Puzzlers come in all shapes and sizes, and it's hard not to find something charming about each one. Whether they're ultra-complicated or focus on one key element, ultimately the success of a good puzzler is in its enjoyment.
It's easy to sit down and slowly figure out how to piece together a challenge, but physics-based puzzlers need a little bit of thought, a little bit of skill, and in some cases a little bit of luck.
These five show off the very best of the sub-genre in their appearance and their cleverness. You'll likely find when playing them that they're rather moreish and may make you think "wow, that's clever" when you progress through the levels.
Supertype - download on iOS
If you mix a word game with a puzzler, what do you expect you'll get? Word-based solutions? Well, you're half-right. Supertype is one of those puzzlers that blows your mind a bit when you first play it.
It takes a primary mechanic and makes it the belle of the ball, whilst keeping the actual puzzles rather snappy. In it, you need to type out a word in order to find the solution and hit all of the dots.
Each word acts and weighs differently, especially depending on the level's layout. An 'M' or a 'W' might be able to wrap around immovable pegs, whilst an 'O' or 'C' can roll downhill and over ledges. It's truly a clever game.
Perchang - download on iOS
Developed by a company of the same name, Perchang is a game all about getting balls to their goal at the end of each level. While that sounds super straight forward, there are a few factors to keep in mind.
Not only graphically gorgeous, what makes this puzzler stand out is its ingenuity and clever level design. You need to use all sorts of machinery to manipulate your balls to reach their end goal, whether by moving platform, magnets, fans, or something else entirely.
For that extra challenge, you're on a timer so you've really got to listen to your gut and tinker about with anything you think could be useful.
Trick Shot 2 - download on iOS
Like any good puzzler, Trick Shot 2 has one very simple goal: get the ball in the box. As the game description asks, how hard can it be, right? Answer: pretty damn hard at times, and that's a wonderful thing.
It's a little golf-like in a weird way, and you're given plenty of different scenarios to experiment and mess around with to get to your goal. If you're more into the 'DIY'-side of things, you can also make up your own levels to share.
You might bounce your ball off a surface, switch levers to open up doors, use teleporters, fit through teeny tiny gaps, press buttons, and more as you go. You also get extra points for sinking your ball into the box without touching the sides
Poly Bridge - download on iOS
This is an excellent game for two main reasons. One: it's tricky and immensely satisfying when you figure something out. Two: it's both a physics-based puzzler and an ode to architecture in a rather simple way.
Whether you're just into challenging yourself or have a deeper interest in engineering, you'll have to gather a basic understanding of how bridges work to defeat these levels. It's clever and thought-provoking, and yet not so complex that it'll make you give up out of frustration.
If you've beaten the 100+ levels you can try your luck at making one yourself, though it won't be an easy task.
Tiny Bubbles - download on iOS
Get super satisfied in so many ways with Tiny Bubbles. Not only is it an adorable piece of work, it's well-crafted, clever, and again revolves around one particular mechanic – bubble popping.
This game stands out because it's crafted its own bubble engine which makes popped bubbles act scarily real as you tap on them, break walls, and fill them with colours. Yep, this is a colour puzzler, but a really interesting one.
Sometimes you have to think way outside the box in order to solve the challenges and explore all of the ways bubbles might act when popped or expanded. Plus, each of the levels are short enough that you can play for hours or just hop on for a few at a time.
