Install puzzles with Homebrew, dnf, pacman, apk, apt, MacPorts, winget, Nix, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• blackbox
• bridges
• cube
• dominosa
• filling
• flip
• flood
• galaxies
• guess
• inertia
• keen
• lightup
• loopy
• magnets
• map
• mosaic
• netslide
• palisade
• pattern
• pearl
• pegs
• range
• rect
• samegame
• signpost
• singles
• sixteen
• slant
• solo
• tents
• towers
• tracks

Project history

Simon Tatham created the collection to provide short, self-contained desktop diversions that would be available across the different computers he used. Most games reimplement established puzzle concepts; some code and games were contributed by other authors.

Net was the first puzzle in the collection. The framework subsequently grew to encompass dozens of logic, path, tiling, deduction, and spatial puzzles, with shared facilities for generated games, identifiers, saved states, and user-interface behavior.

Adoption history

The collection was deliberately designed for portability: the same puzzle engines support native Unix and Windows front ends, and the official site also provides browser-playable builds. Additional front ends can expose the whole framework on another platform.

The games are packaged together on Unix-like systems, while Windows users can obtain individual game executables. The official macOS build stopped receiving updates in 2023 after the maintainer's build machine failed, with the web edition remaining available.

How it is used

Users launch each installed puzzle as its own program, choose generated difficulty and size parameters, and can reproduce games using game identifiers or random seeds. Shared controls support actions such as undo, restart, and saving a game where the front end permits it.

The package has no account or network credential requirement, and the official manual does not document a shared user configuration-file location.

Why package nerds care

The package is a distinctive example of a large application collection sharing one portable C framework. A single package installs dozens of small deterministic puzzle programs rather than one monolithic game.

Its separation of puzzle back ends from graphical front ends makes it useful both as a lightweight desktop-games bundle and as a case study in portable GUI architecture.

Timeline

• 2004: The collection's official manual dates its documentation from this year.
• 2019: Simon Tatham documented Net as the first puzzle in the collection.
• 2023: Official production of updated macOS builds ended; Unix, Windows, and web editions continued.

Related projects

• The collection's native and web front ends share the same C puzzle back ends. Its individual games reimplement many established pencil-and-paper and computer puzzle forms rather than depending on another game package.

Sources

• https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/
• https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/puzzles/doc/
• https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/quasiblog/net-solver/