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Puzzle categories
This was an idea from another thread (thanks Advie!), with the goal of documenting the types of puzzles found in adventure games organized by category.
Make suggestions below and I’ll add them to the list.
The format I’ll use will be the puzzle category followed by game examples. Pictures may come later.
I was thinking a maximum of 3 examples for each category, so it doesn’t get too cluttered.
Any other suggestions for the thread are welcome. 
The List:
Dialogue puzzles
The Secret of Monkey Island
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Countdown
Time manipulation
Time Hollow
Life Is Strange
Shadow of Memories
Spatial manipulation
Portal
Finding contradictions between statements and/or evidence
Contradiction
Phoenix Wright
Aviary Attorney
Interrogation and fact-finding
The Psychotron
In The 1st Degree
The Pandora Directive
Assuming another likeness to get past a person or obstacle
The Journeyman Project 3
Stacking
Music and sound
Loom
Myst
The Witness
Machinery puzzles
Syberia
Aura: Fate of the Ages
The Dig
Creative use of system hardware (blowing on mic to remove dust, etc)
Another Code
Majestic
Guiding another NPC via signalling or giving directions
The Experiment
“Type the right word” puzzles
The Journey Down
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened
Her Story
Interacting with the world in different modes or moods (aggressive, curious etc)
Duckman
Mode
Blade Runner
Mazes
Hugo 2: Whodunit?
Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
Memoria
Mini-games (sliders, chess, Tower of Hanoi etc)
The 7th Guest
The Testament of Sherlock Holmes
Armikrog
Logic puzzles
RHEM
Myst
Keepsake
Timing puzzles
Broken Sword
Space Quest
Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist
Scheduling and NPC routine puzzles
The Last Express
L.A. Crackdown
Deadline
Crate shifting puzzles
Broken Sword 3
Pixel-hunt
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Beneath a Steel Sky
A Quiet Weekend at Capri
Mapping and navigation using triangulation
Miasmata
Forensic puzzles (fingerprint analysis, document recovery, DNA testing, chemical analysis)
Memento Mori 2
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Rose Tattoo
Performing spells or rituals and the manipulation of them
Zork
Enchanter
Hadean Lands
Drawing geometric shapes on a map to reveal a location
Gabriel Knight 3
Police Quest 3
Dracula: Origin
Teamwork involving multiple protagonists
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Maniac Mansion
The Book of Unwritten Tales
Physics puzzles
The Talos Principle
Quantum Conundrum
Inventory puzzles
King’s Quest
Legend of Kyrandia
Gabriel Knight
There this ‘drawing on a map*’ puzzle by connecting lines from certain locations (four crime scenes) to figure out the upcoming one (the fifth) at Police QuestIII that always i loved, because it summed up the whole game in one puzzle without seeing it coming.
and what i learned that this was the creation of Jane Jensen not Jim Walls, and it really looks like her style.
click here if you have played or wanna see SPOILER
it was repeated at Dracula Origin at the early beginning, but on a smaller scale
also click here for SPOLIER
Teamwork: in games where you can play with more then 1 character it is sometimes needed to work together: maniac mansion, book of unwritten tales
Teamwork: in games where you can play with more then 1 character it is sometimes needed to work together: maniac mansion, book of unwritten tales
Brothers, Oxenfree.
Time manipulation = Time hollow, Shadow of memories
Portal, Talos Principle - Physics puzzles?
Can we break down “physics puzzles” any further? I happen to think Portal and Talos Principle involve rather different gameplay.
Also, what could using different types of persuasion (play it straight, compliment, threaten) in Tex Murphy be called? Any other games with that kind of thing?
In the 1st Degree is the best example of dialogue puzzles I know. You’re an attorney interviewing witnesses. If you choose the wrong interrogation strategy, they will clam up or refuse to cooperate later in the courtroom.
Also, what could using different types of persuasion (play it straight, compliment, threaten) in Tex Murphy be called? Any other games with that kind of thing?
There’s the mood bar in Mode, one of those games nobody has played: friendly/positive - neutral/non-committal - aggressive/negative. Choose the wrong “mood” and you’re thrown out or the other party walks away.
Duckman also had two modes of interacting with the world: curious and aggressive. I don’t remember how much impact it had on puzzle-solving.
Butter my buns and call me a biscuit! - Agent A
There’s the mood bar in Mode, one of those games ayed: friendly/positive - neutral/non-committal - aggressive/negative. Choose the wrong “mood” and you’re thrown out or the other party walks away.
Duckman also had two modes of interacting with the world: curious and aggressive. I don’t remember how much impact it had on puzzle-solving.
BladeRunner also had this modes of interaction that affected the game.
mentioning BladeRunner there was this puzzle concerning diverting a bodyguard attention away from you by standing close to the striper at a certain club; it was very unique and did not include any inventory puzzle.
come to think of the whole gameplaying of BladeRunner does not have inventory puzzles, tho you get to pick up stuff along the way, but for clues & analysis.
The most popular puzzle, at least among the developers: pixel hunting! First games that come to mind: King’s Quest 6 (a brick), Monkey Island 2 (a branch), Simon the Sorcerer (basically everything).
PC means personal computer
The most popular puzzle, at least among the developers: pixel hunting! First games that come to mind: King’s Quest 6 (a brick), Monkey Island 2 (a branch), Simon the Sorcerer (basically everything).
I am not sure you can say pixel hunting is a category of puzzle. It’s a question of degree. How small does an item have to be to count as pixel hunting? Did the developers intentionally want to hide it?
Music/sound puzzles
Overseer
Journey To The Centre Of The Earth
Life is what it is.
What about Simon-like puzzles where you need to repeat an action in a certain order.
Examples would include the laboratory sequence in the first episode of Telltale’s Back to the Future.
IMO every puzzle category has been used in adventure games. Not only mazes, sliders and mechanical Mystian puzzles. Also simon-says, tetris, translation/decoding, jigsaw, tower of hanoi, crosswords, spot-the-differences, wolf + sheep + cabbage, anagrams, music puzzles, deduction, chess, etcetera.
Butter my buns and call me a biscuit! - Agent A
IMO every puzzle category has been used in adventure games. Not only mazes, sliders and mechanical Mystian puzzles. Also simon-says, tetris, translation/decoding, jigsaw, tower of hanoi, crosswords, spot-the-differences, wolf + sheep + cabbage, anagrams, music puzzles, deduction, chess, etcetera.
I’d prefer to leave all standalone mini-games in their own category. They don’t interest me.
Really, this might all be pointless. But I sometimes look at games like The Experiment and Contradiction and want to find games with their type of gameplay. Do they exist? Probably not - but if I’m sick of sliders then I’d want to know about games with puzzles which do interest me.
Neat thread.
Finding two contradicting statements
I think this category could be broadened to include Phoenix Wright, though its contradictions are between one statement and a piece of evidence. The game has two parts, investigating a crime scene outside of court and then defending your client in court. When in court, you take evidence (some of which you found while investigating) and present it against a single statement you’ve identified within a witness’ testimony that you believe contradicts the evidence.
If you’ve identified a legit contradiction, the witness will then give a new, adjusted testimony to try to account for the hole you found (while still claiming that he was generally telling the truth), and you’ll go though the cross-examination process again until you’ve got the witness backed into a corner and the real truth comes out.
Here’s an example from the first case / tutorial. This FAQ describes some of the other mechanics like Pressing or the investigation portions. It’s a quite easy game but has some interesting gameplay rather than just being a click-to-advance story.
I’d prefer to leave all standalone mini-games in their own category. They don’t interest me.
Great, then scrap the mazes and sliders you started with as well. 
Butter my buns and call me a biscuit! - Agent A
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