Puzzle Solving

Activities that can primarily be solved through reasoning.

It is not always apparent what actions one should try to perform to overcome challenges in games. This may be because players do not have all the game elements or information required, but can also be because the solutions require multiple actions performed consecutively and in an order that is not intuitive. In both cases, the activity players need to perform to find the solution is a Puzzle Solving. In some cases, the solutions may be drawing conclusions from the available information and, in others, testing hypotheses and rejecting impossible ones.

Examples

Jigsaw Puzzles and the Tangram are early examples of artifacts requiring Puzzle Solving and are in fact more often called puzzles and games.

Cluedo, Mastermind, and Ricochet Robots are examples of ordinary Board Games that require extensive Puzzle Solving but puzzles have also been constructed based on Chess, Go, and the card game Contract Bridge. Mansions of Madness is a board game that uses Puzzle Solving as small challenges interjected into the main gameplay.

Bejeweled, Cogs, Minesweeper, and Sokoban are all examples of computer-based Puzzle Games but Adventure Games such as The Dig, the King's Quest series, the Myst series, and the Zork series also require extensive amounts of Puzzle Solving.

Using the pattern

The prime challenge in designing a puzzle is to achieve the Right Level of Complexity for it. However, the difficulty of the puzzle can be modulated regardless of complexity by constructing the puzzles so that they can either be solved through reasoning or through manipulation, the latter being easier. Puzzles solvable by manipulation require that players have access to Direct Information, while those that can be solved through reasoning can make use of direct or Indirect Information. Puzzles that can be solved through manipulation of the game environment are a form of Configuration goal requiring Movement that can actually be solved by simply trying all combinations. Although this may cause players to do repetitious actions, it cannot be avoided even with Irreversible Actions or depletion of Non-Renewable Resources if players can perform Save-Load Cycles.

Puzzle Solving can start with complete or incomplete puzzles. Complete puzzles let players start with the Puzzle Solving at once, while incomplete puzzles require players to first complete Gain Information goals to gain the necessary Traces, Clues, or game elements. If players do not know if they have a complete or incomplete puzzle when they begin, they have to make Risk/Reward choices between trying to solve the puzzle or trying to look for more clues.

The design of Puzzle Solving has some additional possibilities depending on if the puzzles are part of Real-Time Games or Turn-Based Games. The Tension and Right Level of Difficulty of Puzzle Solving can be modulated in Real-Time Games by introducing Time Limits. Overcome goals can be based on Puzzle Solving in Real-Time Games, as players have to try and be quicker than the other players in finding a solution, or try to find opponents' Achilles' Heels while avoiding their attacks. For Turn-Based Games, many of the activities in Real-Time Games can be transformed into puzzles, for example, by having turn-based Movement creating Capture and Evade goals.

Games that do not change puzzles between game sessions have Replayability. This can often be avoided through the use of Randomness, but requires that the Randomness used can guarantee that at least one solution exists. The existence of several solutions in general can add some Replayability to games but do so only primarily if they offer alternative developments of Predetermined Story Structures or if they have Perceivable Margins compared to each other.

Can Be Instantiated By

Alignment, Diegetically Tangible Game Items, Environmental Storytelling, Game World Navigation, Invulnerabilities, Obstacles, Red Herrings, Stimulated Planning, Tactical Planning, Warp Zones

Achilles' Heels together with Enemies or Boss Monsters

Aim & Shoot when not Line of Sight is sufficient

Boss Monsters together with Privileged Abilities

Capture together with Bidding, Movement, or Investments

Internal Rivalry together with Non-Player Characters

Movement together with Turn-Based Games

Can Be Modulated By

Irreversible Events, Time Limits

Consequences

Completing Puzzle Solving goals is a form of Stimulated Planning, as the challenge lies in finding the right combination of actions rather than performing the actions. This planning is typically a form of Tactical Planning, and is more or less incompatible with Limited Planning Abilities. Puzzle Solving requires Memorizing if players do not have perceptual access to all the needed game elements all the time. Whatever the exact type of activity required to do the Puzzle Solving, it provides opportunity for Cognitive Engrossment, and being skillful in solving puzzles is a form of Game Mastery. Puzzle Solving encourages Experimenting if contained in games that support Reversibility.

Gameplay based on Puzzle Solving does not in itself introduce Tension or the need to act before one wants to, and this makes the pattern a suitable candidate to create Casual Gameplay. This also makes the pattern more common for Single-Player Games and Turn-Based Games compared to Multiplayer Games and Real-Time Games even if numerous exception exist. Zero-Player Games are in many cases built around some form of Puzzle Solving in the sense that players of these games have to in advance plan what actions their agents should perform.

Relations

Can Instantiate

Casual Gameplay, Cognitive Engrossment, Game Mastery, Memorizing Stimulated Planning, Tactical Planning

with Reversibility

Experimenting

Can Modulate

Single-Player Games, Turn-Based Games, Zero-Player Games

Can Be Instantiated By

Alignment, Diegetically Tangible Game Items, Environmental Storytelling, Game World Navigation, Invulnerabilities, Obstacles, Red Herrings, Stimulated Planning, Tactical Planning, Warp Zones

Achilles' Heels together with Enemies or Boss Monsters

Aim & Shoot when not Line of Sight is sufficient

Boss Monsters together with Privileged Abilities

Capture together with Bidding, Movement, or Investments

Internal Rivalry together with Non-Player Characters

Movement together with Turn-Based Games

Can Be Modulated By

Irreversible Events, Perceivable Margins, Randomness, Time Limits

Possible Closure Effects

-

Potentially Conflicting With

Limited Planning Ability, Replayability

History

An updated version of the pattern Puzzle Solving that was part of the original collection in the book Patterns in Game Design.