Revisiting One Card Mazes

 Last august, I found out about the One Card Maze collection. I printed out the promos and found them interesting but I was good. Since then, I’ve gotten more invested in the series and even bought the first season. (Which was released on PnP Arcade a month later, which I found hilarious)

Okay, there puzzles are just what they say on the tin. There are mazes that fit on the two sides of a card. Part of the idea is that paths that lead off the edge will take you to the flip side. The other major mechanic is that certain areas will let you change the orientation which determines which paths are open.

As I have mentioned in the past, the One Card Mazes remind me of the Flipuzzle collection. And, as I have said before, from a sheer technical brilliance, Flipuzzles have the edge. There is some amazing creativity going on there.

However, One Card Mazes are better for casual play. Flipuzzles can be hard to parse, particularly if you get distracted. They reward, maybe even require, constant concentration. One Card Mazes are much easier to just figure out where you are.

Another big plus is that One Card Mazes are available and I’m pretty sure Flipuzzles aren’t.

So here’s what happened. For years, I kept a copy of the nine-card game Down in my wallet. THEN I discovered Flipword (yeah, same designer) and that lived in my wallet. And then I switched to a smaller wallet lol.

While I can no longer carry Down or Flipword, I can carry a One Card Maze or two around. There are the four initial demos that I looked at and got me interested. The first collection is 18 more. And there are more clearly being designed.

And, what’s hilarious is that I am _terrible_ at them. I can fidget away on one forever and it doesn’t click. Still, they are for moments like waiting in the car so they still work perfectly.

I prefer games over puzzles but puzzles are great too.

Puzzles and Alexander Shen

When looking for a demo of Alexander Shen’s Crumbling Dungeon, I found out that there was a Memorial Day sale on their games and puzzles. Which was a way of getting Crumbling Dungeon and a bunch of other stuff for a darn fine price. I had a couple items already but it was still a real bargain.

While I initially tried out Crumbling Dungeon, I decided that I wanted to next try out three different puzzle collections: Circuit Board Square, Galactic Diplomacy Corps, and  ‘I Have to Retrieve 5 Gems from a Dungeon That is Falling Apart and I Have Leas Than 30 Seconds to Do It’ The last makes me want to reread Chip Delany’s science fiction (We In Some Strange Power’s Enploy Move On a Rigorous Line and Time Considered As A Helix of Seni-Precious Stones arw great works as well as insane tities) and I will call it 5Gems from here on out.

Circuit Board Square is a flat-out puzzle with no random elements or theme. You have to fill out a three by three grid with the numbers one to nine. The edges and the corners have sums and you have to fill out the grid to make all the sums work. (And, yea, that means the center square isn’t part of any of the sums)

I described it as Sudoko for people with very short attention spans to my wife. She said ‘So, children?’ I said ‘No, me’ There are some simple strategies to filling out a grid and I find, once I do one, I end up doing a couple. And, if I end up in a classroom again, I’d think of using Circuit Board Square.

Galactic Diplomacy Corps is a grid where each square has a number and symbol. You draw a line that connects like number or symbol to like symbol or number. The twists are you can’t land on a square that the line has passed through or stopped at and you start to lose points if you get too many of the same symbol.

Honestly, GDC is the least engaging Shen puzzle/game I’ve tried. It doesn’t have the quirky charm that permeates a lot of their games. Nor does it razor-sharp simplicity of Circuit Board Square. Honestly, if it was broken or bad, I’d honestly find it more memorable.

Speaking of quirky charm, 5Gems has got it. You navigate a maze to collect five gems in a limited number of turns. Traps randomly block spaces, switches let you knock down walls and you have three one-time special powers.

Honestly, it makes me think of a game you’d have programmed in basic on an Apple ][e in the early 80s. And I mean that in a compliment. I can’t say 5Gems is a good puzzle but it’s got character. I have had fun with it.

Since I started exploring PnP and indie games, I’ve found a world that’s both unpolished and flavorful. You aren’t going to find designers who are undiscovered Reiner Knizias or Richard Garfields. But you will find neat little things you’d never find anywhere else.

And while a lot of Shen’s work feels like it could use some more workshopping (I’ll cover Quests Over Coffee at some point and it’s an exceptions. It rocks) but they definitely show persistence. And, when I think about other indie designers I’ve looked through, their charming and solid body of work stands out. It’s not perfect but it’s good stuff.