The most memorable puzzle games take root in your mind and keep you thinking. From imagining blue and orange portals around your office to seeing tetrominoes as you try to sleep, playing around with fun puzzle concepts doesn’t always stop when you put down the controller.

These days, it’s all the rage for the kiddies to jump on the game-within-a-game, game-within-a-show trend. Series like Sword Art Online or Log Horizon are fascinated with the idea of being trapped in a virtual world.

As a little kid, I found I enjoyed Lincoln logs more than LEGO blocks, though that may simply be because it was much easier to knock down my unimaginative wooden towers than my colorful plastic buildings.

Despair overtakes you as your houndmaster misses an all-important attack on an enemy fusilier, the lighter of the brigand’s massive boss cannon. The cannon is going to fire this turn, and there’s nothing left you can do to stop it.

I recognize that my particular taste in games — being quite maidenly, at times — may not be well suited for StreetPulse’s audience. Still, there’s something to be said about Norn9: Vars Commons. This obscure PlayStation Vita otome game released quietly in November to little mainstream fanfare, but it didn’t need any. Norn9 assumes that […]

Halfway down the winding ramp I realized how big a mistake I’d made. Up to this point I’d been holding my own against any bandits and creatures I came across. But the lurching troll ahead of me stood taller than I did, and he wasn’t very happy either.

EA Sports’ franchises haven’t always had easy transitions to new systems. “Rory McIlroy PGA Tour” debut isn’t as bare as last year’s “NHL 15,” nor as unplayable as “Madden NFL 06” was last generation, but its charms are limited. It does some things well, but they aren’t enough to make it stand out.

Aside from my obvious attachment to my beloved PS4, I am in possession of, well, basically every other PlayStation product ever created— including the little-purchased PSP Go (you’re confused, I know).

When done right, there’s nothing more engaging than the party game. And the more players, the greater the chance for fun. In a crowded season of fall blockbusters, it’s easy to lose track of a game like “Knight Squad,” which is making its Xbox One debut and just coming out of Steam Early Access.

I got a New Nintendo 3DS for Christmas — yes, that’s New, not new; it’s that vaguely named console upgrade released last year — bundled with Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, so naturally I’ve been playing some of that lately.