Sounds like a simple question, right? One could easily think of a meaning in terms of a circular definition: a game in which puzzles are solved. But doesn’t that definition fit many games out there, especially free flash ones? Is Closure, a game we profiled earlier, a platformer or a puzzle game? In a sense, it’s a little of both — but ultimately, it’s more a game of solving puzzles than jumping around various moving platforms. And it’s better because of it.

To get a sense of what I’m talking about, just check out the Puzzle game listings on Kongregate:

Listing of Puzzle Games on Kongregate

But many of the games listed above don’t fit into the traditional definition of a “puzzle” game. There are only “Logical or conceptual challenges”, a common term used in reference to puzzle games, to the extent that you find those challenges in almost any type of game. Halo 3, for instance, has a number of logical challenges — but it certainly isn’t commonly defined as a puzzle game, as there are already well-defined genres that are used to label it — action, shoot-em-up, et cetera.

So thus, the “Puzzle” genre gets co-opted for those fascinating, esoteric games — often free flash games — that don’t really fit into any other genre. For another example, see Obechi, a game we covered last week. There’s no more of a “logical or conceptual challenge” in Obechi than in Halo or Madden, but there’s no other commonly-adopted genre that can be used to define and tag a game centered around collecting balls with rings in an abstract, 2D space.

I’ve never been much for the side-scrolling adventure game, but Closure was a real treat. In truth, Closure is far more of a pure puzzle game than any side-scroller I’ve seen in the past.

Want to try it out? Play Closure for free here.

In the game, players explore a landscape in search of a hidden door. Sounds simple? Except everything is in the dark. The character must carry around balls of light to illuminate the surroundings and allow navigation. It goes beyond that, though — in order for something (e.g., a wall, ceiling or floor) to be real, you have to be able to see it. Darkness is just that — Darkness. It’s a mind trip, but if you’re looking to play free games now, you can do much worse than the link above.

Explore a world of side-scrolling madness and light in Closure

The real kicker, however, has to be the graphics. Closure is purely black and white, light and dark. What’s white is solid, what’s dark is simply not there. Thus, the game creates a dreamscape of sorts and is an excellent free online flash game.