Puzzle Quest
Tetris DS
Meteos
ANY of the Brain Age series
Panel De Pon DS (I forget what this one was called in America)

Forgot Picross DS

I'm currently leaning towards, brain age, picross and tetris.

All very good choices, suitable for all ages. I'm sure he'll have lots of endless fun with those :)

Tetris DS is hard to find (I guess? That's what they tell me. Out of print.) but very enjoyable! So many crazy fun modes. Good choice.

Yeah, that about does it. Also, if he's into mystery novel stuff, there's "Hotel Dusk".

"Space Invaders Extreme" is cheap, old-skool, and kind of a cross between a puzzle game and... Space Invaders. Awesome but haaaaard.

There's also the Phoenix Wright series in that "interactive novel" vein. Very old-school adventure-type point-click reading games.

Phoenix Wright series are court drama "interactive novels", really kitshky and full of humor, I'd recommend them to anybody.

Hotel Dusk is more of a mystery "iNovel", very interesting with compelling characters and complex puzzles and storyline.

I've got all the Ace Attorney games so far, so yeah, it's pretty awesome... Though I'm not sure if I'd recommend those games as gifts for dad, unless you KNOW he doesn't mind Anime stylings and very Japanese humor :)

Well he might not get some of the nuances of the sometimes too-inside japanese humor, but the storyline and most of the humor, and the court cases themselves are compelling in and of themselves.

I second Meteos, the stylus scuff-marks on my DS are all in vertical stripes from playing that game so much. There's also Pogo Island, which has a handful of Pogo.com's games in portable form, and any tokens you get on the DS game can be sent to your pogo.com account to enter contests and such.

Chocobo Tales is a mini-game funfest, but many of the games are puzzly in nature.

If this is a DS and not a DSi, then you also have the option of GBA titles like the Dr. Mario reissue.

I couldn't suggest the DSi to anybody right now to be honest c_c it needs to be ironed out a bit more I think.

Chocobo Tales I'd really only suggest to fans of frustration in pukey-cute form and fans of collectible card games and/or die-hard Final Fantasy fans.

I agree, DSi took one of the most useful DS features and replaced it with a couple that will be totally useless in the immediate future.

I actually enjoy Chocobo Tales, though I never really got into the card game. I do love the style and the Reading Rainbow inspired intro video was amusing.

The DS version is called Puzzle Planet League.


Just thought I could let ya know!

<3 Meteos ^___^

Tetris rocks

Nothing I can add that Mirringfox hasn't.

Sorry. Mirriring.

Mirri :p

I personally like the Crosswords game. :)
http://www.gamespot.com/ds/puzzle/c.....zle/index.html

Brain Age has the absolute best Sudoku interface of any DS game.

Puzzle games, hmm. dropcast and disney meteos

Puzzle Leage
Tetris
Polarium Is fun too!
Double Sequence too, Fun Puzzle but hard to get use to it!
Try Zenses reinforest or Ocean, but you better see a video of them first.

well theirs nintendo crossword puzzle due ot some time soon

Has anyone mentioned Professor Layton and the Curious Village?

how is that, it's another game i was considering.

I haven't wanted to play too much, I'm saving it for my upcoming flight.

But from what I've seen the game looks visually very nice. The puzzles are sometimes a little easy but I haven't gotten very far at all so they no doubt get much harder further in.

It's one game that will challenge even the most seasoned veterans at puzzles. (though I think a few in there don't make sense)

and a better thing is that once you think you're done with the puzzles, there are bonus puzzles as well as downloadable ones.

Oh and the visuals and movies are really well done =3

~GL

It's tremendous, and a great game for family members/non-hardcore gamers. The presentation of the whole thing is really engaging and the puzzles themselves are challenging without being impossible. Highly recommended :)

I agree with Professor Layton, I'm actually playing it right now XD

The art direction is stellar and charming, and the puzzles are very fun. This is one of my favorite DS games XD It's kinda reminiscent of the old PC adventure games from the early nineties like Myst, where you point and click at static backgrounds to discover things. I heard it's a series in Japan, but they've only released one in the US so far. My vote goes the the good Prof. :D

It's very British-styled, and you don't actually have to complete too many of the game's puzzles in order to advance the story. And there are quite a few stumpers. But there's plenty of hints that cost hint coins (which you can find along the way) and not only that, but you can download new puzzles from Nintendo Wi-Fi every week. :D

try the big brain accademy too?

Picross is like crack, and SIEX is old school fun, Phoenix Wright is humor and law wrapped up into one, and any Brain Age game is perfect for sudoku.

You got a DS? We need t' do stuff.

Also, Crosswords DS, the abligatory Tetris, Phoenix Wright games (Choose your own adventure, really), N+, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! games, And Chessmaster.

Might as well get Flash Focus since you're considering Brain Ages :P

Professor Layton and the Curious Village.

plenty of puzzle goodness.

I second this.

it's an awesome game.

Thirding Meteos. Truly addictive.

why not try time gear? its a game where when your character wakes up everything has changed and he gets a pen where once he gathers enough info about an area he can draw a small hole in time to change something in the past, I cant explain it well but it kept me interested for a while ^^;

I think you got a healthy selection of games suggested, but you might also want to look into "Clubhouse Games".

Though not a puzzle game, it has over 42 classic pallor type games, with Wi-Fi support. =)

http://us.touchgenerations.com/game.....housegames.jsp

How about Magnetica?

Personally my number 1 is Picross, then Planet Puzzle League (Puzzle De Pon DS), then Tetris.

Just grab one off the shelf: you're bound to get lucky.

Prism.

Nobody's played it, but it's amazing.

Luxor, Dropcast, 7 Wonders, Mega Brain Boost.

Add Peggle DS and Professor Layton and the Curious Village to Mirriring's list, and there you have it.

Tetris DS, Planet Puzzle League are two good puzzle games worth working your skills. If you wanna go for a challenging arcade shooter, Geometry Wars Galaxies is worth picking up.