Kickle Cubicle

Freeze an enemy into a block of ice and build a bridge across a chasm out of it — that is the idea Kickle Cubicle is built on, one of those lesser-known but all the more delightful logic games on the NES.

You control the grinning hero Kickle, who has one crucial ability: his breath turns enemies into ice blocks. He can then push these blocks around, use them to fill holes and build himself a path across the level. The goal is to collect the hidden items scattered on each screen and open the exit, with every room a self-contained puzzle requiring the right sequence of steps.

The charm of the game lies in the combination of cute, colourful graphics and a surprisingly thoughtful level design. What looks like a children's trifle can keep you genuinely busy — you have to work out where and when to freeze an enemy, how to position the ice bridges and how not to block yourself in. It is pleasantly contemplative logic without needless stress.

Kickle Cubicle belongs to the kind of titles that can easily get lost among the big names on a console, but that all the more reward anyone who gives them a chance. It offers exactly that calm, puzzle-solving fun you can spend a long evening with, never feeling that the game is cheating you.

If you enjoy puzzle games whose main asset is a clever idea and its clean execution, this icy classic deserves a place in your library.

Why play: For the original mechanic of freezing enemies and building ice bridges — clever, calm logic in an adorable package for laid-back puzzle evenings.