Puzzle games that respect your brain

A good puzzle game teaches by letting you fail and figure it out. A bad one flashes the solution the moment you hesitate. The difference between the two is the whole experience.

The best offline puzzlers introduce one idea at a time and then combine ideas in ways you didn't see coming. Lantern Hollow does this with physical mechanisms, and it never once offered me an online hint, which kept the satisfaction intact.

When I'm testing a puzzle game, I watch for pacing. If every level feels the same by the twentieth stage, the designers ran out of ideas. If it keeps surprising me, that's the one worth writing about.

Also, mute nothing. Sound cues in puzzle games often carry hints the visuals don't. A lot of players miss elegant design simply because they played on silent.