I just discovered Picross. Also known as nonograms, they’re these puzzles that involve filling out 2D—and sometimes, 3D—grids. Clues to which areas are to be filled are listed down the sides of the 2D/3D grid area,…

Nintendo finally announced the imminent arrival of their oft-cited next generation console, previously called the NX, but now formally called the Nintendo Switch. The launch trailer: Which showcases a handful of games — new and existing — as well as a…

Recently, I got excited and bought an custom Xbox One controller, courtesy of the Xbox Design Lab. In this case, “custom” really just means being able to select a color scheme for its various parts, but it’s a nice…

The bifurcation of game development into big studios and independent developers has empowered indie developers to try all different types of gameplay. There’s a game simulating border control for a make-believe Eastern Bloc country; a rocket-building game…

Simcity 2000 was a hell of a game for a 10-year old. It introduced me to the idea of using computers for simulation. That there’s wonderful complexity in the interaction of systems. And that cities, even in a…

I’ve been checking out Tom Clancy’s The Division for the past week or two[1]. It’s a third-person shooter, set in a post-virus-infected Manhattan, where the primary conflict is sleeper government agents versus extremely…