List of XYZZY Awards By Category - Best Individual Puzzle

Best Individual Puzzle

The seventh original award is that for the Best Individual Puzzle. It recognizes a particularly inspired, well-crafted, and intriguing puzzle.

• 2011: The hat mystery (also in Doctor M, Last Day of Summer, and Playing Games) in Cold Iron by Andrew Plotkin
  • Assembling the name of the final location in The Race by Andy Why
  • Escaping the tower in Indigo by Emily Short
  • Putting out the fire in How Suzy Got Her Powers by David Whyld
• 2010: Crossing the river in Aotearoa by Matt Wigdahl
  • Deciding what to do with the baby in The Warblers Nest by Jason McIntosh
  • Dividing up the oxygen reserves in Oxygen by Benjamin Sokal
  • Getting the lighter from Kai in Allein mit Kai by Ingo Scharmann and Joana Markus
  • Roof tile repair in The 12:54 to Asgard by J. Robinson Wheeler
  • Saving Dr. Ephart in One Eye Open by Colin Sandel and Carolyn VanEseltine
• 2009: Finding out how the goggles work in Byzantine Perspective by Lea Albaugh
  • Defeating the Eagle Beast in The Ascot by Duncan Bowsman
  • Working out the controls in Rover's Day Out by Jack Welch and Ben Collins-Sussman
• 2008: Disconnecting the Internet/getting rid of the key in Violet by Jeremy Freese
  • Putting the vampire together in Afflicted by Doug Egan
  • Calling for help in Escapade! by Juhana Leinonen
  • The gallows in Gun Mute by C. E. J. Pacian
• 2007: Identifying the killer, in An Act of Murder by Christopher Huang
  • The toy in the cabinet, in Child's Play by Stephen Granade
  • The thermostat, in Orevore Courier by Brian Rapp
  • The shark, in Slap That Fish by Peter Nepstad
  • The vault door, in Suveh Nux by David Fisher
• 2006: Navigating the mansion in Delightful Wallpaper by Andrew Plotkin
  • Choosing the present in Floatpoint by Emily Short
  • The piano puzzle in Madam Spider's Web by Sara Dee
  • The reactor puzzle in Moebius by J. D. Clemens
  • Final puzzle in Strange Geometries by Phillip Chambers
• 2005: Following the murderer, in Beyond by Mondi Confinanti (Roberto Grassi, Paolo Lucchesi, and Alessandro Peretti)
  • Moving the stone (after escaping the labyrinth), in All Hope Abandon by Eric Eve
  • Finding something to eat, in Chancellor by Kevin Venzke
  • Beating the creature, in Distress by Mike Snyder
  • Identifying the killer, in Mystery House Possessed by Emily Short
• 2004: The time puzzle, in All Things Devours by "half sick of shadows"
  • The toilet, in Blue Chairs by Chris Klimas
  • Cracking Eno's computer, in Future Boy! by Kent Tessman
  • The poltergeist, in Necrotic Drift by Robb Sherwin
  • The cistern, in The Dreamhold by Andrew Plotkin
• 2003: The purple room, in The Recruit by Mike Sousa
  • Escaping the quicksand, in Max Blaster and Doris de Lightning Against the Parrot Creatures of Venus by Dan Shiovitz and Emily Short
  • Making the sandwich, in Max Blaster and Doris de Lightning Against the Parrot Creatures of Venus by Dan Shiovitz and Emily Short
  • Creating the black powder, in Risorgimento Represso by Michael J. Coyne
  • Getting into the farm, in Risorgimento Represso by Michael J. Coyne
• 2002: Setting the traps, in Lock & Key by Adam Cadre
  • The maze, in Constraints by Martin Bays
  • Entering the church, in Forever Always by Iain Merrick
  • Decoding the letter, in Savoir Faire by Emily Short
  • The computer password, in Till Death Makes a Monk-Fish out of Me! by Jon Ingold and Mike Sousa
• 2001: Deciphering the language, in The Gostak by Carl Muckenhoupt
  • The birds, in All Roads by Jon Ingold
  • Switching the glasses, in Pytho's Mask by Emily Short
  • The chess game, in Silicon Castles by David Given
  • An unspecified puzzle, in Textfire Golf by Adam Cadre
  • Disarming the bomb, in Vicious Cycles by Simon Mark
• 2000: The whole game, in Rematch by Andrew Pontious
  • The whole game, in 9:05 by Adam Cadre
  • The mannequin, in Adove and Beyond! by Mike Sousa
  • The letter rooms, in Ad Verbum by Nick Montfort
  • The recursive room, in Being Andrew Plotkin by J. Robinson Wheeler
• 1999: The maze, in Hunter, in Darkness by Andrew Plotkin
  • Stopping the flood, in For a Change by Dan Schmidt
  • The clone puzzle, in The Frenetic Five vs. Mr. Redundancy Man by Neil deMause.
  • The water puzzle, in Break-In by Jon Ingold
  • Getting the light upstairs, in The Mulldoon Legacy by Jon Ingold
• 1998: Getting out of the chair, in Spider and Web by Andrew Plotkin
  • The snack machine, in Little Blue Men by Michael Gentry
  • The granite cube, in Losing Your Grip by Stephen Granade
  • Getting out of the maze, in Photopia by Adam Cadre
  • Entering the warehouse, in The Plant by Mike Roberts
• 1997: The language puzzle, in The Edifice by Lucian P. Smith
  • Setting the digital clock, in Heist by Andy Phillips
  • The whole game, in Pick Up the Phone Booth and Die by Rob Noyes
  • Defeating the Kunkel, in Sins Against Mimesis by Adam Thornton
  • Building the sand castle, in Sunset Over Savannah by Ivan Cockrum
• 1996: Opening the gate, in So Far by Andrew Plotkin
  • The crystals, in Fear by Chuan-Tze Teo
  • The elephant, in The Meteor, the Stone, and a Long Glass of Sherbet by Graham Nelson
  • (cramped, crawling), in So Far by Andrew Plotkin
  • Riding the creature, in So Far by Andrew Plotkin