In recent years, smartphones and tablets have made it easier than ever to sneak in a little gaming time whenever you have a spare moment. Free games like Angry Birds took the world by storm, resulting in the creation of entire product lines of Angry Birds-themed merchandise, from Angry Birds fruit snacks to Angry Birds clothing.
But while online games are fun to play on the go, they can get a bit dull and repetitive. When you want something truly creative, try the odd little Flash puzzle games created by a Japanese programmer at Eyezmaze.com.
Most of the Eyezmaze games are free to play. All of them can provide hours of entertainment to a patient and curious individual. The “Grow” games work on a cause and effect basis. You are given a bunch of items, which you can click on in order to “use” them in the game. Each item affects the scene depicted in the game, as well as the other objects that have been used before it. Depending on the order in which you choose to use the objects, different things happen in the game. There isn’t always much logic to it, but there are hints and it’s fun to try different orders to view different animations. Ultimately, when you find the correct combination and order of items, you’re treated to a fascinating little animation and a congratulatory message. The best part of the games is just how refreshingly creative they are.
The only problem with Eyezmaze games is it takes so long for a new one to come out! Right now there are 7 Grow games and 5 mini Grows, plus over a dozen other Flash games. The latest Grow, Grow Maze, has just come out, so you should definitely go try it.
If you loved Portal, you will want to take a look at Antichamber – an indie game that challenges players to find their way through a confusing, but intriguing environment.
A first-person exploration game, Antichamber lets you manipulate matter itself with a special gun. However, this doesn’t make the walk through the tangled hallways easy – it merely makes it possible. A blend of psychological puzzle and unreal surroundings, the game presents us with a fresh and challenging deconstruction of known gaming rules.
Developed by Alexander Bruce over the course of six years, Antichamber features ambient soundtrack by Siddhartha Barnhoorn. You can see the game trailer on the official website.
The Bridge is another award-winning indie game that plays with the idea of impossible. Here, the hommage to M.C. Escher is more than obvious – the game features beautiful black and white hand-drawn visuals that are quite reminiscent of the famous artist’s work.
In its essence, The Bridge is a 2D logic puzzle. You manipulate gravity in order to progress through the array of impossible architectures. After solving all 24 puzzles, their alternate versions will be unlocked – along with an alternate game ending.
Those whose patience can be tested in challenging puzzles will be happy to hear that the game features a time-backtracking system – in other words, if you make a mistake, you can simply rewind the game!
The Bridge was developed by Ty Taylor and Mario Castaneda. The game supports ten languages, and with its small system requirements it can be run on virtually all modern computers. The game trailer is available on the official website.
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