Tag Archives: Holidays

PuzzleNation App Review: Paper & Light

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Welcome to the sixth edition of PuzzleNation App Reviews! Today we continue our quest to explore the world of puzzly games and apps for your tablet or smartphone!

Our resident App player and puzzle fiend Sherri has another intriguing game for us today, so let’s get down to business and dive into her review of Paper & Light for iPad and iPhone!

If you enjoy mazes, then Paper & Light is the game for you. It is an iOS game in which you are a cardboard box who must navigate your way around obstacles to the exit.

This is a very cute game. You play a cardboard box, and your friend is a bright firefly. Your goal in each level is to find your way around other boxes, toolboxes, and various other obstacles to the exit. The firefly is quite helpful, as it’s your only source of light. While you only have a narrow range of light from the firefly, you can switch between the cardboard box and the firefly as needed.

The game is divided into chapters and there are 15 levels in each chapter. As the firefly, you can scope out the area to plot your route to the exit. You earn stars for not using the firefly, but you can redo the level to get the star. For collecting 12 stars in each chapter, you earn a special reward.

I played through the first chapter, The Basement. To open later chapters, you need to complete a certain number of levels. I was pulled in by the cute graphics. I enjoyed playing the game. The levels were laid out in a pleasing manner and became increasingly more difficult. A big drawback, though, is that you can’t move the box very quickly. My wrist became quite sore as I was playing.

[Pictures courtesy of Yahoo.]

The mazes became more and more challenging as the game progressed. It did become a bit monotonous, and my wrist hurt after a while, but it was still an enjoyable way to pass the time. Figuring your way out of the mazes really worked the brain.

Ratings for Paper & Light:

  • Enjoyability: 3/5 — If you enjoy mazes, this is the game for you.
  • How well puzzles are incorporated: 4/5 — This is quite a puzzly game. You need to plot your path around the obstacles well.
  • Graphics: 3/5 — The graphics are simple but cute. The eyes on the cardboard box move when you move it, and the firefly flutters. The obstacles have some nice detail.
  • Gameplay: 2/5 — The box doesn’t move very quickly, so your wrist can get quite sore trying to reach the exit.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!

It’s Follow-Up Friday: Tetris Theology Edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

For those new to PuzzleNation Blog, Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and update the PuzzleNation audience on how these projects are doing and what these people have been up to in the meantime.

And today, I’d like to return to the subject of Tetris for a moment.

This year marked the 30th anniversary of Tetris, one of the all-time favorite video games in history, and we’ve joined in the celebration with posts about a new Tetris world record in Philadelphia and the power of Tetris to curb the urge to snack.

A friend recently pointed me toward this comedy skit from CollegeHumor, which finally solves the riddle of where all those Tetris blocks come from.

And so, without further ado, I present The Tetris God:

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out our library of PuzzleNation apps and games!

A revolution in puzzles?

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Crosswords have certainly changed the world. They’re the most popular puzzles in history, challenging the minds of millions every day and kickstarting a pencil-and-paper puzzle revolution in the process. Heck, they’ve even been used in England as part of the recruitment process for code breakers and other puzzly government positions!

But did you know that some constructors have been accused of trying to bring about actual revolutions with crosswords?

Oh yes! The Venezuelan newspaper El Aragueno has been accused on several occasions of hiding encrypted messages within their daily crossword puzzles in order to incite revolt against the government. (And a year ago, another Venezuelan newspaper, Ultimas Noticias, was accused of concealing messages ordering the assassination of a public official!)

While there are no details on what the incendiary message secretly contained within El Aragueno’s puzzle might have said, this isn’t the only time crosswords and constructors have run afoul of the powers that be.

Back in June of 1944, physics teacher and crossword constructor Leonard Dawe was questioned by authorities after several words coinciding with D-Day invasion plans appeared in London’s Daily Telegraph.

The words Omaha (codename for one of Normandy’s beaches), Utah (another Normandy beach codename), Overlord (the name for the plan to land at Normandy on June 6th), mulberry (nickname for a portable harbor built for D-Day), and Neptune (name for the naval portion of the invasion) all appeared in Daily Telegraph crosswords during the month preceding the D-Day landing.

So it was possible (though highly improbable) that Dawe was purposely trying to inform the enemy of Allied plans, and the powers that be acted accordingly. (In the end, no definitive link could be found, and consensus is that Dawe either overheard these words, possibly slipped by soldiers stationed nearby, and slipped them into his grids unwittingly, or this is simply an incredible coincidence.)

Either way, it just goes to show you how influential crosswords have been (and could be!) over the last hundred years.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out our library of PuzzleNation apps and games!

Happy (Follow-Up) Fourth of July!

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It’s Independence Day in the U.S., and what better way is there for PuzzleNation Blog to honor the holiday than to talk about a world-record puzzly event in one of the cities synonymous with the birth of America: Philadelphia.

A former nation’s capital, home of the Liberty Bell, location of the First Continental Congress, and home of Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia is also the new home of a world record.

Yes, Philadelphia is the Guinness Book of World Records record-holder for Largest Architectural Video Game Display, after Drexel University professor Frank Lee orchestrated a 29-story-high game of Tetris on the side of a skyscraper.

From nearly a mile away, Lee and other Tetris enthusiasts played a monstrous game of Tetris with a specially rigged joystick and a custom-written computer program.

[Another pic of the puzzly feat, from a local news station’s coverage.]

What’s cooler, more ridiculous, and more bombastically American than that?

Happy Fourth of July, fellow puzzlers! Thank you for spending Independence Day with us, and thank you to the marvelous Kathy Matheson for sharing this story!

It’s Follow-Up Friday: Tetris edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

For those new to PuzzleNation Blog, Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and update the PuzzleNation audience on how these projects are doing and what these people have been up to in the meantime.

And today, we’re celebrating the 30th anniversary of Tetris! (Following up our post last year about the 29th anniversary of Tetris, of course.)

[Feel free to leave this a capella version of Tetris’s Theme A music by musician Smooth McGroove running in the background to properly set the mood.]

If crosswords are the top pen-and-paper puzzle and the Rubik’s cube is the top puzzle toy, then Tetris has to be the top puzzle game of all-time. It is instantly recognizable and completely unforgettable. (I still get a little anxious whenever I think about the music speeding up when I got too close to the top of the screen.)

It’s available for every video game console, computer, and media device, and has been for decades. Alexey Pajitnov’s incredibly addictive puzzle game baby has conquered the world, and today, we are proudly to join in the global celebration with a few of our favorite Tetris themed pictures.

We previously featured a Tetris Halloween costume in our puzzly costumes post, but these kids upped the ante with four Tetramino pieces as a team costume!

Someone even managed to render the blocks in origami form! How cool is that?

And then there’s this enterprising chef, who whipped up a Tetris-themed bento box full of blocky veggies to enjoy!

We’ve collected more Tetris images on a special board on our Pinterest page, so feel free to check them out in honor of today!

And to Alexey Pajitnov, thank you for years of puzzle pleasure. Your game has crossed borders and won the hearts of millions. You changed the puzzle landscape forever, and for the better.

In closing, here’s another famous Tetris tune performed a capella style for your enjoyment:

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!

It’s Follow-Up Friday: Nice Round Number edition!

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Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

For those new to PuzzleNation Blog, Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and update the PuzzleNation audience on how these projects are doing and what these people have been up to in the meantime.

And today marks my 200th blog post for the PuzzleNation Blog.

Now, two hundred of anything is a big number. That’s the average number of seeds in a strawberry, and the average number of lights on a Christmas tree. Two hundred miles a day was the average daily distance covered by the Pony Express.

It’s a landmark. You pass “Go” in Monopoly, you get $200. Not that many television shows made it to 200 episodes. (The Office and The Cosby Show each had 201 episodes, The X-Files 202.)

While I’m well behind Gunsmoke’s 635 or Law & Order’s 456, or the thousands of episodes attributed to soap operas, game shows, and talk shows, I still think it’s a pretty neat milestone.

And I’m grateful. Writing for PuzzleNation Blog has introduced me to all kinds of new puzzles and solving styles. I’ve had the opportunity to interview fascinating people both inside and outside the puzzle community, and I’ve explored how puzzles have influenced and participating in both important historical moments and the world of pop culture.

It has been both a blast and a privilege, and I look forward to celebrating many more milestones with you, my fellow puzzlers.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!