SSPAI Recommends Three Puzzle Games for the Last Three Workdays Before the Holiday

The first recommendation is Murdoku, a game that combines Sudoku and detective work. In each row and column there can be only one person, and each person has a sentence describing their position. The map, oriented north at the top and south at the bottom, is divided into blocks; the victim (V) must be alone in the same block as the murderer. The player acts as a detective, locating each person and identifying the killer. Maps range from 5x5 to 16x16 and from very easy to expert across five difficulty levels. The game defines special terms: 'beside' means within the same block and immediately adjacent on one of the four sides. Harder levels include general clues, such as only one room being empty. According to the article, the easiest puzzles can be solved in under a minute, while expert ones can take tens of minutes. The official website currently offers 39 puzzles, enough for several hours if players avoid hints. It works on desktop and mobile, and a physical book and printable download are available, which the author notes is useful for people whose computer or phone use might be checked.

The second game is Type Help, described as a classic text-only adventure puzzle game. It has no music, visuals, or hints; the player sees a computer that records related events and a dialogue box. On March 7, 1936, a group entered the abandoned Jiali Mansion and found several recently dead bodies inside and outside a building that should have been uninhabited for decades. Most causes of death were unknown, and only one person's identity was confirmed. The player must find all case-related files from the dialogue box, determine each victim's last moments, and uncover the truth of the old case. The article says the game is difficult; without textual or visual hints, fully solving it takes effort, and the writer did not finish it during a trial. It can be played online on the author's itch.io page and works on desktop and mobile. The author also remade it as a conventional puzzle game, The Case of the Jiali Mansion, sold on Steam for Windows, macOS, and Steam Deck.

The third recommendation is the Xicheng Elementary School series. For a looser environment, such as the last day before a holiday, the article suggests browser-based virtual ARG games. These games tend to be large, require searching across web pages including source code for clues, and are time-consuming; because they are mainly browser-based, they are easier to hide. The article says AI's growing maturity has allowed authors with ideas but limited technical skills to complete game designs. Such games often focus on supernatural, mystery, and detective themes, fitting the web ARG format; this is also a category with many AI-generated works, but includes titles such as kikoj's Yishan Bichu and the Xicheng Elementary School series from Puzzle Mission Studio. The Xicheng series is still updating; the author posts puzzle statements on Threads, and all remaining information must be found on the school's official website. There are currently two titles, The Xicheng Elementary School Missing Incident and Xicheng Elementary School Sixth Grade Class B. The article's writer considers the first more complete and more impactful. The school website is highly realistic, resembling the early 2000s. All puzzle content is inside the site; players can click links, read records related to the events, find passwords for specific sections, and uncover hidden data in the source code, with F12 helping. The article says this game is more suitable for slacking off than Yishan Bichu because its web pages have little audio or video, so it can be played without sound. If players piece together the truth, they can visit the studio's homepage to see a handwritten note with the truth. Players can use the puzzle statements above to visit the school website for the first game or check Threads for the second puzzle.

The article also invites readers to share their own office relaxation content with the tag 'Slacking Off' and points to a special topic, the Otter Slack-Off Research Room, for lighter ways to pass the time. It ends by wishing readers happy slacking and asking what they plan to do for the holiday.