What are the best easy relaxing puzzle games?

[Ackman]

Yeah besides Tetris I've played that game to death.

[kafa111]

robotniks mean bean machine
kirbys avalanche
puyo puyo
they are all basically the same if i remember correctly :P

[kupomogli]

Adventures of Lolo.

[van_halen]

Fire 'N Ice (Solomon's Key 2)

[jammajup]

Puzznic is faily good

[chrisballer]

Puzzle Quest is great and Book Worm. Book Worm is a word game not a puzzle game, but fun nonetheless.

[Gameguy]

Chew Man-Fu is pretty good.

[Drixxel]

I've recently gained a taste for BreakThru!, the GB version specifically. The stakes are low, real low - so low, in fact, that there's no sense of tension or urgency to the game at all, aside from an absurdly huge time limit for each level placing the weakest of pressures. Just click on blocks, make them disappear. The game can be found on a few different platforms.

[savageone]

Mario's Picross on the GB

[skaar]

Puzzle Quest.

[Superman]

I've always liked Columns. Not quite as much as Tetris, but it's close, because like Tetris, it's something you can play for a short amount of time or a long amount of time, depending on what type of gaming mood you're in.

[InsaneDavid]

Palamedes or Quarth.

[RPG_Fanatic]

I've always liked Columns. Not quite as much as Tetris, but it's close, because like Tetris, it's something you can play for a short amount of time or a long amount of time, depending on what type of gaming mood you're in.

I've always liked Columns better than Tetris. Even the music isn't bad on Columns.

[ugly_monster]

Not really a puzzle, but Arkanoid always unwound me.

[Jorpho]

Tetris is easy and relaxing? I don't get it. I was going to suggest Tetris Attack / Puzzle League, but that's a real stretch.

Droplitz is kind of nifty, but I understand it drove some people absolutely bonkers when Steam posted a challenge for it.

[Koa Zo]

Can only guess at what qualifies as "relaxing"
but a great overlooked puzzle game is Guru Guru Logi Champ for GBA.
One of the last games made by the legendary developers atCompile.

[Zing]

Picross

The DS version is probably the best, but you need to put away the stylus and set it to use the d-pad, otherwise it is unwieldy.

[Mr Smith]

Also not strictly a puzzle game: PGA Tour Golf 2-player, when drunk, is a challenge and amusement like no other.

[Gentlegamer]

The Immortal.

[Doonzmore]

2nd Mean Bean Machine.

Add Sega Swirl (Dreamcast).

[kafa111]

Oh super scope 6 games are fun, but only few of them are puzzles. (Cant remember which ones, but they play as tetris, with a gun)

[SpaceFlea]

Intelligent Qube

[Zing]

Intelligent Qube

He asked for relaxing games. IQ is in no way relaxing, unless you are just messing around and only get to level 2. The stress from the higher levels often steer me to playing something else!

[exit]

I find music oriented puzzle games like Luminex and Chime to be relaxing, Bust A Move is pretty laid back/relaxing for the most part as well. However I find games like Dr. Robotnics Bean Machine and Puyo Puyo to be anything but after the first few levels.

[allyourblood]

I vote for Columns (Genesis) and Tetris Attack (SNES). The music in Columns is practically therapeutic, and the sound and visuals of Tetris Attack are simply adorable; peaceful, silly, and super mellow (it definitely gets harder and more up-tempo depending on your actions, and how far along in the game you are, but it's still one of the best).

[mobiusclimber]

Shove It! (which you can find on a variety of consoles/PC ports under a variety of names) is a fairly laid-back puzzle game that's a lot of fun.

[skaar]

Boxxle!

[Dangerboy]

Hexic - the free game on the 360 Hard Drive (the original Hexic, not the sequel) was trance inducing. One night I spent 4 straight hours playing it, just in a zone thanks to the relaxing music. I didn't even realize how much time had passed until I paused the game to sneeze and saw the time.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Professor Layton games for DS.

I suppose you could call them adventure games, but essentially they're really just puzzle solving games wrapped in a story.

Each game in the series is full of low-pressure logic puzzles and I find them to be challenging and occasionally frustrating yet not frantic. I'd go so far as to call them relaxing.

[Breetai]

Relaxing? Flower, if you have a PS3, is very nice. So is flOw.

Of course Professor Layton is relaxing. It's kind of a puzzle game... Manga/text adventure games like Phoenix Wright, Deja Vu or Snatcher (except a few parts) are pretty relaxing, I think.

[allyourblood]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Professor Layton games for DS.


It was actually my first choice, but I didn't think they counted as "Classic Gaming". If we're including all eras, then yes, absolutely include the Layton series.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

It was actually my first choice, but I didn't think they counted as "Classic Gaming". If we're including all eras, then yes, absolutely include the Layton series.

Eh, "puzzle" is a transcendent genre and since the OP didn't clarify "classic" puzzle game I dared to suggest Layton.

[Aussie2B]

Easy AND relaxing? That's a tough bill to fill. I can think of many puzzle games that let you take your time and don't have the frantic pace of others, but those puzzle games tend to rack your brain the most (like the aforementioned Soukoban games Boxxle and Shove It!).

[Jorpho]

Come to think of it, Cliff Johnson's famous old puzzle games, 3 in Three and The Fool's Errand, are always a treat.

[Gameguy]

Daedalian Opus for Gameboy. I'm not sure why I always forget about this game, it's been ages since I've played it but I remember it being good.

[Drixxel]

Daedalian Opus for Gameboy. I'm not sure why I always forget about this game, it's been ages since I've played it but I remember it being good.

Awesome game, and a really pleasing exercise of the thinking jellies. The pace of block placement is thoroughly relaxed, whether you're making calculated moves or going with trial & error, and solving a stage feels incredibly satisfying. One of the best puzzlers, on Game Boy or elsewhere.

[spongerob]

Does Hexic count as old school enough? If so, that game practically plays itself.

If we're going old school, Columns is relaxing and easy to pick up but gets brutally hard pretty quickly. At least the GG version did.

[Natty Bumppo]

Although usually classifed as adventure games, Solstice for the NES and its sequel Equinox for the SNES are mostly puzzles in the gameplay.

[llky]

Peggle,
Tetris Attack,
Tetris, Zuma,
Astropop,
Super Puzzle Fighter II X,
LIMBO

[Astrosmash]

Awesome game, and a really pleasing exercise of the thinking jellies. The pace of block placement is thoroughly relaxed, whether you're making calculated moves or going with trial & error, and solving a stage feels incredibly satisfying. One of the best puzzlers, on Game Boy or elsewhere.

I'll third Daedalian Opus. It was the first to come to mind when I saw this topic.

I don't think anybody else mentioned it yet - maybe Pipe Dream would also fit the bill? (Admittedly I haven't played it in quite some time; maybe it's not as "relaxing" as I recall it being!)

[mobiusclimber]

Sega Swirl is also a fun, relaxing puzzler, and pretty darned inexpensive too!

[ishashobar]

I would suggest Baku Baku Animal. There was a US release on the game gear, but I've heard the Saturn is the best. Its kinda like puyo puyo, but you have to match animals and fruit together instead.

[Sundowner]

I think Myst is a great relaxing puzzle game, very atmospheric!

[Emperor Megas]

Fantavision, the under-appreciated PS2 launch entry, is pretty relaxing and a very simple puzzler. The music is very calming and the gameplay doesn't really ever get frantic. The background visuals are really soothing as well.

Trip'D for the 3DO is another relaxing puzzle game, or the falling tile variety. The music is very down tempo, and the alien/tile and background animations, which weird and creepy, are strangely relaxing.

Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition for the Saturn is another calming game, with great soothing music and a cutesy cast of characters.

Ou Poko (Arcade/MAME) is a very relaxing Bust-A-Move'esque undersea sphere-breaking game, where you clear the play field from the bottom. It plays sort of like the arcade game Battle Balls, only with better music and with an calming undersea theme. The sound effects of the balls clacking and settling, and the sounds that the bubbles make when you clear away spheres is really neat.

Shanghai: Triple Threat for the 3DO is one of the better entries in the series. There's a mode called 'The Great Wall' where you have to clear the mahjong tiles away like classic Shanghai, only the tiles are one plain deep and gravity is turned on. The tiles above will fall and settle when the ones below them are removed, which adds a strategic element. There is a stage timer which can make the game a little hurried, but there are settings that allow for more time. You won't feel like you're cheating though, since the appeal isn't finding matches, but rather finding ones that won't trap you and leave you with 'no more moves'. The tile animations and sounds that play when you remove matching mahjong tiles is very cool. You'll find yourself memorizing, mimicking, and anticipating the sound effects that play when you clear away tiles. The traditional Chinese background music is also very relaxing.

Zoo Keeper is an amazing sleeper title for the DS. It's dirt cheap and packs hours and hours of simple, tile-shifting, character matching fun, using the DS stylus.

Pokemon Trozei for the DS is an underrated puzzle game, IMO, that has a very addictive collection element that keeps me coming back. The collection aspect of the game really adds replay appeal to what's essentially a shifting tile puzzler which uses the DS stylus. The lightheartedness of it, and the cutesy Pokemon character representations of the tiles keep it relaxing, and the simplicity of the game play is such that it never really feels frantic, or labored.

PANG/Buster Bros. series is arguably a puzzle style game, though not in a traditional since. The different geographical locations you travel to which made up the different background graphics are all calming, as is the music and the simple balloon popping, food collecting, critter dodging game play. Even the in between stage jingle that plays is relaxing and hummable.

You may also want to consider pinball video games. They're very puzzle like, and the better ones are very additive, relaxing, and offer ease of play. I recommend:

Alien Crush for the TG16
Devil's Crush for the TG16
Pokemon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire for the GBA
Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball for Genesis

[Drixxel]

I'll third Daedalian Opus. It was the first to come to mind when I saw this topic.

I don't think anybody else mentioned it yet - maybe Pipe Dream would also fit the bill? (Admittedly I haven't played it in quite some time; maybe it's not as "relaxing" as I recall it being!)

Pipe Dream is awesome but, as you suggest, it can get pretty stressful. When you're racing to keep up with the ooze and you just aren't getting the pieces you need or your perfectionist strategy is going awry, these are tense times. Pipe Dream is best in 2-player mode, I'd say - one player distracts the ooze, the other is free to build elaborate plumbing. Between a good friend and I, we refer to the crossover pipes as "pipe dreams" and they are every bit the hot commodity as the famous line piece of Tetris.

Another relaxing lil' puzzle game that comes to mind is Keeper on Super Famicom. You're a shockingly adorable creature pushing/pulling blocks around a grid hoping to line up like colours to clear them. It's a fun one. Some gameplay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjHcWVNWL5w

[Jorpho]

I would suggest Baku Baku Animal. There was a US release on the game gear, but I've heard the Saturn is the best.There's also a PC Windows version. It's not particularly well put-together, but it works. Or at least, it used to – I have no idea if it will do anything on Windows 7 64-bit or whatnot.

[djshok]

Wild Snake is pretty chill.