A Puzzle Game That Lets You Change the Rules of Puzzles!
Solving puzzles through different mediums can lead to unexpected and challenging solving experiences.
One advantage that video game puzzles have over their pencil-and-paper counterparts is that, while the paper puzzles are a one-stop shop for a puzzle experience, there’s no adaptation, no evolution, no development for the solver or chance to build upon what they’ve learned through multiple solves or repetition.
In video game puzzles, on the other hand, repetition is the name of the game. New skills and techniques are immediately tested by clever twists on established puzzles, so you’re never resting on your puzzly laurels.
That sort of reprogramming is at the heart of the puzzle experience in a new game called Baba Is You.
In Baba Is You, the gameplay consists of objects to move and manipulate, as well as word blocks that form rules for the game itself. You start off by being able to move Baba, a small rabbit-like creature, around obstacles, with the goal of reaching a golden flag. So, the word blocks read “Baba is you” and “flag is win,” which both tell you the starting rules and the goal.
By changing these word blocks, you change the rules, effectively reprogramming what you can do in each level.
You rearrange individual words to solve the puzzles. There are usually multiple options, depending on where the words are placed. In the above example, you could remove “stop” from “wall” and pass through the barrier. You could attach “wall” to “is push” instead of “is stop” and push it out of the way. You could make yourself the wall by pushing the word “wall” before “is you.” Or you could make the wall the win condition and touch that instead of the flag.
So, essentially, you solve each puzzle by obeying the rules, changing the rules, and then obeying the new rules. And since puzzles are all about figuring out how to accomplish tasks by adhering to certain rules, this creates a fascinating new style of puzzle. It’s almost like improvisational comedy or Calvinball, except it’s not played for humor.
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a puzzle game that lets you alter HOW you play as drastically and as simply as this. You literally make and break the rules here, depending on how clever you are.
Baba Is You is available for PC and Switch, and I look forward to seeing more diabolical puzzling like this in the future.
It’s Follow-Up Friday: Library Gaming edition!
And today, I’d like to return to the subject of puzzle-game holidays!
In the past I’ve written plenty about International TableTop Day, the holiday dedicated to social gaming and puzzling. But did you know that in less than two weeks, another puzzle-game holiday arrives?
Libraries are about sharing culture and information, and games are a form of culture that you often have to share – you often can’t experience them without another player!
They’re also good for brain health, and foster important life skills like socialization, theory of mind and systems literacy. Plus, they’re fun!
Whether video games, tabletop games, social games or other kinds of games, they’re all a part of culture whose importance is only becoming clearer with time. And that means we need to foster the kind of smart engagement that libraries support, for games as well as books.
And while International TableTop Day is synonymous with board games, card games, and roleplaying games, International Games Day encompasses all of the above and more, including online videogames, trivia games, and any other games you can think of.
It’s a terrific opportunity to come out to support both games and your local library, and maybe make a few new friends along the way!
Let us know if you’ll be participating in International Games Day, PuzzleNationers! We’d love to see pictures and hear all about it!