Like many others around, I’ve been playing a lot of Puzzle Quest lately. I had already bought it for the DS, and really enjoyed it, but to be honest, I’m not a huge handheld guy unless I’m spending a lot of time on airplanes. Playing it on my big screen TV turned an enjoyable experience into an utterly addictive one.

What’s interesting to me is why its so addictive. After all, the core mechanics are just a less polished version of Bejeweled, with a couple of snazzy abilities. The easy answer is the RPG elements (and funny, how other game genres are trying to incorporate them while MMO players beg us to reduce them). But there’s something else interesting going on.

The game is HARD. I mean, surprisingly so. I can go nearly endlessly in Bejeweled, but I found myself getting my tail kicked in Puzzle Quest surprisingly often, at surprisingly low levels. Putting some thought into it, I realized why (and yes, it’s shockingly obvious).

In Bejeweled, the game is all about setting up massive chains. Planning two or three moves ahead to get the big score. In Puzzle Quest, your opponent plays on the same board as you, on alternating turns. This simple twist completely changes the game – instead of trying to set up the next move, the game becomes one of Denial. It’s much like pool – you want to be sure that the board state you leave your opponent (the ‘leave’ in billiards terms) isn’t too advantageous to him.

A lot of this has to do with your opponent’s special abilities. Fighting a troll? You never, ever, ever want him to get his hands on blue mana. In standard Bejeweled, it’s all about the biggest possible move for you. In PQ, you’re weighing that constantly against what your opponent will be able to pull off.

Anyway, it’s a lot of fun, and surprisingly well balanced. I can’t even tell you how many fights I manage to win with fewer than 10 health left. It’s a cheap download off the XBox arcade. Anyone who likes puzzle games should give it a whirl.