Passive puzzle video game

The 7th Guest is ripe with passive puzzle games.

A passive puzzle video game is a sub-genre of puzzle video games where the player is given ample time to devise a solution to a solve a puzzle, typically one where the environment doesn't change, or only changes in predicable ways. Most traditional puzzle games are passive puzzle games like word games, solitaire card games, and the like. This is contrasted with an active puzzle video game where changes in the puzzle can occur quickly and the player has little time to react. Adventure games typically employ passive puzzle elements, and they're not that uncommon in RPGs.

Most video game databases don't distinguish between passive and active puzzle games, but I think there is a significant difference in both the mechanics used and the feel of the game.

Personal

I first started playing video games on the Atari 2600 whose game library is almost entirely action-oriented games. However, when I started playing computer games shortly thereafter in the late 1980s, I noticed a major shift in game mechanics as the slower processors, but larger memory, made computers perfect for sprawling adventures. It was from these adventure games that I developed a love for modern passive puzzle games.

Games

This is a list of passive puzzle video games that are important to me. For all games in this genre, see the passive puzzle category.

Title	Released	Developer
The 7th Guest	1993-04-01	Trilobyte
Anika's Odyssey	2007-??-??	Tricky Sheep
Baba Is You	2019-03-13	Hempuli Oy
Castle Adventure	1984-??-??	Kevin Bales
The Fool's Errand	1987-??-??	Cliff Johnson
The Frostrune	2017-02-01	Grimnir
Her Story	2015-06-23	Sam Barlow
Hugo series	1990-01-01	David Gray
King's Quest series	1984-05-10	Sierra On-Line
Little Inferno	2012-11-18	Tomorrow Corporation
Loom	1990-01-??	Lucasfilm Games
Shadowgate	1987-07-30	ICOM Simulations
Space Quest series	1986-10-??	Sierra On-Line

Links

   

• giantbomb.com/games/?genre=18 - Giant Bomb.