As someone who enjoys computer programming,
I learned that the best way to learn to program is
to write programs.  To double my fun, I tended to
write games.  And if a game seems simple to the user,
well, perhaps the game is simple, and certainly that is
a design goal, but the program might actually be
pretty fancy, depending on what I was studying.
 

Programmed in QBASIC for DOS, this program is more of a tool
than a game.  There is a puzzle called "CryptoQuip" which is
published in various newspapers, and while this program won't
solve the puzzle, it will greatly enhance your ease at solving
the puzzle.  UNCRYPTO  is for anyone who ever wondered
about claims that a computer is a tool that amplifies the mind.
Note:  If you have anything from DOS5 through Windows98 you
may already own a copy of QBASIC.  Otherwise, you'll have
to track it down.  (As soon as Microsoft acknowledges QBASIC
as "abandonware", I'll make it available here.  Probably never, alas.)
 

Programmed in "C" for DOS, the heart of the algorithms for this
program is the 3x3 magic square.   Would you believe such a
simple computer game can have 6 difficulty levels?
TicTacToe   (Can you beat SmartAleck level, starting as 'O'?)

Programmed in "Delphi" (or "Object Pascal") for Windows,
this game requires you to think with perfect logic.  Available in
stores as a board game for two, it earned a Game of the Year
award (1973) for possibly being the best thing ever created
to encourage people to practice thinking logically.
MasterMind

I've written several versions of that program over the years, to
turn the computer into a player that only creates puzzles and
provides clues (usually when I'm learning a new programming
language).  Here, programmed differently, in "C" for Windows.
MasterMind
 

Here is a JavaScript version of the game.  Your browser will
let you save that Web page to your local disk (File/SaveAs or
File/SavePageAs).  You can then load the page at any time
(File/OpenFile), even when not connected to the Internet,
and play the game.
 
 

There is a famous mathematical pastime known as "LIFE",
created by John H. Conway.   In 1977 I thought of a way
to make a true two-person strategy game out of it.
Over the years other ideas came to me.
Programmed in C++ for Windows, this version of my
game can accommodate 6 people (hotseat play only).
EVLU
 

A recently popular puzzle, involving a 9x9 grid of numbers,
known as SuDoKu, is popping up everywhere. Here is a simple
page that you can print out, to help you solve those puzzles. And
this SuDoKu Help page has a built-in JavaScript program,
so that you don't have to do all that erasing when you make a mistake.

Here is a revised version of the SuDoKu Help page/program. I would
have liked to get the visually superior digits INSIDE the little boxes
that hold the remaining possible numbers, but there doesn't seem
to be any way to do that.  Well, at least this version doesn't need
quite as high a screen-resolution for the work area to be fully visible.

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Copyright (C) 2002, by Vernon Nemitz
For details, see the Copyright page.