I started playing Runaway : A Road Adventure and made it as far as chapter 4 before becoming totally disgusted with the illogical and frankly stupid puzzles . Turning lipsticks into bullets ? Get real . I went through some of this in The Longest Journey , but there weren't very many totally obscure puzzles in that game and the story was a lot better. I also started Jack Orlando and didn't want to finish it for the same reason . I have another game that I bought after reading some good reviews about it called Escape from Monkey Island . Will I have to endure these silly illogical puzzles in this game too ? I'm more into puzzles that make sense , or if they have to be obscure , at least provide some clues . I also like logic and machinery type puzzles , decryption puzzles , math puzzles and sequence puzzles . Perhaps some of you can recommned some games that I might enjoy with the types of puzzles I've described . I've played:

Lighthouse
Rama
Timelapse
The Myst series
Both Dark Fall games
The Black Mirror
Titanic
Obsidian
Post Mortem
Sanitarium
The Crystal Key
Syberia
The Longest Journey
Mission Critical
Edit: Shivers 1 and 2

Monkey Island certainly has the same type of zany thinking as Runaway, but you may enjoy it

I note you haven't got Schizm on your list... that is a very technical game!!!

Thanks Tigger,

I have added it to my newly started list . Anybody , feel free to throw some titles at me , I have a lot of catching up to do , so they can be older titles as well .

Where is Rhem?

Mike

It's now on my list after reading your post. Thanks Mike

I enjoy silly puzzles as much as logical ones. It just depends on the nature of the game. You can add Beyond Atlantis to your list, Robert, and Zork Grand Inquisitor is funny but mostly logical.

Hi LadyK,

I have Zork Grand Inquisitor , but I'm having technical problems with it . I posted a message on the Glitches board in hopes that I can get it running . I'll add Beyond Atlantis to my list , I've played Beyond Atlantis II ( forgot to add it to the list of games I've played ). Thank you

Logical, mechanical types - Reah, Aura, Phyiscus, Chemicus, Schizm, Obsidian, Still Life to name a few.

happy trails,

Carolyn

I had to use a walkthrough heavily for Rhem but once I got into it, I really, really liked it and can't wait for Rhem 2. Schism was very hard for me and I gave up at the the bridge puzzles. I plan on replaying them some time but I found them extra ordinarily hard. So far I like the puzzles in Still Life - the safe puzzle had me stumped. Currently I am trying to bake the cookies - I bake but 1 tablespoon ginger????? It did make me laugh....

I really liked the puzzles in Sentinel Descendents in Time and Aura

Journey to the Center of the Earth and Amerzone, maybe?

I have trouble with non-sensical inventory puzzles too. That's why I tend to shy away from cartoony 3rd person games (though I enjoyed Runaway for other reasons).
Here's a few more games with logical puzzles you can sink your teeth into:
Mysterious Journey 2 (schizm sequel)
Drowned God
Black Dahlia
Amber
Neverhood
Riddle of the Sphinx
Safecracker
Entombed Enhanced

I agree with you, Robert. I felt the very same way about Runaway...Although I really liked the characters and storyline..The illogical puzzles really took enjoyment away for me.

Hi, Robert--

I don't have anything to add to the recommendations of others, but I think you probably wouldn't like the Monkey Island games. I would rather do a truly absurd puzzle with its own kind of sense (like turning lipstick into bullets) than one that's just lame or contrived. But if Runaway and TLJ annoyed you, I think Monkey Island would drive you crazy.

WW

interesting thread. while i agree that the puzzles in the cartoon games are illogical they are no worse than the mechanical puzzles in the myst style games( all first person lonely games).rather to me the first person puzzle types are much more illogical. they have the most obscure puzzles i have ever seen. talk about the lack of clues for them. at least the 3rd person inventory puzzles are fun and amusing. give me these any day over the so called logical( which are not logical to me) and mechanical ones.

what was the last one i played with the some worst illogical puzzles i have seen--think it was sentinel.

I thought Sentinel's puzzles were pretty logical. I enjoyed them for that reason.

For some of the puzzles I had to find a certain vantage point in the world to see how the changes (changes on a control panel, for instance) affected things. Having to do that was fair, I think, but it did make the puzzles a little more difficult.

Try Zork Nemesis and Omega Stone. Both great games.
Bets

I've got a good list going now , thanks to all of your suggestions . I also looked around for some other titles I might be interested in and hope that I can get some of your impressions based on my original post . These titles are :

Dark Side of the Moon
The Nancy Drew series
The Watchmaker
Moment of Silence
Mystery of the Nautilus
Sherlock Holmes The Silver Earring

You should also add Mysterious Journey 2 (Schism 2) and the Crystal Key 1 & 2 games since you like math puzzles. I hate math puzzles or long involved puzzles that take forever to finishe like those in Alida, Riven, and several others, but really enjoy diverse puzzles.

The illogical ones can be daunting, but are sometimes a lot of fun. There are relatively very few games I've played that I didn't find redeeming factors in to save them for me, but there are some.

Broken Sword 3, Forever Worlds, The 11th Hour (all unfinished and slated to remain that way) to name a few.

Melanie

Hi, Robert--

I've been playing the Nancy Drew Series and they're surprisingly well put-together and enjoyable. I haven't run across a contrived puzzle yet. I think you'd like them.

I liked The Watchmaker. I don't remember the puzzles being illogical. There were some things about it that were annoying, tho'--quite a bit of pixel hunting, as I recall, and some tricky controls. And it had the worst voice acting ever. But once you get into it, it's pretty engaging.

Mystery of the Nautilus wasn't bad, but it had quite a few timed puzzles, several of which were super-annoying. I thought the plot was tired and the action pretty contrived. The developers also didn't pay much attention to detail, so thing happen like, you can change something in one frame and then when you look at it from someplace else it hasn't changed. I'd try to borrow that one, not buy it.

I didn't like "Silver Earring" much, either. It started out okay, but as the game progressed the puzzles got more and more annoying. And for me, at least, there was no sense of anything fitting together--you gathered all this information and had no way to relate the facts to each other, or even sift out what was relevant and what wasn't. Plus, they did that annoying trick of withholding vital pieces of information, so there was virtually NO WAY to solve the crime. It wasn't really effective as a mystery or a Holmes story, though the voice acting and backgrounds were exquisite.

My opinion on the ones I've played, anyway...

WW

I think the type of puzzle that you enjoy the most must be a result of your personality type. At least I know that I would much prefer those zany, inventory-type puzzles to the logical ones.

But if you don't like zany, steer clear of Tony Tough and the Night of the Roasted Moths. Just as an example, there is one puzzle where you have to freeze a worm to use in opening a door...

Ooooh Jenny, Tony Tough sounds like it's right up my alley!

No worms were harmed in the course of Tony's adventure. The moths, however, made the ultimate sacrifice. Those jack-o-lantern lanterns were just tooooo tempting.

Thanks to Melanie , WW and Jenny for all of your input . I don't mind puzzles that are a bit obscure , or you have to be observant in the game world to notice clues . These things are challenging , which is what I like in a game . Also " ambience " carries a lot of weight with me . For example , the sound effects and the detailed environments in The Black Mirror really had me immersed , although the voice acting was bad , the other components made up for it .

It's the crazy stuff like "freezing a worm to unlock a door " or turning lipsticks into bullets or putting a hat and a toy monkey on a garbage heap to cast a shadow to scare someone . Those puzzles are just TOO FAR out there for me . If a game is going to have some inventory based puzzles , I just need them to be a little more " down to earth " .

So far Robert, I am almost positive that we were not twins separated at birth. I love those zany inventory puzzles, and I love to use the ole creative matter to play - that is playing a game to me. The "logical puzzles" - hey, I can fix numerous pieces of farm equipment right here at home, and not pay for the dubious pleasure. I so agree with Jenny - it's personality of the player,life experiences and everything that goes on in your daily grid. I'm glad you enjoy the games you play, and I know you're glad I enjoy the ones I like. I wouldn't call either game better or worse on that basis. Just my two and a half cents (inflation you know).

You are absolutely 100% correct Nickie . I'm happy for anyone who's havin' fun regardless of the type of puzzles they enjoy . No one should have to be annoyed when they are trying to have fun playing a game (although most of the time it's inevitable ) . I just made some bad selections , that's all . That's why I started this thread to see if I could find some gamers who think kinda like I do and could give me some recommendations . By no means do I intend to knock anyone who loves those zany type games. Just my 5 cents ( keep the change )