Not Just an Ordinary Ballerina

Baf's Guide

Despite the off-putting title, Not Just An Ordinary Ballerina is an absolute treasure for puzzle-lovers. You are a harried mother who has been given an impossible assignment: finding an incredibly rare toy for your daughter on Christmas Eve. The game begins as you arrive in the parking lot of the only mall left that still has one.

While most of the dozens of puzzles are fair, there are a couple of mathematical riddles and visualization puzzles that had me tearing my hair out. It also contains some cultural references that may make it difficult for nonnative English speakers. Nevertheless, the game's sheer density (and the strength of its adaptive hints system) make this the best puzzle game I've seen since Curses.

-- R. Serena Wakefield