Slice it, stack it, click a block away – and then watch what gravity does with it. Physics puzzles were one of the great discoveries of the Flash era. Instead of fast reflexes, what counts here is a good plan, and sometimes the nerve to just try something. Many of these little brain-teasers run right in your browser again on our site, thanks to the Ruffle emulator, with no Flash plugin needed. Here are eight to get you started.
The list
1. 3 Slices – three cuts, no more
Gaz Thomas' idea is as simple as it is clever: every level gives you exactly three cuts. Drag lines through the red shapes with your mouse so that as much red as possible drops off the screen. A counter at the bottom shows how much you've removed and the target you need to hit. It's the newest arrival in our collection. Play 3 Slices
2. Roly Poly Eliminator – bring them down
The evil Roly Polys are sitting on platforms made of blocks. Click the shiny blocks to remove them and make sure every one of the nasty little guys tumbles off. If you get stuck, the game can show you a solution. Play Roly Poly Eliminator
3. Wooden Rolls – wood, rods and joints
This puzzle by Orange Games is all about round wooden discs, rods and joints. Well-aimed clicks release parts of the structure, and gravity takes care of the rest. The levels get trickier as you go. Play Wooden Rolls
4. Screw the Nut – get the nut onto the bolt
The goal sounds simple: get the nut onto the bolt. To do it, you have to make clever use of the pieces in each level, and every level needs a fresh idea. Your progress is saved, so you can pick up where you left off. Play Screw the Nut
5. Save Astronauts – planks to the rescue
24 levels, each with a little astronaut who's stuck. Use your mouse to place wooden planks in the marked areas and build him a safe way out. Some of the menus aren't in English, but you'll pick up the idea right away. Play Save Astronauts
6. Super Stacker – don't let it topple
This one is about building rather than wrecking: stack the different shapes on top of each other so the tower doesn't collapse. Sounds easy, but it quickly turns into a test of patience. Play Super Stacker
7. Deconstruction – a wrecking ball for thinkers
The flip side of Super Stacker: in Deconstruction your job is to bring all kinds of structures crashing down. Where do you start so that everything falls apart? Play Deconstruction
8. Mushroom Showdown – mushrooms with momentum
Two mushroom gangs go head to head. Drag with your mouse to fling your mushroom through the autumn forest, collect crystals and take out the rival mushrooms. There's a walkthrough button for the tricky spots. Play Mushroom Showdown
How to crack tricky levels
Look first
Take a good look at the level before you click. The layout often tells you which piece has to go first.
Order matters
In many puzzles it's not just what you remove but when. Try different orders.
Restart freely
Restarting a level costs nothing, and a failed attempt often shows you how the pieces move.
Small steps
If you're stuck, solve part of the puzzle first and see what happens – the rest often falls into place.
Fancy some newer puzzle games?
Puzzling carries on without Flash. At Playit-Online you'll find newer puzzle games that run straight in your browser. In Brix Blast you take apart colourful brick towers and sort the bricks into matching trays, in GapSnap you build the road as you race across floating islands, and in Sortica you sort symbols into the right jars.
Brix Blast
Rotate the towers, match the bricks in sets of three and clear the whole model.
GapSnap
You don't drive the road – you build it, snapping bridges across the gaps as you go.
Sortica
Sort the symbols into the matching jars until each one holds only the same kind.
You'll find more in our overview of puzzle games, among all our Flash classics and in the puzzle section at Playit-Online.
More Flash classics
Lots of old Flash games run right in your browser again on our site – no plugin needed.