167. Puzznic, (Taito, Arcade (Famicom), 1991)

Puzznic is a tile-matching puzzle game originally released in arcades in 1989 and ported to the Famicom 2 years later. Apparently the arcade release would display a naked woman when a level was cleared, but that feature was removed for the home ports. Still, we're left with a fun, simple puzzle mechanic: matching 2 blocks to make them disappear. You can only move blocks to the left or right, so it is possible to get stuck, but the game offers unlimited continues and a password save feature, so it's never too punishing.

What really makes Puzznic feel kind of modern is the 1 minute timer you get on each level. I could easily see this concept being plastered on some colorful mobile game a-la Candy Crush. Some later levels have moving platforms, which adds an element of timing to the puzzles. There is also just a really good variation in level types. One level might only take up a fifth of the play field, while another might span the entire screen, or have 2 separate mini-puzzles.

Block placements are similarly arranged in fun and creative ways. It felt great to wrap my brain around the singular simple mechanic and all the ways it could be used. It was a similar sensation to playing game #146 Polarium for the first time. What can I say, I like a deceptively simple puzzle game.

5/5, a simple puzzle game with great depth and level design variety