Who doesn’t enjoy a good tabletop board game? There is an adrenaline rush associated with seeing how your opponent reacts in real-time. Sweat beads on the brow. Creases in the features. Eyes filled with mild electricity of panic. One in-person game at a time, these visual cues from the diet of a competition-level player.
But what about when you’re catching the train for your morning commute? Those lunch breaks when you’re looking for something to keep your mind sharp for the rest of the day? Or, simply, when you’re at the coffee shop too bored to move but too energized to sit still?
Enter the world of Online Puzzle Gaming.
Online puzzle games are as diverse as they are numerous. There are modern versions of classic games like Mahjongg and Scrabble and innovative newcomers incorporating the same mathematical-linguistic principles like Hexcells and Sokoban.
Let’s take a look at the 10 Most Addicting. Online Puzzle of All Time
1. Web Sudoku
Type of Game: Logic-based puzzle
Why It Works: There is more to Sudoku than just numbers. In terms of how addictive it is, Sudoku is one of the most popular online numbers games in the world. Every day, millions of people of all ages and walks of life play it. There is no other truer example of this than when you take your skills against other players online.
The object of the game is to fill every square on the grid with a number from 1-9, where each number can only appear once in every row, column, and 3×3 box. T
Also, playing online guarantees that you won’t damage your Sudoku puzzle with erasure marks and other unsightly blemishes. Making online Sudoku the easier, cleaner, and more varied option.
2. Online Crosswords
Type of game: Word Puzzle
Why It Works: Online Crosswords are the calming yet addictive backbone of lazy Sunday mornings and idle afternoons. Scouring the recesses of your mind for the answer to that four-letter word with the clue ‘Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical about animals.’
How beautiful is it that we no longer have to wait for the Sunday paper to get our crossword fix in?
3. Rummikub
Type of game: Strategy-focused, Tile-based Word Game
Why It Works: The gameplay is based on the traditional Middle Eastern game of Okey.
Like the card game of Rummy, you try to remove all your tiles by forming runs of 3 tiles or more, or 3 to 4 of a kind.
The numbers are divided into suits by their colors. Rummikub is notorious for games that begin on uneventful note only to build momentum, pressure, and ruthless opportunism.
Which is to say it’s pretty darn fun.
4. Tetris
Type of game: Puzzle Game
Why It Works: If you were unlucky to have grown up without this addicting, inaugural gaming era staple factoring into your recreational fun, then accept our deepest sympathies. Tetris, like Scrabble, is more than a game at this point in history–it’s an institution.
Tetris is an easy game to comprehend and improve on, so most people love it. Most games instantly punish you for your mistakes, but Tetris, quite literally, compels you to improve upon them. This is even more evident while playing online.
5. Mahjong Solitaire
Type of game: Puzzle Game
Why It Works: Mahjong is effectively a card game. They are just thicker than normal cards. Like a traditional deck of cards, these cards (or tiles) can create many different games that can be played on one deck of cards.
There are several types of solitaire games, but Mahjong involves putting the tiles in neat piles and removing pairs of tiles if you can. Alternatively, there is “the real Mahjong,” a four-player game in which players try to create valuable winning hands by arranging these tiles in specific ways.
6. Numpuz: Number Puzzle Games
Type of game: Math Puzzle Game
Why It Works: Numpuz is a puzzle game app that offers five different options.
Each of the five puzzle games contains a variety of levels. The first of them, Number Riddle, has six difficulty settings, ranging from 3×3 (ideal for kids) to 8×8 (a real challenge). This game involves moving pieces around so they can be arranged properly.
Unlike Block Gems, which requires you to place Tetris pieces, Keep Bounce involves shooting balls at blocks, and Snake Vs. Brick requires you to move a snake across blocks. In short, you can choose from a wide selection of puzzle games.
7. Wordscapes
Type of game: Crossword meets Word Search
Why It Works: The game is easy at first but quickly becomes harder as you progress. Furthermore, it only takes a few minutes for each round, so it’s a great way to improve your vocabulary throughout the day. Aside from that, the game’s interface is easy to use, and the backgrounds are soothing.
8. Hexcells
Type of game: Logic Puzzle Game
Why It Works: This is definitely one worth mentioning.
Hexcells is easy to dismiss at first because it looks so simple – the interface is so minimalist that it could easily pass as an iPhone game. It is up to you to determine which hexagons on a map are blue and which aren’t. By looking at the numbers in the corresponding cells and rows/columns, you can find this out.
Playing the game is like playing a much more complex version of Minesweeper with a little bit of Sudoku thrown in, but it is completely devious.
9. Four Letters
Type of game: Word Puzzle
Why It Works: Four Letters is the perfect choice for those spots of downtime when you need a game with lightning-fast rounds. The goal of each round is to make as many words as possible from four letters. There are no right or wrong answers. As long as your word is valid, you’ll score. Creating your words requires you to keep changing the letters and working fast before time runs out.
10. Baikoh
Type of Game: Word Puzzle
Why It Works: Apart from its pleasing aesthetics and addicting interface, Baikoh also serves as a fun way to enhance your vocabulary casually. The reason for this is that one of the primary tenants of the game relies on you not only making up words but also using them strategically to destroy tiles.