originally trying to design pictures that could be created by turning the lights on or off in the windows of skyscrapers, Ishida soon realized that the same principle could used as the basis for a new genre of logic puzzle. Since then, enigmatologists around the world have wasted hours solving them online and completing entire books of these elegant brainteasers.
posted by Shadowkeeper on Sep 26, 2002 - 16 comments

Chu-Chu! Banzai Shock On! It was Dreamcast game you were sick to death of hearing about, now it's the Shockwave game you can't quit playing. TSUBABABABA!
posted by lbergstr on Mar 23, 2000 - 0 comments