Grow

At first it seems like a random plaything with a bizarre sensibility, a sphere where mountains and ladders grow and mechanical parts sprout. After a little experimentation, you discover that it's actually an animated logic puzzle with all sorts of strange little surprises. Definitely not a coffee-break game, but a beautiful and delightful puzzle for those who enjoy brain teasers. Yes, it is winnable. [L.S.]

Reflections by input entertainment

A beautifully minimalist puzzle. No bells and whistles here, just a laser beam and a bunch of dead bulbs you must bring to light using only mirrors and the appropriate ratio of perspiration to inspiration. [V.B.]

Castlemouse by Jig Interactive

The elephant scares the lion that scares the bear that scares the dog that scares the cat that scares the mouse. A challenging, chain-reaction puzzle game with over 99 levels! (100 total.) Hints and solutions are available if you're stuck, you can download the game to play offline (on Mac OS or Windows), and you can even create your own puzzles or play those designed by others, making this a near-perfect game. Mouse in hole! [C.L.]

The Flowering Nose in Slugland by Seth Fisher & Omar Waly

Explore multiple dimensions as a petal-schnozzed gnome in this clever and intricate Java adventure. Fight semi-vicious creatures, collect health-boosting hearts, and get hints from the locals, Zelda-style. You'll find yourself offering a donut to a talking tree one moment and scrapping with Satan himself on the fiery planes of Hell the next. Make sure to read the instructions, then wave bye-bye to the next few days. [C.L.]

Zookeeper

The instructions are in Japanese, but even if you don't speak the language, the rules are easy to pick up. Zookeeper is a timed puzzle game, very similar to Bejeweled but with animals. And, eventually, babies. [L.S.]

Ultimate Flash Sonic by Dennis Gid

It's Sonic! The Hedgehog! In Flash! The graphics, sound, and gameplay are true to form, but it doesn't replicate the thumb-blisters the original gave you. Such a crucial part of the Sega Genesis experience being left out, though, is forgivable, and hardly noticable when you're busy cursing the spikes at the end of an extremely fast double-twist loop-de-loop. The game also features a choice of characters, including the obligatory girl. [J.Y.]

Zuma by Popcap Games

If the suggestion page is any indication, most of you already know this game. For the uninitiated: prepare to meet your ball-busting stone frog god. An unholy mix of Bust-a-Move, Tetris and pure uncut crack, Zuma will have you hoplessly addicted within seconds. I'm serious: if you have a job, like to spend time with your family or enjoy the outdoors, you might want to pass on this one. Non-Windows users are locked out of the game, and are thus safe from its ravages. [V.B.]

Sveerz by Skunk Studios

A clever combination of Simon and Collapse, with groovy synthetic music, angelic electronic voices, and adorable graphics. Only arcade mode is available online, though other versions can be downloaded for trial play and the full game can be purchased. A game you'll want to hug. Don't even bother to play without sound. [C.L.]

Samarost by Amanita Design

A brief, surreal point-and-click puzzle adventure that combines driftwood, industrial design, and space travel for an experience that brings to mind classics like Myst and The Neverhood. Frustration potential: Whoa. [L.S.]

Fly Guy by Trevor Van Meter and Jason Krogh

Not a competitive game, but rather an adventure in gravity-defying whimsy. The graphics are pleasantly reminiscent of early black-and-white Mac games, and the soundtrack is very well done. [L.S.]

Levers

A challenging visual logic problem with balance as a theme, Levers charges you with the creation of an enormous mobile from an odd collection of items delivered from on high. Your reward for success: more items, at least until you reach the final goal. [L.S.]

Kingdom of Loathing by Jick

An adventurer is you! Don't be turned off by the registration, it's quick and is very much worth it for this whimsical RPG. As a Disco Bandit, Turtle Tamer or any other of 6 classes, you'll collect meat, go on bizarre quests, improve your Moxie, cook up some nice menudo, and get falling-down drunk. Well presented and thoroughly addicting. [S.G.]

RSVP

In this cross between solitaire, dominoes, and the Last Supper, the goal is to seat people next to people with compatible background colors while marimba riffs accompany your every move. If you make sure that everyone matches, you move on to the next level. But if, God forbid, you seat a blue wedge next to a red wedge, arguments break out, friendships are shattered, and someone ends up in the shrimp fork ward of the local hospital. Presumably. [L.S.]

Gridlock by Corwin Derkatch, Crystal New Media

For anyone who has ever lived in a small apartment with too much furniture, this will all seem very familiar. Free the blue block by sliding it through the opening on the right. To do so, you'll have to make some space by sliding the gray blocks around. Need more frustration in your life? Click on "Expert mode" under "Options", and the screen will slowly, maddeningly rotate while you play. [C.L.]

Crypt Raider by Uselab

Get the blue energy ball into the portal before your time runs out by digging, blowing stuff up and carefully avoiding the undead. Rinse, repeat 100 times. Your progress is saved and codes allow you to skip levels you've already conquered, thank the good Lord. It doesn't reinvent the genre, but it's still highly addictive. [V.B.]

Candy Train

Direct the Little Engine That Could Rot Your Teeth Right Out of Your Head around the landscape by rotating pieces of track. Pick up various sugary extensions to your train along the way, then drive them into the station to advance to the next level. Sweet! [L.S.]

Psychopong

Pong solitaire with a twist. You control both paddles, which grow thicker each time the ball hits them. You have to achieve 30 consecutive hits to proceed move on, and each level changes the way the paddles move. Level 2 flip-flops the paddle controls, so up is down and vice-versa, Level 3 flips one paddle back to normal, and from there it gets even harder. Cleverly designed and extremely challenging. [C.L.]

Yeti Sports 3: Seal Bounce by Chris Hilgert

Now that the world has learned to love clubbing penguins for distance, the folks at Yeti Sports have brought forth the third installment in the series. This time, the penguins are the equipment for a hammer toss. Instead of distance, however, the object is to go vertical with the flightless waterfowl, and to get some help from slap-happy seals along the way. Until the inevitable gorefest version comes out, this one is an excellent sequel to the baseball game. [J.Y.]

Whizzball

If the phrase "minimalist Rube Goldberg device" has any meaning -- and it doesn't -- then it applies to this massive set of puzzles that challenge you to direct a black marble to a pink target using a small but intense array of catapults, troughs, treadmills, punching gloves, and bouncy things. Oh, and a UFO. There are more puzzles than you can possibly do, but you can sort them by popularity, difficulty, or newness to get just the mechanical ball-direction trial you deserve. [L.S.]

Tork

The long load time is worth it, as this is a charming and rewarding adventure. As a spacefaring, nightgown-wearing elf, you've followed the number one rule of intergalactic travel: you've crashed. Now, hover through the eerie subterranean environment, conversing with creatures while collecting symbols in an effort to decipher the alien language. The symbols you learn will be saved and can be combined to form simple, Koko-esque sentences while you search for a way to repair your ship. Hints, cheats, and saves available. [C.L.]