Drop: Filler Puzzle comes from Pratap Rai.  The object is to cover all the black dots.   If a blue ball has a 4 with an arrow pointing down, then you should place that ball on a black dot. It will cover that dot and the next 3 black dots going down. Not sure how many levels there are.  Or how points are scored for the Leaderboard.  At the moment, I'm #2 out of just 9 players.  I've solved about 25 levels. https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/drop-filler-puzzle/id6444165171?uo=2 ..read more

  Suguru VLA comes from Vincent Lewis.  The object is to fill each region with a different number so that: adjacent numbers - horizontally, vertically, diagonally - are not the same. Grid sizes go from 5x5 to 9x9. 64,000 levels - in case you develop a serious addiction. I've solved about 20 5x5 levels and maybe 6 of the 9x9's. Good game! https://apps.apple.com/my/app/suguru-vla/id1662181637 ..read more

Jerry Slocum is a LEGEND. He's written numerous books on mechanical puzzles. He transferred his massive puzzle collection to the Lily Library at Indiana University.  And he's the founder of the International Puzzle Party.  I'm proud to call him a friend.  https://www.artofplay.com/blogs/articles/how-one-collector-amassed-over-35000-puzzles?fbclid=IwAR0Orf9ZuwgL5sN1GoTLV4UG5S0we9I9I7YGo5xf9FSlUjySgeXKEnI_0mo ..read more

  234+ Sliding Puzzle Game comes from Hung Do. It's a point scoring game that reminds me of the original Threes & the hundreds of clones known as 2048. This game is different.  Each time you merge 3 #s - 2's or 3's or 4's or 2-3-4 in that order & direction - you score 1 point tile.  Those 1 point tiles have to merge also. According to the Leaderboard, not many people have given this game a chance.   Trust me, it's worth your time.   Hung Do - great game!  I'm shooting for 200 points ..read more

 Logica Emotica comes from Bart Bonte. If you've been following this blog, you'll recall that I'm a big fan of Bart's. Logica Emotica is his latest. It's filled with a variety of puzzles.   Look at images 1, 2 & 4: these are essentially 2 & 3 ball mazes where the monkeys have to land on the fixed objects at the same time.  Old concept, done with charming images. Look at the 3rd image with the yellow circles.  This particular puzzle is a new variation of Sokoban.  The object is to push the yellow hands onto the white spots. First, it matters which hand ..read more

Maciej Targoni's new game is called Hook 2.  If you've never played the original Hook, stop right now, scroll to the bottom, find the link, and start playing. Hook 2 is very similar. The object is to remove all the sword without collisions.  But, the arrangement is now in 3D. There are some new elements - rotating the circles that connect the electricity is one. There are 86 levels and I've solved them all. Took a few days.  More levels will be added. Maciej: keep up the great work! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1871310/Hook_2/ https://apps.apple.com/us/app ..read more

The publisher of Hard Case Crimes sent me a free pdf version of The Next Time I Die by Jason Starr in exchange for an honest review. I positively loved it. Our main character gets knifed in the stomach and wakes up in a hospital where things are different. The Star Trek episode Mirror Mirror comes to mind. In the last few years I've become a big fan of the Max Allan Collins series called Quarry - also published on Hard Case Crimes.  Now I'm going to have to get Jason's other books ..read more

My friend Marcelo Pars is a prolific puzzle app designer.  He's got 2 new puzzle games that are very challenging because of their size.    Both games are daunting in their size!  I have not solved a single puzzle in either game.  If you do, please send me a note! Below are some of Marcelo's other games.  I particularly liked Save Planet Cube. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1612935289 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/one-line-weekly/id1480090253 Marcelo's other games Cage It Save Planet Cube Cube Loop Cubicks Free ..read more

  Last night I attended a Publishing Party for my puzzle friend A.J. Jacobs.  It was attended mostly by people in the publishing industry but a few core puzzlers also came. A.J. Jacobs is funny!  I read his introduction on the train home.  I also skimmed what I think is the most important chapter: Rubik's Cubes & Variations.  I particularly liked page 39! A.J. had very ambitious goals: there's a lot of history, a lot of new puzzles, and a lot of 'story'.  This is not the type of book to pore through in a week. Rather, it needs to be savored. At the publishing ..read more

Linko - Relaxing Loop comes from Kyung-Hun Kim. It's one of those 'rotate all the lines, curves, hooks & nodes within each square and make everything connect. What I like about this game are the hooks.   I solved 64 levels in about 45 minutes.  But that included time watching ads. Yeah, these are not hard. But they're still fun.  I'm guessing there are 100 levels.   https://apps.apple.com/us/app/linko-relaxing-loop/id1608997896 ..read more