*Sweetplay* Bloxorz

Assalamu aleikum/'ala man ittaba'al hudaa,

Okay, so l33t-conjugated name aside, this is really a great game.

It's one of those restricted-playing-area/guided polygon puzzles, where you try to guide a block to a specific destination without falling off the edge of the tiling surface. What sets Bloxorz apart are the clean uncluttered 3D graphics, the crisp animation, and interesting yet not overbearing added challenges like switches and shaky tiles. Once again, classic simplicity wins in this engaging game.

Play Bloxorz by Roboman

*Sweetplay* Free Rice: improve your vocab as you donate

Assalamu aleikum,

Imagine this: have fun, improve your vocabulary, and donate to charity at the same time. Seems too good to be true? Welcome to the beautiful simplicity of Free Rice, where for every time you play you grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program (it is indeed legitimate as much as I can tell and not a hoax, and has been praised in several publications). Of course, you can donate much more by..well..donating. Consider this: according to the World Food Program, a $20 donation can buy 25kg of rice.

Oh, and the game's great fun too.

www.freerice.com

*Sweetplay* Theseus and the Minotaur logic mazes

Assalamu aleikum,

I really like these. Robert Abbot created the first Theseus and the Minotaur logic mazes and published them in the book Mad Mazes, then Toby Nelson facilitated their transition into the digital world by creating a very playable Java applet for them. The whole story can be found on the Robert Abbot site.

In case you didn't know, the name is based on the infamous Greek legend (short version here).

To get started, I recommend you try the games on Robert Abbot's site (to the left of the home page at www.logicmazes.com), as they begin with simple 3x3 grids. Once you get the hang of it, you can try the 6x6 puzzles at Toby Nelson's page (www.tnelson.demon.co.uk/mazes). Only true die-hards can even think of attempting the fiendish 14x9 puzzle found there.

Here are the rules:
- You are Theseus: the black dot. Your aim is to get to the exit without being eaten by the Minotaur: the red dot.
- On the websites, double-click on the diagram to get the game started.
- Use the arrow keys to move Theseus.
- For each move that Theseus makes, the Minotaur makes two moves.
- The Minotaur always tries to get closer to Theseus. When possible, he prefers to do so via a HORIZONTAL move FIRST.
- If the Minotaur reaches your square, the game is over.

For example:

If the Minotaur can get close to Theseus by moving two squares horizontally, he will do so. If he can't, he will try to move in another way, preferrably horizontally then vertically. If he can only get closer to Theseus in one move, he will do whatever move he needs (be it vertical or horizontal).

The Minotaur can get blocked while attempting to move - a fact that must be exploited. Your aim is basically to "lead" the Minotaur through your moves until he is a)far away from you or b) in a tricky situation so that you can make your exit!

Hints:
- Don't forget the delay ('D') key - occasionally, waiting and letting the Minotaur move may just be what you need to make your escape!

*SweetPlay* "3D logic" - a twist on Rubik's cube

Assalamu aleikum,

This is a crisp, engaging puzzle game by Alex Matveev, availaible from Microgames and posted in many other game websites. The principle is straightforward: connect two similarly coloured squares together by tracing a path around the cube. Simple concept - excellent game.

Play "3D logic" by Alex Matveev (Microgames)

*Sweetplay* Speed Grid Challenge - Multiplication

Assalamu aleikum,

I just had a class recently on the usefulness of teaching mental math, so it's interesting that I found this now:

Speed Grid Challenge - Multiplication
You have to choose two numbers that make a specified product, and try to answer all the questions before the timer runs out. It gets your brain working.

From one of the webpages of the Oswego City School District; Oswego, New York.

*Sweetplay* Dodge (from Lewpen.com)

Assalamu aleikum,

Lately I've been trying to vamp up my spatial awareness/coordination skills. This little flash game from Lewpen Kinross-Skeels (www.lewpen.com) is ridiculously simple, yet fiendishly compelling. Let me explain:

There is a blue box.
You control a blue circle with your mouse.
Your aim is to move the circle to touch the square.
Every time you touch it, it changes location, and a little red circle appears.
Dodge the red circles.

Go on...try it...;)
note:click to start

*Sweetplay* Blueprint (by Teagames.com)

Assalamu aleikum,

Blueprint is a great little brain-massaging game from Teagames where Physics actually counts for something (a good review by Jay of Casual Gameplay can be read here). If you've ever heard of or played the old Incredible Machine series, this should sound familiar - your aim is to position various objects in order to get a block to hit a target. Lovely game.

*Sweetplay* Ferry Halim's Orisinal Games

Assalamu aleikum,

Ferry Halim has a collection of lovely, clean flash games called Orisinal: smart but cute animations and charming, calming backgrounds.

Among the more simply halal ones:
Apple Season: Catch the apples in the basket
The Amazing Dare-Dozen: Move the eggs up in the baskets

*Sweetplay* art.com's "artpad"

Assalamu aleikum,

I'm sure you all know of this, but in case you don't:

artpad (from art.com)

It's pretty fun. You can view a drawing I did here (speed up the replay though)

*Sweetplay* Flash puzzle games: "Reflex" and "Cubeoban"

Assalamu aleikum,

While I work on a lenghthier Islamic knowledge post inshaAllah, from a class I've taken and/or some good things I've learnt recently, here are things you can amuse yourself with in the meantime. I have a select bunch of games I like playing, and of these are good puzzle-based games, like the following Flash remakes of classics by Klas Kroon, the webmaster of Outside Of Society (where nice Flash tutorials can be found, amongst other neat things). Enjoy:)

Play Reflex (remake of Reflexion)

Play Cubeoban

*Sweetplay* Strategy "board" games - Hexxagon

Assalamu aleikum,

Today's Sweetes are strategy board games - more specifically my personal fave Hexxagon® as well as the more well known Othello/Reversi (ok, I admit I've never played Othello but since it's the "original progenitor" of Hexxagon, it must be mentioned). Both these games are MUCH easier to play than they are to explain. An advantage of playing Hexxagon is that you can always see the possible moves you're allowed to make (but that's easy to build into any Reversi game as well). I may be wrong, but I tried to skim over the Othello rules and was slightly boggled, so I would tentatively suggest Hexxagon® is "easier".


screenshot of impressive Flash rendering of Hexxagon from Neave.com. Note that the graininess of the image is my fault - awful conversion!

I'd recommend downloading the original (DOS)version of Hexxagon® (it's tiny!). You can also play the online flash version (courtesy of Neave.com), but there's no customization and you might find that the computer is just too hard for your bewildered beginner self (as did I).

Get Hexxagon from dosgamesarchives.com
Get Hexxagon from www.abandonia.com

A good downloadable version of Othello is WZebra by Gunner Andersson and Lars Ivansson. However, if you're the online type, there are also many online versions, such as this very classy flash version, or Java applets such as this one (note: what's with the ICQ "uh-oh" sound?!).

Get WZebra (Othello clone)
Play a nice flash version of Othello

For more board games in general visit boardgamecentral.com.