Are Puzzles Better Digital?
Video games have been taken to the next level, providing gamers with experiences that look better than ever before. Remember when we were told the Nintendo 64 had the latest graphics, and how Goldeneye looks more realistic than ever before? While true at the time, it was a far cry from where we are now. And yet, despite 100s of millions spent producing some of the worlds top video games, one genre of games continues to rise to the top: puzzle games, whether thinky puzzles that work your brain, or simple drag and drop jigsaw puzzles. Regardless of which you enjoy, they are still probably the world’s most popular!
We have talked at length about match-3 puzzle games on this site for a long time, and there popularity with a specific mobile crowd. One kind of puzzle game we haven’t talked about enough, however, are actual online puzzles games, that is games – or rather experiences – that actually require you to build a puzzle! Puzzles have been incredibly popular in our home for well over a decade, and while I am no longer allowed to do puzzles since I apparently “do them wrong,” I can play as many puzzle games on my phone and computer as I want.
For the longest time, I was playing a variety of different applications on my mobile phone, generally steering towards Disney themed puzzles but basically doing whatever puzzle I could. Puzzle applications and puzzle websites make puzzles clean and easy, with drag and place or click and place mechanics that make putting a puzzle together simple. Sure, you still need the skills necessary to deduce what piece goes where, but simple mechanics make it fast and fun. And, you can take magnificent puzzles where ever you go!
I have a few major problems with actual puzzles that a puzzle on a website easily fixes. First, puzzles take up a lot of room – generally valuable kitchen table space – and unless you plan to do the puzzle in one sitting, it needs to lay out until complete. Do a big enough puzzle and you might have a puzzle out in your home for weeks on end. The potential of lost pieces or a broken puzzle are incredibly high, especially with a couple kids and a cat roaming about. In most of our cases, we either got to the end of the puzzle and noticed a piece or two missing, or we gave up because we needed the space the puzzle occupies. We live busy lives, so finishing a 1000 piece puzzle within a day or two isn’t likely going to happen. We have kids with events, social gatherings to attend, full time jobs, and chores to do around the house. We can generally on spare a few minutes to get a dozen pieces or so placed!
Another problem with puzzles is that you are limited by what your collection currently has. A fall begins to set in for North America, perhaps we fancy a fall themed puzzle. Perhaps a front porch decorated with hay bales and pumpkins, or a few creepy ghosts and skeletons to celebrate Halloween. You might be disappointed it rummage through your puzzle box or shelf, only to find rows and rows of Disney or Harry Potter themed puzzles. The Marauders Map makes a really cool puzzle, no doubt, but it hardly fits the fall theme you might want.
It’s not uncommon for people to put puzzles in public spaces and have them be a communal project. People want to do themed puzzles around yearly events, and when are you most likely to have people over? Thanksgiving, Christmas and probably Easter. And all three of these holidays are well represented in puzzles, just perhaps not ones you own.
I understand your confusion, though – I can talk about communal puzzles and themes until the cows come home, but it’s not like you are going to pass around your phone at the next family gathering, right? You would be correct, but we have actually passed an iPad around at events with people adding pieces to a digital puzzle, and it was a lot of fun. I’ve recently found a new puzzle site, and right away I was provided a wealth of seasonal puzzles for me to do. I could choose between a nice bench scene or a field of wheat. Both on theme for fall, and both looked incredibly challenging.
What’s more, you can do whatever puzzle you want in what ever piece amount you want. My kids have had a ton of really cool looking Pokemon puzzles over the years, but they were 50 piece puzzles at the maximum. With an online puzzle, you can choose to make the piece count whatever you want. Want a 1000 piece puzzle of a wheat field, have at it. Want to do 100 instead, you can do that too. And honestly, if you are doing a 1000 piece puzzle of a wheat field, I might call you crazy…
I’m not saying that a physical puzzle is a bad thing, but if you love puzzles and want to do them daily, there are so many great online resources that will allow you to do that. And with so many different puzzles and unique puzzles to enjoy, there will be something for everyone, for ever season of the year.
Article By Adam Roffel
