Puzznic

Puzznic for the Apple IIGS never saw the commercial light of day.

Whilst Ryan Ridges and John Lund were adding the final touches to the real time puzzle game, Taito America went bust. The game was archived and subsequently passed around. They obviously didn't have time to include everything from the arcade version, although this only seems limited to the absence of naked Japanese girls and was probably never intended to appear in the U.S. release.

Puzznic involves that the blocks containing the same icon be put together, with no remaining blocks left at the end of a level. Sounds simple, but it starts to get hard when you begin dealing with putting 3 blocks together - all at the same time (you can't just place two blocks into position, then place the third because the first two would have already disappeared). And the clock is always counting down.

Moving blocks is akin to dragging windows or icons. Simply use the joystick to move a selection box onto the block you wish to move, keep button 0 pressed until you have finished moving the block. Button 1 will help you out if you've made a mistake that can't be fixed - press it, and you are given the option to restart the level (button 1 again) or cancel the option to (button 0). Take note that restarting the level does NOT reset the clock - it ticks on regardless.

Puzznic isn't just about solving the puzzles - to actually carry out the solutions involves skill and very quick reflexes. It's a tricky game and the fact that there is no continue option after a game ends doesn't make it any easier. Solving difficult puzzles at higher levels however, is very gratifying! As it seems with many games at the beginning of the 1990s, it also includes a level editor to create your own puzzles.