StaceyPowers Posted March 26, 2020 Posted March 26, 2020 Puzzle solving! It’s not my favorite thing ever. I am hoping that someone can help me become a better puzzle-solver. I have noticed that my problem is that puzzles seem to involve two stages in most games, and it is the first stage I can’t seem to figure out how to deal with. The two stages seem to be: 1-Figuring out the rules/underlying principle of the puzzle. 2-Working through the puzzle based on the rules/underlying principle. If I know the rules for a puzzle and understand more or less what I am supposed to be doing, I usually am patient and methodical enough to follow through and solve the puzzle. But if I do not understand the basic underlying principle governing a puzzle, I feel totally lost, and have no idea what to do or how to begin systematically determining what the underlying rules are. I usually cannot even make sense of what I am looking at. Worse, even after I look up the solution, sometimes I still don’t grok the puzzle. If anyone here excels at this first stage, what is your basic process? How do you go from looking at a puzzle you have never encountered before to figuring out what you have to do to solve it?
The Blackangel Posted March 26, 2020 Posted March 26, 2020 If I think it’s something that will leave me a couple brain cells afterward, I go slowly at it. I make tiny adjustments in the most seemingly insignificant things and see what the results are. When I get a reaction in the game to what I did I make a mental note of it if it doesn’t lead to exactly what I’m after. I continue that way until I get what I’m after. Sometimes it can take hours or even days to figure it all out, but I’m tenacious and methodical with things of this nature. StaceyPowers 1
StaceyPowers Posted March 26, 2020 Author Posted March 26, 2020 6 minutes ago, The Blackangel said: Sometimes it can take hours or even days to figure it all out I do remember taking that approach with Myst on PC back in the day. I guess that I had the patience with that because it was literally a puzzle game, and thus I would just keep working on the puzzles at school and such.
The Blackangel Posted March 26, 2020 Posted March 26, 2020 I tried Riven several times, but I could never figure out what the hell I was supposed to be doing in the damn game. That one was WAY beyond any capabilities I ever had.
SaucyPastaTho Posted March 27, 2020 Posted March 27, 2020 This post reminds me of the last few puzzles in adam venture origins it was like 3 disks and it was terrible. I usually watch a guide and even if I still don't get it after watching the guide I just do it randomly until I pass it.
skyfire Posted March 27, 2020 Posted March 27, 2020 I think a lot of time the puzzle based games, you have to adjust accordingly. Like the angry birds puzzles have physics specific pattern that you have to learn and work upon. StaceyPowers 1
StaceyPowers Posted March 27, 2020 Author Posted March 27, 2020 23 hours ago, The Blackangel said: I tried Riven several times, but I could never figure out what the hell I was supposed to be doing in the damn game. That one was WAY beyond any capabilities I ever had. I never did finish that one 😞
The Blackangel Posted March 27, 2020 Posted March 27, 2020 (edited) 1 minute ago, StaceyPowers said: I never did finish that one 😞 I didn’t even start it. I loaded it. But that’s as far as I managed to get. Edited March 27, 2020 by The Blackangel
