Inertia

Simon Tatham has an incredible collection of puzzles that you can play online. Inertia is a challenging maze-like puzzle that requires you to collect gems while avoiding bombs.

Finish this one, if you can (link)

This puzzle is a great example of a mash-up of multiple puzzles. It has a maze, of course, and the excitement of Minesweeper and a dungeon crawl. While I am not a fan of complicated mazes, I enjoy the challenge of spatial reasoning. I could not solve this particular puzzle, but watching the step-by-step solution gave me some ideas on how to visualize the grid.

At some level, solutions to puzzles should have elegance or at least some pleasing symmetry. Otherwise, they're nothing more than classroom assignments. I think that is the appeal of puzzles like Sudoku, Sokoban and Inertia. I find it pleasing to arrange numbers in boxes, rows and columns; push crates around a warehouse; and navigate a maze with purpose.

Another aspect that may add to the appeal of these puzzles is the do-over. Armed with an eraser, one can work a Sudoku indefinitely. With puzzles like Inertia, being able to hit the "Undo move" button means that progress is not lost.

I spent some time trying to devise a word-based puzzle with these qualities. It's a lot harder than I expected. If it works out, I'll let you know in a future newsletter.

Progress Report

Mind-bending Variety Puzzles Volume 3 continues to collect dust, although I have developed a handful of unique puzzles to include in it. I've gotten into a new project: an e-book for puzzle designers! It's all about AI and creativity. If the topic interests you, I've been discussing it on the Pencil Paper Paracosm website.

From now on, I'll include the solutions to the freebies together with the puzzle. If you missed the cryptogram last issue, try it out in this batch of challenges.

Quick Poll

Are you a puzzle designer? If so, what do you struggle with? Hit reply and let me know!