How to spot a good two-minute puzzle

A two-minute puzzle should make its rules visible and let you finish a meaningful attempt quickly. The ideal choice depends on whether you want pattern recognition, words or spatial planning.

Choose one mental task

Tile matching asks you to recognize pairs; a maze asks you to plan a route; a word game asks you to recall letters. Pick the task you feel like doing right now rather than opening the first picture in a list.

Stop at a clear point

Complete one board or one level, then decide whether to continue. If a game offers an endless chain of rounds, choose your stopping point before the next one begins.

Put it into practice

Choose a game that matches this topic from the category directory. Read its controls before starting, try one round, then decide what you would change on the next attempt. The game image above comes from HTMLGames.com; it illustrates this topic and the game itself is hosted by that provider.