River Crossing

I asked Beth, our resident puzzle-person, to take a first look at River Crossing. She spent two weeks with it, and came back with the following report:

1) It's fun to set up. For kids, that might be half the fun - it kinda reminded me of legos. :)

2) The upper levels challenged me enough to keep me going for quite a while - and I'm definitely quicker than most with these things, so I think it will keep most folks happily occupied for hours.

3) For each level, there's usually only one brain-bending move you have to twist your mind around to get the pieces to fall into place, so it's not *frustratingly* difficult.

4) It also passed the lounge test - easily playable while almost completely supine.

Upon personal inspection, I find myself seconding, and maybe even thirding her endorsement. The puzzle itself reminds me of one of those survival exercises such as those developed by Project Adventure. And the fantasy adds greatly to its appeal.

River Crossing is as well-packaged as it is conceived. The puzzle cards are packaged in their own storage box. The puzzle base and pieces fit snugly into the package. A carrying bag (waterproof, of course) helps make the whole thing satisfyingly portable. The game is built on a plastic pegboard grid. Puzzle cards (40 of them) fit on top of the grid. Plastic pegs are placed in the corresponding holes and 5 magnetic planks placed between the pegs according to the directions on the puzzle card. Put the magnetic man on the middle of the starting plank, and then lift and move the planks, one at a time, to adjacent pegs, to help him cross the river.

The online documentation is clear and very user-friendly. You can even try the puzzle online, where you'll also find ten bonus puzzles.

All of which should make it obvious why River Crossing is the first puzzle to receive the Major FUN Award.

Sodaplay

Think of it as a virtual, animated tinker toy. Or, think of it as an opportunity to create life. Sodaplay provides a deep and fun world for exploration by the scientific and the playful.

As they explain: "looking at the fluid, lifelike way these creatures walk and roll and slink across the screen you might think that there must be some very complicated stuff going on behind the scenes. well fear not, it's actually very simple. It only looks complicated because lots of simple bits are working together. When simple bits work together you can get emergent behaviour. that means that the system as a whole can be more complex and sophisticated than the simple bits that it's made out of."

First, visit the Sodazoo. Scroll right and left to view the first 80 or so Sodacritters - creations of Sodaplayers from around the world. Click on any one. Watch it dance. Then play with the controls. Watch it change. Then go back to the Sodacritter collection. Repeat. Repeat repetitively. Then make your own.

For the documentation-needy, there's ample information on the Sodaconstructor page.

Sodaplay is the first virtual toy to earn the coveted Major FUN Award. It sets a standard that I truly hope will challenge imitators and innovators alike.

3 Stones

Almost any game that is based on Tic Tac Toe is easy to learn. That's one of the things that makes 3 Stones so appealing. On the other hand, this is the very reason so many games are based on Tic Tac Toe - from the Japanese game of Go-Moku to Connect Four and Toss Across. Which makes it truly noteworthy to find a genuinely original game that has anything to do with getting three or four or five of something in a row. Which makes me especially delighted to present the coveted Major FUN Award to 3 Stones.

3 Stones is played on a lovely wooden board. And yes, there are black stones and white stones, and you have to be one or the other, and you in fact get one point every time you get three in a row. Included is this lovely fabric, draw-string pouch. And you start the game by putting all the stones into this loveliness. And then, on your turn, you draw a stone, and play it. I did mention that you put all the stones, the black and the white, into the pouch, didn't I? Which makes you wonder, doesn't it, what you would do if you drew a stone that wasn't your color? Why, you'd play it, of course. What else could you do?

Interesting. You don't know what color you'll get. And you have to play it, even if it's not your own. Already beyond Tic Tac Toe. Very beyond. Did I mention that there are some clear stones as well? And that they count for either player? I don't think I did. Neither did I mention that you have to put your stone in the same row or column that was last played.

Marc and Bob started playing 3 Stones at our last Tasting. Violating the very premise and significance of the "Tasting" concept, they didn't stop playing until they had filled the entire board. "No, no," I vainly explained, "we're only trying to get a feel for the game. We don't need to play it to it's very end. There are so many more to taste before we go." The ears upon which my words fell were deaf. The game, unique and completely absorbing. The award-worthiness, undeniable.

Stix

If you like Matchstick Puzzles, you'll probably be amazed at how much fun you and your matchstick-puzzle-loving friends can have with Stix. We were. So much so that Stix was the only game to get an unqualified recommendation for Major FUN worthiness.

The game isn't very impressive: a box containing a deck of cards, a sand-timer and five sticks. But the gameplay makes up for any lack of fanciness in the execution.

Each player gets five cards. There were eight of us, and, since the game is for 2-4 players, we played in pairs. Each card shows an array of five matches in a different pattern. One more card from the deck is turned over. The five sticks are then positioned according to the design revealed on that card. Players then take turns, looking for cards in their hand that show a pattern which can be created by repositioning one and only one matchstick. Amazingly, given five cards, it is rare to find a pattern you can't create. If you can't find a pattern you can create, you have to pick another card.

The object is to be the first player to get rid of all five cards - an object that gets progressively more challenging as there are fewer and fewer cards in your hand from which to choose.

There are instructions for two variations and a solitaire version of the game. As we progressed, we began wishing the timer was for 30 seconds, and not a full minute. We also wished the sticks were heavier (they are light, and easy to misalign). But we loved the game in all its versions.

You can buy Stix here.