Puzzled

I have been gaming a lot more lately, and I must say it has been a lot of fun. I have also been going broke buying all the amazing games that have come out in the last few months. I have several current addictions, which is OK I guess if they come in spurts like mine do. For a while there I was concerned because I have this nice Xbox 360 and was finding myself without the desire to play it for a while there. Now I am soooo completely addicted to Puzzle Quest, a puzzle game/rpg that is just so innovative and fun I can't even describe it. I have never ever been an RPG guy, the closest I have come is the Zelda games but I know most people who play role-playing games would argue that is not an example of an RPG. Puzzle Quest is basically a Tetris/Bejewelled game with a story and running characters, so when you "fight" ogres, skeletons, zombies, and door-to-door salesmen you puzzle against them and as you do you gain experience and magic spells that alter the gameplay. Now if only I could find a +9 ogre slaying knife J.

I have been going through a big big puzzle phase as of late. I have always been a puzzle guy but like anything I go through phases. I love solving logic puzzles, spatial relations puzzles, anything that'll give the ol gray matter a bit of a workout. It really helps me I find, it helps me work, helps me think. I suppose it's the equivalent of working muscles, but I am just to lazy to work those.

If you are a puzzler I would highly recommend checking out a flick called Wordplay about America's obsession with crosswords. It is an entertaining documentary that shows just how much work goes into creating a good puzzle, and how creative the minds are that develop them. The other side is watching someone solve the NY Times puzzle in under a minute. It is absolutely nuts! Word Wars is a similar doc about Scrabble and would make for a nice thematic pairing with Wordplay. All about the world of competitive Scrabble it's mind blowing to watch these people compete. Slightly more disturbing is the depiction of some of the obsessed people who make a living (sort of) from playing Scrabble. One fellow, waking up at 2 o'clock every day, plays Scrabble for at least 2-3 hours a day but sometimes for entire days. Crazy.