Hey! I love puzzle games, and this seems like a great jam!

As one of the examples of puzzle games, you mention Tetris. However, to me, it seems like Tetris doesn't satisfy your listed elements for puzzle games:

• Tetris doesn't have "one or more solutions"
• There is uncertainty in the system (what blocks you get)
• It has different outcomes from those you list: You lose, you give up (!), or you can maybe win in some variants of the game if you're really good at moving blocks at high speed.

This seems like a jam for "thinky" puzzle games, but IMO Tetris is more of an action arcade game with puzzle elements, and seems out of place in this jam.

Hiya! These are fair points. However, I'd argue that:

• Tetris does have a limited solution - there's a configuration which fits tetrominos in place such that the entire board is covered (cleared). It's not practical, but it's there, as part and parcel of being designed by a mathematician.
• There's no uncertainty in the system's response to your actions. Randomized pieces are often a feature of puzzle games, including other games classified as puzzle games like Pipe Dream - which is even harder to argue, because you can technically win at Pipe Dream ;).
• The traditional Tetris cannot be won and is played until the lose condition is met (hitting the top of the screen).

I'd like the jam to be more open than limiting, so we're not being too strict on what is and isn't a puzzle game. There are many subjective gray lines in the matter - as noted in our disagreement on this point.

As long as the game is in the spirit of the jam - attempting to be a puzzle, or a puzzle game (a term more difficult to define but possibly different to the purest idea of puzzle )- it's all good.

And of course, there is the simpler argument that Tetris is usually classified as a puzzle game, because if it's not a puzzle game, then what is it?

Thanks!

I think the wikipedia page on the topic seems like a good definition to use as a rough guideline for the broad intent of the jam:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puzzle_video_game

Puzzle video games make up a unique genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test many problem-solving skills including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion. The player may have unlimited time or infinite attempts to solve a puzzle, or there may be a time limit, or simpler puzzles may be made difficult by having to complete them in real time, as in Tetris.

The genre is very broad, but it generally involves some level of abstraction and may make use of colors, shapes, numbers, physics, or complex rules. Unlike many video games, puzzle video games often do make use of "lives" that challenge a player by limiting the number of tries. In puzzle video games, players often try for a high score or to progress to the next level by getting to a certain place or achieving some criteria.