Bejeweled 2 is a tile-matching puzzle video game developed and published by PopCap Games. Released as a sequel to Bejeweled, Bejeweled 2 introduces new game mechanics, such as Special Gems and extra game modes, along with new visuals and sounds.
Braid is a puzzle-platform video game developed by Number None and considered an indie title. The game was originally released in August 2008 for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service. Ports were developed and released for Microsoft Windows in April 2009, Mac OS X in May 2009, PlayStation 3 in November 2009, and Linux in December 2010. Jonathan Blow designed the game as a personal critique of contemporary trends in video game development. He self-funded the three-year project, working with webcomic artist David Hellman to develop the artwork. An anniversary version is planned for release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Windows, Mac, and Linux with updated graphics and developer commentary.
Alawar Entertainment is an international developer, distributor, and publisher of video games for PC, mobile platforms, games consoles and other devices based in Lewes, Delaware. Its main areas of activity are mid-core games for experienced players, as well as casual downloadable and F2P games for PC, MacOS, IOS, Android, PlayStation (console), Xbox, social networks, and other platforms.
Bubble Ball is a physics puzzle game created by American developer Robert Nay when he was 14 years old. It was released on December 22, 2010 and in its first two weeks was downloaded 2 million times from Apple iTunes. On January 8, 2011, Corona Labs, the company which makes the software development kit that Nay used, chose Bubble Ball as its app of the week and it has since surpassed 16 million downloads, and at one point displaced Angry Birds from its number one spot on the list of free games in Apple app store.
Hohokum is a 2014 art video game developed by Honeyslug and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita, and by Annapurna Interactive for Microsoft Windows. The player controls a snakelike creature to explore 17 whimsical worlds with no set objectives. The developers, who began development in 2008, compared the concept to flying a kite and were inspired by free London museums, Portmeirion, and indigenous cultures. It was released on August 12, 2014, and features a soundtrack by Ghostly International artists. The game received "generally favorable reviews", according to video game review score aggregator Metacritic. Critics appreciated the game's presentation, including its art and music, but felt that the gameplay turned to drudgery towards its end and that the objectives were too vague.
The Bridge is a video game designed by American developer Ty Taylor for Microsoft Windows, Linux, OS X, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Ouya, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch. The player controls an Escher-like character and the rotation of the 2D environment, which affects gravity based on the changing orientation of the landscape.
Monument Valley is an indie puzzle game developed and published by Ustwo Games. The player leads the princess Ida through mazes of optical illusions and impossible objects while manipulating the world around her to reach various platforms. Monument Valley was developed over ten months beginning in early 2013 based on concept drawings by company artist Ken Wong. Its visual style was inspired by Japanese prints, minimalist sculpture, and indie games Windosill, Fez, and Sword & Sworcery, and was compared by critics to M. C. Escher drawings and Echochrome. The art was designed such that each frame would be worthy of public display. After a closed beta test, it was released for iOS on April 3, 2014, and was later ported to Android and Windows Phone. The game received generally favorable reviews. Critics praised its art and sound design, but noted its lack of difficulty and short length. It won a 2014 Apple Design Award, was named Apple's best iPad game of 2014, and sold over two million copies by January 2015; by May 2016, sales of the game exceeded 26 million.
Action Button Entertainment is a video game development studio consisting of Tim Rogers, Brent Porter, Michael Kerwin, and Nicholas Wasilewski that has produced five games: Ziggurat (2012), TNNS (2013), Ten by Eight (2013), Tuffy the Corgi (2014), and Videoball (2016). The group convened in 2010 as Rogers worked on Ziggurat based on an idea he had while playing Angry Birds that he could not complete on his own. Porter joined Action Button after responding to a call for artists Rogers made via Twitter, and Kerwin joined based on a connection he had with Rogers from producing a mockup of a game concept Rogers outlined in his Kotaku column.
Greg Wohlwend is an American independent video game developer and artist whose games include Threes! and Ridiculous Fishing. He originally formed Intuition Games with Iowa State University classmate Mike Boxleiter in 2007 where they worked on Dinowaurs and other small Adobe Flash games. Trained as an artist, Wohlwend worked mainly on the visual assets. As Mikengreg, they released Solipskier, whose success let the two take a more experimental approach with Gasketball, which did not fare as well. At the same time, Wohlwend collaborated with Asher Vollmer to make Puzzlejuice, and with Adam Saltsman to make Hundreds based on Wohlwend's first game design. He later released Threes! with Vollmer in 2014 to critical acclaim. His later games TouchTone and TumbleSeed were also the products of collaborations. Wohlwend was named among Forbes' 2014 "30 under 30" in the games industry.
Carmen Sandiego Returns is a 2015 social studies puzzle adventure video game, part of the Carmen Sandiego franchise. It is developed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and uses Intel RealSense Technology in order to enhance the immersive nature of player interaction. The educational game aims to teach players about world geography and culture to its 10–14 year old target market.
Donut County is an indie video game developed by American indie designer Ben Esposito and published by Annapurna Interactive. In the game, the player moves a hole to swallow objects, which makes the hole increase in size. The concept originated in a game jam that used video game pitches from a Twitter account parody of game designer Peter Molyneux, and later added a mechanic similar to that of Katamari Damacy. Other inspirations for the game included Hopi figurines—a theme Esposito later relinquished—and locations from Bruce Springsteen songs. Donut County was released in August 2018 for iOS, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows platforms while versions for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch were released in December 2018. It also released for Android in December 2020.
The Trace is a 2015 dark immersive murder mystery adventure game developed by British developer Relentless Software. The whodunnit game, which sees the player assume the role of a detective out to solve a series of murder cases by examining the crime scenes, has been described as "part escape-the-room and part hidden-object, with a bit of puzzle-solving mixed in". The game was available for iOS devices
Lara Croft Go is a turn-based puzzle video game in the Tomb Raider series. The player moves Lara Croft as a puzzle piece through a board game while avoiding obstacles and manipulating the environment. The developers distilled major series motifs, such as boulder-chases and reaction-based gameplay, to suit Lara Croft Go's time-independent gameplay. Square Enix Montréal developed the game as a spiritual successor to its 2014 Hitman Go, based on another Square Enix Europe franchise. It was released in August 2015 for Android, iOS, Windows, and Windows Phone devices. Versions for PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Steam were released in December 2016.
Bonza is a single-player crossword puzzle application developed by MiniMega, which was chosen by Apple to become part of the App Store's Best of 2014 list.
Mushroom Wars 2 is a real-time strategy video game, developed and published by Zillion Whales. It is the sequel to Mushroom Wars, and was released on iOS, tvOS, Android and Microsoft Windows via Steam on October 13, 2016 and on Nintendo Switch on July 5, 2018. Versions for PlayStation 4, and Xbox One are expected to follow soon.
Train Valley 2 is a puzzle-strategy train simulator video game developed by Flazm as a sequel to Train Valley. It was released in early access on 29 March 2018, and fully released on 13 April 2019.
Blackbox is an indie puzzle game developed and designed by Ryan McLeod, with sound design by Gus Callahan. In Blackbox, the player solves puzzles by discovering and exploring the device's hardware and operating system; rarely do solutions involve touch mechanics. As the player progresses more puzzles are unlocked. Blackbox won a 2017 Apple Design Award for innovation and excellence in design and accessibility and was recognized as a 2018 Webby Award Honoree in the Puzzle and Best Visual Design categories. It has also won a Golden Apple from Apple Vis as “Best iOS Game” for 2017.
The Clockwork Man is a hidden object adventure video game series developed by Greek development studio Total Eclipse Games. Featuring a steampunk setting, The Clockwork Man games typically require players to find a certain number of items hidden somewhere on a painted scene, as well as solve a variety of adventure and logical puzzles in order to progress through the game.
Kamibox is an independent German video game developer founded by Philipp Stollenmayer. Stollenmayer is the sole employee of the company, which creates almost exclusively mobile games. Some of Kamibox's games have received awards for their design, including an Apple Design Award. Kamibox games often have a philosophical element to them, such as see/saw and Sometimes You Die, which explore the concept of death in video games.
Golf Peaks is a puzzle video game developed and published by Afterburn. Players are challenged to solve golf-themed puzzles.
