Puzzle Panic

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Puzzle Panic, also known as Ken Uston's Puzzle Panic, was a computer game created by blackjack strategist Ken Uston, Bob Polin and Ron Karr and published by Epyx in 1984 for the Atari 400/800.

The player guides Benny, a light bulb, through a series of 11 puzzles, each with varying difficulty settings (a total of over 40 levels). At the completion of each level, there are three available exits, each bearing an obscure symbol, which take Benny forward or back in the game (or possibly to repeat the level).

The final level, the "Metasequence", is a cryptic puzzle with a non-explicit objective. Its original purpose was part of a contest: Those who solved it correctly by the 1984 August 31 deadline could enter in a drawing to win a weekend at an Atlantic City casino with co-creator Ken Uston, who had previously earned fame as a gambling strategist.

[edit] External links

• The Season's Software Sampler, excerpted from A.N.A.L.O.G. issue 25, December 1984.
• Puzzle Panic entry from Atari 8-bit Forever.
• Puzzle Panic entry from Universal Videogame List.