Browser Games 7

Time for another set of browser based puzzle games. Each of these can be played in your browser using Adobe Flash. There are many sites which host such games. One such site at which I think I learned about this trio is FreeGames News.

Bloxorz



Bloxorz is an amazingly simple puzzle game designed and written by Damien Clarke. You control a 2x1x1 block. Using the arrow keys, you roll this block with goal of getting it to fall length-wise into the exit. This must be done without falling off the edge of the board. Some levels contain special switches which activate bridges. The 33 levels make for a good challenge. The levels must completed in order with passcodes to write down. A list of passcodes and a walkthrough can be found at JayIsGames. For an added challenge try to solve the levels in the same number of moves as in the walkthrough. A similar game is Tumblin' Dice which is part of the Smart Games Challenge 3.

Phit



Phit is essentially the classic puzzle of fitting polyominoes into a rectangle with no overlapping or gaps. The twist is that the pieces are not picked up and placed down. Instead, they are slid about. The hard part is that pieces block other pieces. This requires careful planning to make sure the path is each piece is open. On the other side, no rotation or flipping of the pieces is allowed. There are 100 levels which can be played in any order. The pacing of the levels is very good. A similar game is Puzzle Quest.

D-Star



Another simple game similar to Fire. You control the blue ball. The goal is to pass the blue ball through all the yellow balls. Once you send the blue ball in motion it keeps going until it hits a wall or the 5 square object. The interesting feature of this game is that you can switch the position of the ball and square by hitting the space bar. This allow you to use one to block for the other. The game is kind of short, and the puzzles are not too hard, but I still enjoyed it. Simple and effective graphics and interface made this game better.