In November, HLN set a new record with over 2.1 million puzzles and games played in its Puzzles section, an unprecedented number. Maybe the puzzle has also become a regular routine for you: during breakfast, during break or before going to bed? And if you haven’t solved the puzzles yet, Puzzle 10 Days is a fun introduction to all our games: you can win prizes every day until Christmas if you solve the puzzle.
Why do we love puzzles so much?
Confusion goes beyond mere entertainment. In this way, puzzles help challenge our minds or escape the hustle and bustle of the day. Anyone who plays puzzles feels a rush of endorphins when they manage to complete the game, and the connection through playing the puzzle together – or against each other – is part of the appeal.
Confusion is part of the news, like coffee with breakfast
The puzzle pages of our newspaper have always held a special place in the hearts of our readers. Every change or typo guarantees many replies in our mailbox. We see that playing puzzles has become an integral part of the news experience, online too. “Readers come for the news, but they stay for the puzzles,” say the puzzle experts at the famous New York Times, which in 1942 began solving crosswords in the newspaper – and since 2014 also digitally. Both The Guardian and Le Monde have also digitized their games range and today reach a wider audience of young and old, absolute beginners and seasoned puzzle enthusiasts.
Word remains the most popular game, followed by Sudoku, Word Search, and Crossword.
The most popular game in HLN’s puzzle section remains “The Word”. This pun has been around for about 18 months and has become a daily routine for hundreds of thousands of Flemish people. “The Word” challenges you to guess the word of the day in six steps. Later, “Word 6” was also introduced, with an additional letter for more variety. And in our statistics we also see that there are also readers who wait until midnight to play a new mission.
And you’ll have even more fun in 2024, with new puzzles and jobs
Our popular word search received an update last month, making the game even more fun to play, for example Against the Clock. “You should be able to play each game without a guide, but it should also be difficult enough to become an expert at,” our puzzle creators say. “Our players like to try something new too, so we try to add new games to the catalogue.”
Our team of puzzle experts also continues to work on features that make playing easier and more fun. This includes pausing a puzzle to continue playing later, high scores and sharing scores with friends and family from any game. Most of the innovations can be found in the HLN app, and the website will not be updated until a later stage.
These were our favorite puzzles and games last month
Sudublock: A cross between Sudoku and Tetris. Strategically fill the grid with blocks to free up space for new blocks and increase your score. Also now with daily challenges in which you compete against other players.
city Council: Zoom in on satellite images and guess which city you’re in, with more and more hints after each wrong guess.
Head roll: Every day a news headline appears in this word puzzle. It’s up to you to ask it again.
cryptogram: A classic game of vague descriptions. We often play it on the train or at the breakfast table with the help of the whole family.
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