Catalan

A high amount of complexity can come from simple rules. In Catalan, a free browser puzzle game released by increpare (Stephen Lavelle), the only rule is if there is a circle with three lines intersecting through it, then it can be clicked. When clicked, it absorbs the three circles connected by the interesting lines, with the goal of clearing off the screen. The complexity lies in how these puzzles are constructed: lines over lines, jumbled figures, approximations of real world things—but it all feels like an idea scribbled onto a napkin by a friend who is far smarter than you (and a mathematician).

You can understand their first drawing—the basics. You follow along as they explain further, drawing more objects. Then it starts to get weird, you kind of guess you understand what they are saying but it feels like you missed something integral a few minutes ago. And now you are just nodding your head in agreement hoping it doesn’t catch up to you. Of course it does; you admit you don’t really know what they are talking about and the conversation ends.

Catalan is that. I can understand the basics and a couple of levels above that but any further and I find myself just clicking around to see what happens. I see patterns in the figures that emerge from my clicking around, the way dead ends look, but it is impossible for me to form the proper logic to prevent it from happening. Then my trials in errors hit a wall (“Evil Tower”) and I can’t go further. That feeling can be one of the worst: knowing and seeing there is indeed substance within something but no matter how much you throw yourself at it, your mind just doesn’t get it.

[Play Catalan]