Puzzles as a tool for personality development. Children's educational toys store

The philosophers Descartes, and later Voltaire, advised at the beginning of any conversation to agree on terms in order to free themselves from subsequent misunderstandings. Let's follow this advice. Before we talk about mechanical puzzles, let's define the subject of the conversation. After all, we often call any everyday difficulty a puzzle. Is the game of flip or preference a puzzle or not?

Among the many well-known definitions of mechanical puzzles, the most suitable for us is the proposal of a prominent American researcher Jerry Slocum(JerrySlocum): A mechanical puzzle is a self-contained object, consisting of one or more parts, containing a problem for one person, solved by manipulation using logic, reasoning, insight, luck and/or patience.

From this, firstly, it follows that to solve mechanical puzzles (hereinafter - MG) no additional devices (corkscrew, screwdriver, magnet) should be required - as an independent object, it contains everything necessary to solve the problem. The solver can only use logic, imagination, or, at worst, patience.

It also follows from this definition that chess, backgammon, preference, giveaway and other competitive games do not belong to the MG. Because they “puzzle” more than one person, but require the presence of a partner (rival) in the game. At the same time, a chess or checkers problem can be classified as a puzzle, since it can be solved alone.

Classification of mechanical puzzles

To classify puzzles means to distribute them into classes depending on their common features and the natural connections between them. Currently, in many countries around the world, there are tens of thousands of MGs in museums, home collections, and on shelves. These are ancient and modern puzzles, simple and complex, homemade and industrially made from different materials- metal, leather, paper, glass and plastic, stone and ceramics, various breeds tree. And in order to navigate this huge number of such specific objects, it is necessary to thoughtfully sort them into shelves, that is, to classify them.

We present here the classification of MG developed by J. Slocum (with some additions) and illustrate it with examples.

All known MGs can be divided into 10 classes based on the nature of their tasks.

1. Folding puzzles

2. Collapsible puzzles

3. Non-disintegrating

4. Uncoupling and unraveling puzzles

5. With moving segments

6. Puzzles that require dexterity, driving games

7. Puzzle vessels

8. Disappearance of parts of figures

9. Flexagons, transformers

10. Impossible objects

Let's briefly describe and give examples of puzzles of each class.

Folding puzzles.

In terms of range, this is the largest and oldest class; about a third of all MGs invented in the world belong to it. The task is to assemble an object from its constituent elements so that it meets some additional given conditions. MGs of this class, in turn, can be divided into planar (Tangram, various kinds folds, stacking, puzzles, polyforms, polyominoes) and volumetric (Cubes for everyone by B. Nikitin, 3-D puzzles, etc.).

Pentominoes are flat figures, each of which consists of five squares connected by sides. Task: make a rectangle or other given shapes.

Gala-cube (author I. Novichkova) is a three-dimensional folding puzzle. The task is to put the proposed elements into a cubic box. (The figure shows the solution process).

Collapsible puzzles.

The task in this class of puzzles is to separate, open, or extract some object. These include drawers and caskets with secrets, locks and penknives that open in an unusual way, various kinds of objects separated in a cunning way.

“Kursk Cube” (author V. Krasnoukhov) consists of only three elements. But it is not easy to disassemble it. You’ll have to rack your brains, or remember physics (for example, the section “centrifugal forces”).

Puzzles that don't fall apart.

The main task is to assemble an object from its component elements so that it forms a solid structure. As a rule, the inverse task - disassembling an object - can also be quite difficult, and this is another difference between puzzles of this class and folding puzzles (wooden knots, superknots, shufflers, etc.).

Antique knots of three, six and twelve bars.

Knot of 3 elements (author V. Rybinsky)

Unraveling and uncoupling puzzles.

The common name is string puzzles, and mathematicians call them topological puzzles because their solution is often related to this branch of mathematics. There are hundreds of different string puzzles, but they are all built on a few basic principles. Researchers A. Kalinin and D. Vakarelov describe five such basic principles: “loop travel”, “bypassing a small hole”, “crossing a large obstacle following its shape”, “doubling the rope”, “topological meleds”.

Puzzles of this class are the most accessible for home production due to their manufacturability.

Vintage lace puzzle. Task: move the ring to another loop, as shown in the picture.

“Pure Heart” (author K. Grebnev). Task: unhook the ring.

Puzzles with moving segments.

The task is to organize relative position elements under the restrictions imposed by the design. “Game 15” by S. Loyd, “The Magic Cube” by Ernő Rubik, and puzzles by Uwe Meffert have become classics. Many interesting options cut puzzles of this class were invented in lately. Among them are “Globe” by Alexander Marusenko, maneuvering puzzles by Sergius Grabarchuk (both Ukraine), “Cube” by Mikhail Grishin from Moscow.

E. Rubik's Cube and other variants of puzzles with moving segments.

The “great-grandmother” of these puzzles was “Game-15” by S. Loyd. On the left is Checkmate (author V. Straybos), on the right is Tik-Tak (author V. Krasnoukhov).

Drilling puzzles.

Toys of this class are numerous, many of them have been known since ancient times. These are, as a rule, two- and three-dimensional labyrinths with rolling balls. Some samples of pens have an unexpected solution based on knowledge of the laws of physics, and can be effectively used for didactic purposes.

It takes a long time to place all the balls in the corners at the same time: when the box is tilted, the previously placed ball returns to the center again. It is possible to overcome the “potential hole” only by remembering physics.

“Throw the ball into the hole” - knowledge of physics will also not hurt to solve this problem. “Zakidushka” from the collection of the toy library of the Moscow City Palace of Children and Youth Creativity.

Puzzle vessels.

These are vessels with a surprise, which is usually revealed when direct use(like “get drunk, but don’t get wet”). According to the research of A. T. Kalinin, the secrets of such “amusing cups” were known to Russian pottery masters. In particular, such cups were made at the Izmailovsky glass factory, founded in 1668 specifically for the production of dishes for royal needs.

Nowadays, real masters in making puzzle vessels are Alexey Bondar, Vologda, and Yuri Spesivtsev, p. Zaoleshenka, Kursk region. They combine the technological secrets of our ancestors with their own inventions in pottery.

The internal structure of “cunning mugs” (author A. Kalinin).

Puzzles based on the disappearance of parts of figures.

Puzzles of this class use paradoxes of geometry based on the “disappearance” or “appearance” of figures or their parts during mutual rearrangements of elements.

“Neither two, nor one and a half” (author V. Krasnoukhov, art director E. Eskova). There is a beam in the circus arena (picture on the left). Let's move the plate with the clowns to the right, and there are two beams! A mechanical puzzle that implements Zeno Kulp's paradox.

Flexible puzzles.

These are flexagons, kaleidocycles, transformers and other game items, the elements of which are interconnected by flexible connections.

Russian inventors and designers contributed to the development of new puzzles of this class. In domestic pedagogy they are successfully used didactic games Vyacheslav Voskobovich from St. Petersburg. The original designs of Muscovite artist-designer Irina Yavnel are “The Missing Painting” and “A Riddle for Flower Growers.”

Transformer made of cupronickel wire (designed by I. Egorov and V. Krasnoukhov). The design allows you to smoothly change the shape of an object from a flat ring to cylindrical and “flower” shapes.

"Impossible" objects.

How did this wooden arrow get through the walls? glass bottle? After all, both the tip and the plumage of the arrow are much bigger hole in the walls.

Thomson's top (left) has the property of turning over during rotation. Top (right), auto. M. Grishin also behaves unusually. It moves, alternating rotation with complete stops.

Why do these tops move so strangely? Do they violate the physical laws that are familiar to us?

Such puzzles belong to the class of impossible objects (or objects with unusual behavior). The task is to explain the technology of its manufacture or the unusualness of its behavior).

This is not a photomontage, but a snapshot of a real object (author V. Krasnoukhov).

Didactic properties of puzzles

Mechanical puzzles are visual illustrations of various branches of mathematics: group theory, combinatorics, graph theory, topology, as well as mechanics, dynamics, optics, and other exact and human sciences.

“Since childhood, I have respected puzzles and, apparently, that’s why I began to understand how a child’s mind develops. ...Teachers in schools tend to make children knowledgeable, and inventors and promoters of puzzles make children smart" ( B. P. Nikitin).

“So that physics, mathematics and other important subjects do not seem boring, we bring unusual puzzle toys to class. By solving mechanical riddles, students train their spatial imagination, learn the ability to formalize a problem, and think logically. After this, the most abstract laws become understandable and accessible for application in everyday life,” says Marcel Guillen teacher high school from Luxembourg. Marcel and his friend and colleague, teacher high school, Carlo Ghita– large home collections of puzzles (more than 10 thousand copies each) and they are effectively used in the educational process.

By the way, this is exactly how the famous Hungarian cube was invented: a teacher at an architectural design studio Ernő Rubik originally came up with it for his students as a tool for developing spatial imagination.

The equally famous Soma Cube puzzle was also invented during the lecture. Heisenberg By nuclear physics. Its author is a Danish physicist and poet Piet Hein, at that time (1936) a university student.

Author of the famous "Mathematical Savvy" B.A. Kordemsky chose the topic of his dissertation “Extracurricular tasks for ingenuity as one of the forms of development of mathematical initiative in adolescents and adults.”

An interesting interpretation of mechanical puzzles from a pedagogical point of view was given by Prof. A. I. Pilipenko, who explored in his works the so-called phenomenon of psychological-cognitive barriers to learning. This phenomenon is especially clearly observed in the teaching of technical disciplines. It consists in the mass unconscious reproduction of typical difficulties, misconceptions, errors, and false conclusions in the educational mental activity of students. A puzzle - says Prof. Pilipenko is an artificially created model of such a barrier. By observing the process of solving puzzles, the teacher gets the opportunity to study the internal mechanisms of the formation of typical errors, difficulties and misunderstandings that arise when teaching schoolchildren and students.

It is important to note the difference between puzzles and competitive games. In competitive logic games, opponents fight each other according to game rules. “Sports anger” is usually directed against an opponent. Examples of hostile personal relationships between many prominent athletes are well known.

In the world of puzzles, a human solver is faced not with another person, but with a problem contained in material object. Of course, behind this item there is always a famous or anonymous human inventor who came up with this mechanical task. But there is no direct face-to-face confrontation between these individuals. And this challenge to human intelligence, framed in the form of a mechanical puzzle, does not push people towards disunity.

Of course, you don’t have to solve the puzzle alone - you can do it with two, three, or the whole crew. And such joint solving of puzzles only unites people, like any other activity aimed at achieving a common goal.

This does not exclude the possibility of using puzzles as a subject for sports competitions. Recently, puzzle sports have been actively developing, regional competitions, Russian and world championships in puzzle solving are held.

Despite the abundance computer games MGs are by no means going to become obsolete - they are being created again, developing and giving people intellectual pleasure. Englishman Edward Hordern, a recognized authority in this field, gave this explanation: “...today many people experience a certain fear of puzzles, believing that they will look like fools if they fail to solve the problem. In reality, puzzles are primarily designed to give people pleasure. The experience of success, the feeling of nirvana - these feelings have the same intoxicating effect on a person, as if he had just conquered a hard-to-reach mountain peak.

IN everyday life We are constantly faced with physical problems. Mechanical puzzles are models of such situations. Solving them helps us develop our intellectual abilities. The pedagogical aspects of puzzles, associated with the need for non-trivial thinking, can undoubtedly be used for the education of children. Children often solve puzzles faster than adults, because they do not yet think in stereotypical ways...”

This article was published in the wonderful new popular science magazine "Smekalka", the purpose of which is to develop creative abilities, primarily among secondary and special education students educational institutions.
The publication presents educational articles on such current areas as: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, economics and finance, history of civilization, musical culture, the origin of geographical names, psychology and creative techniques, world history inventions, etc.
In addition, each issue of the magazine publishes tasks for ingenuity, as well as tasks in physics and mathematics (including those for preparing for the Unified State Exam) and, of course, answers and solutions to them.

If you would like to know more about it, you can follow the link: http://www.3ip.ru/jurnal_smekalka.html
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Position: additional education teacher

Educational institution: Municipal budgetary institution of additional education "Children and Youth Center Prometheus"

Locality: Yugorsk city

Name of material: Presentation of work experience

Topic: "Types of puzzles and their influence on imaginative thinking"

Description:

The work presents the types of puzzles, the history of their origin and the influence of puzzles on the development of imaginative thinking.

Link to publication:

http://site/dopolnitelnoe/index?nomer_publ=3656

Published 04/20/2016

Text part of the publication

Presentation of work experience on the topic:

Types of puzzles and their influence on

imaginative thinking

TYPES OF PUZZLES AND THEIR IMPACT ON

DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS' IMAGINATIVE THINKING.

Puzzle
- a difficult task, the solution of which, as a rule, requires ingenuity, and not high-level special knowledge. Brain training tasks, so-called puzzles, appeared in ancient times, as they are found during excavations of ancient civilizations, in ancient manuscripts, on the walls of ancient Egyptian pyramids. The most ancient puzzles include various rope puzzles, the most famous of which is the famous Gordian Knot. They could not untie it for more than 400 years, and the story of Alexander the Great, who solved this problem by cutting the knot, went down in history; now the name of this puzzle is used as the name of any complex problem. 2
Few puzzle fans think about where the history of this popular puzzle began. The first copy of the prototype of the modern game appeared in England in the mid-18th century. Its author was John Spilsbury, who made training manual in geography, using a map and dividing it into many small pieces. The idea was that by assembling the drawing, students could study the map more carefully and remember all the geographical names. Each piece contained information and the find really turned out to be useful. Puzzles became most widespread at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Thanks to the work of the American Sam Loyd and the Englishman Henry Dudeney, puzzles found their way into many periodicals and became popular among the general population. Loyd is considered the author of the world's most popular puzzle game, Fifteen. The game was so popular that some employers were forced to issue orders banning it from being brought to work. In China, the tangram puzzle is considered one of the oldest, the essence of which is to make a certain figure of 7 irregularly shaped elements. As Lewis Carroll wrote in his book “Fashionable Chinese Puzzle,” Napoleon was fond of this game when he was exiled to St. Helena. 3
The next impetus in the development of puzzles was the invention of the famous cube in 1974 by Hungarian Ernő Rubik. The Rubik's Cube has become not only a toy, but also an object of research for mathematicians and engineers. The modern puzzle industry is growing rapidly. New games, designs and publications are constantly appearing on the market, designed to keep a person’s intelligence in good shape, develop logic, train non-standard thinking and increase the intellectual level in general.
Why is it useful to do puzzles?
Solving puzzles is rewarding and fun. These are great brain trainers. Puzzles develop children's ability to think logically and analyze, and help develop patience and attentiveness. Generally, various types logic games have different effects. Let's see
what do puzzles develop?
: 4
 stimulate imaginative thinking,  develop logic,  increase attentiveness and observation,  contribute to the development of abilities for analysis and systematization. Logic puzzles for children are doubly useful. Firstly, thanks to them, logic develops in children, and they also force him to remember ways to solve a problem. Secondly, they develop fine motor skills. This is especially important in at a young age, since motor skills have a positive effect on the child’s brain activity.
What is imaginative thinking?
Figurative thinking is a set of methods and processes for figurative problem solving that involve visual representation of a situation (task) and operating with images of its constituent objects, without performing real ones. practical actions with them. Imaginative thinking allows you to most fully (compared to other types of thinking) recreate the whole variety of different actual characteristics of an object. Important feature figurative thinking is the establishment of unusual combinations of objects and their properties. Developed imaginative thinking is the key to good imagination, fantasy, creativity and speed of thought processes.
Why develop imaginative thinking?
- Aristotle also noted that a person cannot think without a mental image. Mental image is extremely important, as it allows 5
a person is guided by actions, aims at the result and strives to achieve it. A mental image reflects reality in new, unusual, unexpected combinations and connections, and, therefore, activates the creative component of the personality. - Imaginative thinking is incredibly fast. For example, the speed of visual memory is on average 60 bits/sec. For comparison, the speed of abstract memory is only 7 bits/sec. And this is almost 9 times slower! As a result, a person who makes full use of the capabilities of imaginative thinking is able to think, remember and reproduce information much faster than others. - IN childhood We use primarily visual-figurative thinking, since other types of thinking have not yet been developed. The result of the predominance of imaginative thinking is that children absorb information like a sponge. They can easily recycle it. This is why it is easier for children foreign languages, and any new information. For example, children learn to work on a computer tens of times faster than adults.
Types of puzzles
There is no generally accepted classification of puzzles; they can only be divided into several groups:
Oral puzzles
- tasks, full condition which can be communicated orally and do not require the use of any additional objects to solve them  Riddles  Charades  Logical problems
Puzzles with objects
- logic problems with common household items  Puzzles with matches  Puzzles with coins  Card puzzles
Mechanical Puzzles -
it is an independent object, consisting of one or more parts, containing a task for one person, solved by manipulation using logic, reasoning, insight, luck and patience
.
(wire, lace, knots, etc.) 6
 Rubik's Cube  Tag  Tangram  Puzzles  Wire
Printed puzzles
- printed or drawn “pictures” in which you need to draw some symbols according to certain rules  Crossword  Rebus  Sudoku  Japanese crossword
Conclusion
In everyday life, we constantly encounter physical problems. Puzzles are models of such situations. Solving them helps us develop our intellectual abilities. The pedagogical aspects of puzzles, associated with the need for non-trivial thinking, can undoubtedly be used for the education of children. Solving puzzles usually requires logical thinking or mathematical acumen, but not high-level specialized knowledge. Which means people of different ages and education can easily organize their intellectual leisure. Puzzles are logic or math problems in various curious forms. The process of solving them is in an efficient way development and education of the younger generation, increases intelligence and intelligence at any age, awakens the hidden capabilities of a person. Let's look at methods for solving mathematical puzzles made from matches. And despite the fact that matches are a forbidden pastime for children, fascination with them in the form of composing and solving puzzles will allow them to completely forget about their intended purpose. 7
Task 1 You need to rearrange one match so that you get the correct equality: Solution 1 Solution 2 8+3-11=0 8

The word “Puzzle” comes from the expression “to puzzle” and means, as you might guess, a difficult problem to solve.
To find a solution, you need to think a lot, apply logic and intelligence.
But why does this often fail and the puzzle is not solved?

Puzzle. Operating principle
The puzzle is called that for a reason. The principle of most puzzles is to send
a person on the wrong path, play on stereotyped thinking, stereotypes, or show “pseudo-logical”
a path that seems 100% correct. "Breaking your head" in this case means breaking the "stereotype"
thinking", i.e. abandon the solution option that seems to be the only correct one, and think...

How to solve puzzles
To solve puzzles you will need all your skills and abilities. You will have to collect and analyze
information, discard unnecessary data that confuses, and find that very missing bit of information,
which will lead to defeating the puzzle. Thanks to the puzzle, your brain will remember what a cause-and-effect relationship is,
he will turn on his imagination, he will begin to look critically at the facts that lie on the surface, he will look for clues,
he will learn to ask the right questions, put forward hypotheses and test them for viability.

How the BRAIN works when solving puzzles
The brain turns on. The brain will solve the puzzle even when you put it aside, even when you sleep.
Even when the puzzle is “forgotten” by you, the brain will continue searching - that’s how it works. The brain is
The machine does not have an "off" button, and this must be used. Neuroscientists say that it is impossible to simply “not think about something.”
To stop thinking about something bad, the Brain needs to offer an alternative. In this regard, the puzzle is
an ideal simulator for such qualities of our mind,
such as logical and spatial thinking, imagination, attention and visual memory, accuracy and precision,
ability to analyze. Indeed, Puzzle is the best educational toy in the world.

Who's interested in puzzles?
Our experience shows that a Puzzle that falls into the hands of a person evokes a lot of positive feelings and emotions.
Interest, sincere surprise, excitement, smile, desire to go to the end and win!
Our online store features puzzles from all over the world
- travel through our pages, write, call, become smarter and more fun with your family and friends.

Are puzzles good for children?
Very! After all, their brain is just forming, there are no stereotypes in it yet, which is why many puzzles are very easy for children.
We recommend starting to solve puzzles with children aged 7-9 years. At this age, complex tasks are already interesting, the child understands
that the puzzle is not just a mechanical toy, but a task specially designed.
However, our store has puzzles designed specifically for children.
Such puzzles should be made from environmentally friendly pure materials, they are soft, do not tear or crumble,
do not accumulate dirt, are absolutely safe for children.

TYPES OF PUZZLES

1. Puzzles. The task of a puzzle is to assemble a figure or pattern from flat pieces. A classic example is the tangram.
There are also three-dimensional puzzles and installations. By the way, the word "Puzzle" in English means "puzzle"
we believe that a puzzle is a cardboard picture cut into pieces.

2. Mechanical puzzles. In this case, the puzzle is designed like a mechanism, i.e. has moving parts
fastenings, etc. Here the task is to assemble or disassemble, move or release any element.

3. Rope puzzles. We call them "confusions". A very fascinating concept, the meaning of which
unravel the intertwined ropes and free the puzzle pieces.

4. Educational puzzle toys. Each toy can contain many missions or tasks, often
creativity of thinking. The world classics of educational toys are Mozgokrut, Snake, Fifteen.

5. Black box puzzles. Here you need to understand the internal structure of the puzzle based on the external
type (smell, sound, etc.).

6. Text and graphic puzzles. These are brain-developing tasks that require only
ingenuity, not knowledge in any field.

7. ... there are no limits to puzzles; life can throw up an interesting problem at any moment.
Look around you, explore the world, solve puzzles and...

Can you logically prove which way the bus is going, right or left?

LET THE POWER OF INTELLIGENCE BE WITH US!

All kinds of games for children and adults are created not only for entertainment: in addition, they should contribute to physical and mental development. Exists large number entertainment, but the most beloved and useful are various types of puzzles. They not only help you have a fun and exciting time, but also provide an opportunity to acquire new skills and knowledge.

and what is the principle of its operation

A puzzle is a difficult task that you don't need to have to solve. special knowledge high level. To solve it you need to use intelligence and logic.

The puzzle got its name not by chance. The principle of most of these riddles is to direct a person down the wrong path through patterned thinking. Based on stereotypes, people first choose a pseudo-path that initially seems correct. In this case, the expression “break your head” means “break a stereotype of thinking.” To solve a puzzle, you need to abandon the path that seems to be the only correct one and think about the correct answer.

To solve problems that are varied and countless, you need to use all your skills and abilities. You need to collect information and be able to analyze it correctly. It is important to understand which data is really needed when making a decision, and which should be discarded. With all this, it is important to find the missing information that can lead to victory.

Thanks to logic problems, the brain remembers what cause-and-effect relationships are, turns on fantasy, while a person learns to look for the necessary clues, correctly pose questions, make assumptions and test them.

Types of puzzles

There is no generally accepted classification of puzzles, but they are conventionally divided into several groups:

Mechanical puzzles- they are presented in the form of mechanisms with moving parts and fastenings.
Puzzles- their essence is to collect images from flat figures. There are also volumetric puzzles.
Rope puzzles similar to confusion. The point of the games is to unravel the strings and release individual parts.
Educational puzzles- such toys contain various missions and tasks that must be completed using creative thinking.
Graphic and text tasks.

Children's puzzles

Such games for children are the most exciting and useful. Solving problems can occupy their attention for a long time. All kinds require attention, curiosity, and perseverance. It often happens that children solve such problems faster than adults, since their thinking is not yet limited by stereotypes. Sometimes children come up with solutions that adults cannot even think of.

For the little ones, it is best to choose simple tasks. These can be puzzles, riddles, labyrinths. It is very important to choose a puzzle so that your child can solve it. If the task is difficult and it is difficult for the child, then he may simply lose interest in it. The same thing will happen if the puzzle is too easy. When choosing a suitable puzzle, it is best to proceed from individual characteristics and the age of the baby.

Famous puzzles

Since 1975 and to this day, the most famous puzzle in the whole world is the Rubik's Cube. It will take a lot of time to assemble it correctly. This puzzle is considered a top seller among toys around the world. The peak of popularity of this toy came in 1980, at that time every fifth inhabitant of the Earth played it.

The puzzle in the form of a ball is no less fascinating - it is not at all difficult to disassemble it, but to assemble this structure you will have to work hard. Both the cube and the ball are the most interesting puzzles for children and adults. To solve such logic problems, you need to show considerable ingenuity and patience.

The benefits of puzzles for children

First of all, by solving various types of puzzles, the child becomes more diligent. Secondly, by analyzing such tasks, the child acquires and quickly develops problem-solving skills that he will need not only in school, but also in adult life.

Moreover, when solving puzzles, children develop such a quality as perseverance, because the tasks are so complex that they have to be solved again several times. This is how the child comes to understand that not everything in life is simple and that in order to achieve success, you need to make a lot of effort. An obvious advantage of such classes is the improvement fine motor skills, which, in turn, has a positive effect on brain function.

Benefits of puzzles for adults

Many experts never tire of insisting that a person should train his brain. As time passes, brain cells age; they simply need rejuvenating procedures.

These types of games help stimulate thinking processes; it is a kind of brain trainer. An incredible benefit of puzzles is also the development of memory. As you age, you cannot store as much information in your head as you could in your youth. To preserve healthy memory for as long as possible, it needs to be trained. Solving puzzles gradually but systematically can help keep your mind sharp.

All kinds of puzzles are so diverse that they simply cannot be counted, but they all have a positive effect on development intellectual abilities and stimulate brain activity. You need to choose a suitable puzzle based on your preferences.

Come up with a new one type puzzles are almost like inventing a game. There is a puzzle "state" (similar to a game state), mechanics for changing the state, a target state, and a win condition. Once you decide on the mechanics, you tweak them to get different dynamics. In addition, there is usually a theme. In the game BioShock, for example, there is a master key mini-game that allows the player to open doors and gain control of electronic devices. The theme here is computer hacking, and the mechanics involve rotating pipes to create a path between the entrance and exit of the field. Screenshot and detailed description The workings of this master key game can be found here.

When you develop the rules for a mini-game, the following conditions are necessary:

Understandability: Rules and controls are easy to understand
System recognition: The systems within the puzzle must be clear so that players can recognize the series possible actions needed to solve the puzzle. Commonly used are colors and shapes, as well as other spheres general knowledge(spelling or simple functions of things).
Ease of use: good interface (UI).
Reward player skill: If a player has encountered a puzzle many times, he should be able to improve his skill.

When you are developing rules for a puzzle to fit into big game, consider the following additional conditions that will make the mini-game more interesting:

Dive: A smooth transition between the main game and the minigame (usually it's up to the artists to make the minigame interface look the same as the rest of the game, but it's up to the designer to match the puzzle to the story and universe of the game).
Meaningful Consequences in the game, outside the puzzle: Not just “you opened the door”, but “you got all sorts of goodies.”

How to make puzzles interesting?

If the designer's goal is to make the game fun, then including puzzles should make the game even more interesting; that is, they must work towards the main goal of the game. Some games have no place for puzzles at all. In others, the designer is limited to a few types of puzzles. For example, most puzzles (especially logic puzzles and riddles) would likely be out of place in a fast-paced shooter; even in a puzzle game, the designer should limit himself primarily to spatial puzzles. Well, if you stop the session in Tetris, to force the player to solve a puzzle or explore a map and find an item, this will completely kill the essence of the game.

But in general, puzzles are real obstacles that prevent players from achieving their goal until they solve them. The pleasure of a puzzle is usually caused by the joy of victory, the feeling of success in solving a difficult problem, and the feeling of control that precedes success. Ideally, good puzzle should make players proud of themselves and their achievements.

If the puzzles are poorly done, it can ruin or even ruin your enjoyment of the rest of the game, just like a traffic jam ruins a good trip. If a player can't solve a puzzle, he can't play any further and is very annoyed, and a puzzle that feels forced and unfair causes frustration with the game (and its designer).

Types of Puzzles

There are a great variety of different puzzles. Fortunately, they can be broken down into different categories based on common features, such as design techniques.

Riddles

My teeth are long, my teeth are short, my teeth end before they talk about me. (Riddle from Beyond by Zork).

Riddles are questions with one correct answer, but the answer is not obvious. Typically, riddles use wordplay, which requires the player to use an unconventional interpretation.

Riddles are much less common in games now than twenty years ago. In part, there is a practical explanation for this: it takes a considerable amount of time and effort to create a riddle, and the player encounters it only once. After all, a riddle cannot be played several times - if the player guesses it, he simply remembers the answer every time he sees it again. This property of riddles makes them quite expensive compared to other content.

Plus, the riddles aren't that interesting to most players. When the answer is known, there is a feeling of reward. However, the player either guesses right away or he doesn’t. And if not, then he either gets stuck on this riddle for a long time, or scours the Internet in search of an answer (if the solution does not dawn on him in the end). Doesn't look like much exciting gameplay.

And yet, there are a few tricks that make the riddles less annoying for players if the designer really insists on them:

Make riddles optional. In a classic RPG Betrayal at Krondor, the riddles were locks on treasure chests. By opening the chest, the player received useful but not necessary items.

Offer tips.Betrayal at Krondor did not require the player to simply type the answer to the riddle. Instead, the player was shown the number of letters in the answer, and each letter had a limited quantity possible options. A persistent player could write out all the combinations and find the matching words, turning the riddle into a word game like boggle. In addition, the player could find out clues in conversations with characters.

Offer an alternative. For example, the player can solve the riddle or complete another task. IN Dungeons & Dragons The Sphinx allows the heroes to pass if they solve the riddle, but they can also attack the Sphinx and defeat it in combat.

To come up with a riddle, the designer usually starts with the answer and then creates the puzzle itself. So, for the answer “car” there may be a riddle: “It moves on four, and those on two move inside.” For the curious: the answer to the riddle from the epigraph is “lightning.”

Thinking outside the box

Like riddles, maze puzzles are tricky tasks for which there is only one correct answer. These puzzles are set up in such a way that the player makes a false assumption, and in order to find the answer, one must question that assumption. Here's a classic example:

Place a pencil on a piece of paper. Without lifting your pencil, draw four straight lines so that they connect all nine points. Most people make the assumption that the lines we draw should not extend beyond the square formed by the dots. If we discard this assumption and draw lines that go for its limits, the puzzle is easily solved:

Riddle analysis also applies here. Problems involving lateral thinking are expensive to create, they are solved only once, and they can be annoying if they are an obstacle and the player can’t find the answer. Like other puzzles, make them optional, offer alternative paths solutions, give players additional clues to guide the player if he takes a long time to find the answer.

Spatial logic

Spatial puzzles involve the manipulation of objects, both in the imagination and in the play space (see Fig. 3.2). Tetris, In essence, it is a time-extended spatial speed puzzle. Series Adventures of Lolo And Sokoban are examples of how a series of spatial puzzles can become a game in their own right. Other games (especially RPGs and adventures) often use spatial puzzles as small quests within the larger game. Remember huge number puzzles with sliding bars in role playing games for consoles and action games.

Rice. 3.2 Shift game prototype

In the game Shift squares with different connecting lines were used. Players could rotate squares and change the direction of entire rows depending on their orientation. The picture shows a prototype of the game Shift by William Miller, Raymond Champagnie, Clemmie Murdock, John Yoshikawa and Spivey Lipsey. Reprinted with permission of the authors.

Spatial logic is also often used in boss fights, where players must use levels or the structure of the creature itself to win the fight. Shadow of the Colossus made great use of this throughout the battles, turning each of the creatures into a multi-layered game.

Pattern recognition

Pattern recognition tasks require the player to find and recognize a pattern based on the information provided. Cracking the code – highest level this kind of puzzle. IN electronic games the images may appear to the player faster and faster, making it difficult to recognize, or make the difference very small, such as omitting one of the components every fifth appearance of the image. In sports, players often study the behavior patterns of opposing teams in order to properly build their defense and offense.

Boss battles often involve recognizing a pattern in the boss and, based on that, finding areas that are vulnerable to attack.

Logics

"You have four balls, black, blue, red and yellow. You need to place them on four pedestals in in the right order. Black on the left. Red next to blue. Yellow is to the right of red.”

Logic puzzles require the player to deduce the additional information from the information provided in the terms and conditions. These problems are most often found in puzzle books and adventure games, but they can be used as tasks in other types of games.

As with riddles and lateral thinking problems, there is only one solution that the player must find, so they should be used carefully. On the other hand, logic puzzles are unpretentious. In the above example, if there is no or little penalty for an incorrect answer, the player can try all possible combinations until he finally finds the correct solution. In addition, you can arrange for the game to give clues, showing how close the player is to the solution. Either way, the player should either be penalized for guessing incorrectly or rewarded if they guess right away, otherwise the puzzle just feels like an annoying pointless obstacle to the main game and a waste of time.

Study

Labyrinths, dungeons, world maps... Exploration of space is found in many games. Examples of research include searching for a specific person in big city, finding your way through a tangled network of corridors, finding all the treasure chests in the level. In first-person shooters, exploration and level knowledge are second only to advanced skills in survival. Adventure games such as The Legend of Zelda, are known for their exploration-based puzzles, as well as RPGs. Katamari Damacy increased the difficulty of a level, forcing players to view levels from a new angle - as subsets of a larger level that can be visited again and again at different scales. In 2D and 3D platformers, level exploration is often and there is puzzle. How do you go from A to B to Z to complete the level? In this case, you are not fighting enemies, but simply trying pass level.

For many players, research is of interest in itself. They see descending into a dungeon and drawing up a map of passages as a digital analogue of speleology. In fact, in the early days of video games, the series Wizardry came with lined paper, and later included an auto-mapping feature - but only after the player discovered a mapping kit in the game. Nowadays, automaps are a common occurrence, many even have special points marked where the player is required to find an object, solve a puzzle, or complete a task in order to move on.

But while exploration is a special pleasure for many, and an aesthetic that some games have turned into an art, for some it can become a hindrance if they encounter an area that they cannot enter or cross (a large pit or a locked door). . When players reach a dead end and have no escape route, it has the same effect as a bad riddle - acting as a stop sign and annoying the player.

Using Items

Some games, especially graphic adventure games (like Myst) and role-playing games, use puzzles using objects. The player must figure out which items to use and in what order to solve a certain problem. A simple example This might involve using a lighter to light the candle wick and then using the candle as a light source to look around the dark room.

Puzzles using items become more difficult if the items must be combined and used at the same time or their purpose is not obvious. One particularly difficult puzzle from Maniac Mansion required the player to wet postage stamps in order to stick them on the envelope, but the game did not have an option to “lick the stamp.” The solution was to fill an empty bottle with water and place it and the stamps in the microwave.

To avoid annoying players, the designer can give hints about the non-obvious use of items, for example, a character using this item may appear earlier in the game.