clickmazes

Old news

Front page news from previous months.

Jan 2001:
Lots of stuff new this month, see my history page for full details. I also want to mention two recent discoveries; if you are in the UK and enjoy Paint by Number puzzles keep an eye out for the new monthly magazine Tsunami Japanese puzzles. I stumbled on copies in ASDA and Sainsburys, very addicitive. Also checkout the interesting new SpectraMazes at Gambit Gameworks.

Mar 2001:
This month I congratulate David Newstead Bishop for discovering that at least one of my Tile puzzles does not have a unique solution (this month I publish all known solutions). I also feature my latest plank-puzzle Fiendish [No.15]. Also this month I can recommend some great new web-based multi-state mazes: Robert Abbott's Alice Mazes (Java-script), along with Joker's Maze of Rah (Java).

May 2001:
Significant updates to Maze of Life and Plank puzzles plus a new page that explores Oskar's Four-bit mazes. Several photos of other mechanical puzzles designed by Oskar added to older pages. Also this month I congratulate Thomas Kelby (age 12) from Luton, for solving all four Tile puzzles from a standing start in less than an hour. I can vouch for this, because I watched him do it!

Sept 2001:
This month I am delighted to introduce two recent applets by Graham. Firstly FlipTiles (inspired by Joker's Maze of Rah). Sixteen puzzles so far, more may follow. Secondly HexaRoll, an implementation of a head-spinning puzzle idea by Oskar, including a couple of extra designs of my own. In summer 2001 one of my tilt-maze designs was used as a walk-round maze in the US, Robert Abbott provides a photo and write-up. Finally, for Zillions-Of-Games fans, check out Cube-Tube by Dan Troyka.

Nov 2001:
This month I introduce yet another new form of tilt-puzzle, this time based on magnetic blocks. Try out my samples or see the complete collection at henleymob. Also a full page covering hexaroll (Sept 2001) including a couple of extra puzzles of my own devising. More photos of tilt-based puzzles by Oskar added on older pages.

Feb 2002:
This month I introduce some great new material provided by my visitors. Firstly from Dr William Pauslen there is some extensive new maze of life (iLife) analysis, see riding the glider. Secondly James Stephens provides some really mean new plank puzzles generated by his java-driven SwampBeast. On the subject of 2D tilt mazes Bill has provided a page of design notes on his tilt maze console, and for Mac OSX users Kevin Brain has included some of my tilt maze designs in his downloadable PuzzleBox games pack. As for me, I have spent many happy hours designing cup and pea puzzles an accidental new form of tilt-puzzle (applet by Graham at henleymob).

July 2002:
This month I introduce the Orientation mazes, applet by Jimmy Stephens and mazes by his OrientExpress puzzle generator (a direct descendant of SwampBeast). Mini update December 2002 - If you would like to explore Jimmy's puzzles further you can now discover more at www.puzzlebeast.com. I recommend you try the dry cleaner puzzles and in particular the christmas tree maze. A brand new type of puzzle maze, and very festive!

Feb 2003:
This month introduces a new series of puzzles called BoxUp, something akin to Sokoban but where you can only push boxes from the inside. Also this month clickmazes is pleased to help promote a new website called MegaMazes offering high-quality mazes for view, download and print. Check it out for some samples of my latest maze designs. Also this month there is a major iLife update kindly provided by Dr. William Paulsen. And finally a plug for my brother's jsMaze, a number maze implemented in java-script.

May 2003:
This month introduces a new series of puzzles called Wriggle puzzles. Can you detangle the mass of wriggly worms? Also this month I recommend a visit to www.supermaze.com (by Don O'Brien) and inparticular Maze Island where you can try solving a variety of mazes, including my very own Walk on Walls 2 maze, in full interactive 3D (requires Java 1.4). Finally this month I have added a couple of recent maze designs to Maze Gallery.

Mar 2004:
A little reorganising and plenty of new content. Firstly note the new sub-pages tilt-collection and Oskar's collection. Brand new entries this month are the threesome mazes, the chain-reaction mazes and the polyfold puzzles, and finally a new playable version of Oskar's tunable maze (previously the dragon maze).

Aug 2004:
Erich Friedman's full-house puzzles are superb, now you can try them clickmazes-style. James Hutton of Melbourne, Australia has produced a version of marble mazes for the Nokia phone, try the free download here. Last but not least, a few additions to Oskar's collection, including the haunted vending machine puzzle.

Feb 2005:
New addition this month is my XL-up maze. A maze based on a boundless sequence, so why stop at the first goal... just keep going. Also this month check out my recent on-line interview at www.puzzlemonster.com.

July 2005:
New this month are two new no-left-turn mazes, kindly provided by Palmer Mebane. Also a belated addition to Oskar's page: Oskar's belgian maze. Last, though by no means least, are the punt mazes. Tilt meets sokoban with devastating results. And... slightly belatedly... (1st August) I simply must add a link to my brother's ambigram maze. A world first in ambigrams!

Jan 2006:
New this month is Oskar's Jukebox puzzle. Selecting your favourite pop-song has never been so difficult.

Aug 2006:
New this month are the colour-wriggle mazes and Oskar's active mazes. A double dose of mazing mahem to make up for six months of inactivity, and you can't run out of challenges with these two, because both support an auto-generate feature.

April 2007:
New this month are the red-white-blue stepover sequence mazes along with a long-awaited selection of print-and-play mazes. Also the news that my XL-up maze final challenge (set in 2005) has been finally cracked by Ben Small, resulting in a new maze with a new mystery target. Finally if you have a mobile-phone, check out the award-winning game Triangler listed under Oskar's collection. Follow the links and read all about it.

August 2007:
New this month are the TJ-wriggle puzzles, the latest and greatest addition to the wriggle puzzle range. Also a short introduction to the full range of river crossing puzzles now available in most good puzzle stores.

August/September 2009:
Yes - I'm still here! New this summer is the big announcement that several puzzles from the tilt collection are now available on iPhone & iPod touch as puzzle-app iTilt (see image right). Version 1.1 (Aug09) is the latest release, and now offers 99 puzzles in four different puzzle packs. Also new this update are several new SVG-quality mazes in the maze gallery. Also a special note on behalf of Oskar, who is now presenting many of his latest mechanical inventions on YouTube - well worth a browse from time to time. Finally you can now follow clickmazes on twitter for news-flashes and sneak previews of pending updates.

TJ-wriggle puzzles now also available on the iPhone, as puzzle-app Wriggle! Read more and try the Big-Wriggle celebration bonus puzzle.

December 2010:
New this month is the Quantum maze by Jonathan Welton (UK). Poor old Schrödinger's cat needs your help! Open up the box and help him escape ... but beware, the quantum maze will collapse around you at every step. How many universes will you burn through to find the one route to safety? Also this month I offer a tantalising glimpse of a brand-new collection of computer-generated Extreme TJ-wriggle puzzles discovered by Bob Henderson (USA). Ponder this thought for a moment ... just two moving objects on a 4x4 grid - how hard can that be? These puzzles truly reset the bar for puzzle complexity on a small grid.

January 2012:
New this month is the stepping-stone mazes designed in collaboration with Robert Abbott (USA), and currently featured on the cover of Games Magazine (March 2012 issue). These nifty little mazes almost design themselves, how cool is that. Also for anyone with a Nintendo 3DS, checkout UBISoft puzzle game James Noir's Hollywood Crimes (released November 2011). Enjoy the puzzles, solve the murder and, for bonus points, see how many puzzle designers you can correctly identify.

June 2012:
New this month we have the launch of our clickmazes BoxUp app, a fresh new puzzle app for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, developed entirely in-house by our very own Bill Mitchell. The puzzle set includes over 100 brand new puzzles, provided by Bob Henderson. From trainee and speedy, through quirky and sneaky, right up to nasty and beastly ... there are plenty of puzzles to suit every skill level. And to celebrate the launch there is a set of fiendish new puzzles to play online right here.