MERLINFor a little rest and relaxation, I wrote a tiny JavaScript puzzle implementation, Magic Square Puzzle, that emulates the Merlin's Magic Square puzzle from the old 1978 electronic game.

I remember getting one for Christmas as a kid, probably in 1978 or 1979. I had wanted a Merlin so desperately, but doubted my parents would get one for me. Oh, what joy and excitement filled my head when on Christmas morning, there, beneath the tree, I saw it, in all its dazzling, smooth, shiny red plastic glory.

The magic square game (one of six) was one of my favorite, if not my favorite. Fortunately a quick web search turned up some information about the rules of the original electronic game. With a little HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, I could once again play the game that had delighted me in my childhood.

Try it out (use the link at the top of this article) with a web browser that supports JavaScript. It's pretty easy to figure out, quite simplistic. In theory, a perfect player should never have to click a single button more than once to solve it. At best, a single click might solve the puzzle, and at worst one might have to click on all nine buttons a single time.