Good puzzle games are hard to come by. Any fan of a Tetris clone could argue that there are a lot of good puzzlers out there. But puzzle games aren't fun in repetition. They're fun when they're fresh and not like any other game we've played. That's what made Lumines an unlikely fan favorite at the launch of the PSP, and why Tetris Attack is one of the few two-player SNES games people are still playing (10 years after it was released!).

Sneaking in through the back door is another puzzle game hoping to etch a permanent mark in gaming history – PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient. Not to be confused with IQ: Intelligence Quotient, PQ is a sneaky puzzler. A hide-and-seek puzzler. A game where you won't create blocks to make others disappear; you'll use existing blocks to navigate toward the goal. That's your primary objective: arrive at the end of the level within the time limit, gain lots of points, and brag to your friends about how intelligent you are.

As you can tell by the screens, PQ's graphic style is a lot like IQ's. The levels are laid out in a similar fashion. Suspended in air by an unknown force, the purposely-blocky platforms hold the path to victory. What you end up having to do is this: if platforms are separate from each other, chances are there's a movable block that can fill the gap. The tricky, clever – and yes, intelligent – part comes in how you must go about getting the block and moving it to the right place.

Blocks come in many shapes and sizes. Squares and rectangles are old news and are represented, but the cooler, more interesting blocks are Tetris-shaped pieces that interlock with each other. PQ is nothing like Tetris, they're two completely different kinds of games. But these blocks – if you turn them some ways they don't go together, but if you turn them the right way they form a shape. Hmm, that looks like staircase. What would I do with a—oh, right! Of course! I'll climb the steps to reach the other platform.

"You know, this ain't too difficult," I thought after passing the 13th level. There were 87 additional levels to be conquered, but I just love to jump to conclusions. "Either that or I'm a genius!"

Not quite. The game gets slightly more difficult during the 20 to 29 range of levels, then begins its quest for player destruction once you get into the 30s. There are still another 60 stages to get through once those have been finished. Do you have the patience and persistence to make it to the end?

Besides block moving, block stacking and interlocking pieces, PQ has stages with moving floors and escalators. Hop on one of the moving platforms and it'll take you in the direction it's currently moving. You can't go back unless you find a way back. The "practicality" comes from being able to look at the entire level (the camera can be tilted a bit to see everything that's out there. Small levels only). If you're intelligent, the game believes, you will be able to figure out the solution just by looking at the level. You'll only get on the correct platforms and land at the goal very quickly.

What about when you can't go back? That's when you have to use the Retry function, which sends you back to the beginning of the stage and resets the location of all objects (if there are any). It does not, however, reset the clock or give you back lost points. When you fail a level, you fail a level. The game skips ahead. You can go back and play through the failed level at another time, but I really don't care for this feature. I would've rather had the ability to retry each level as much as I want until I got it right. Of course, that's not the point of the "test," which was what the game believes it is – a measure of our smarts. I, however, am playing it for entertainment, not to test my brain's inherent abilities.

PQ has a few different types of mazes, the first of which is a straight maze that requires you to think like a mouse and find the cheese. Not really, but you get the point. The second type is more adventurous: a map is shown at the beginning of the stage to tell you where you should go. You're likely to forget what you saw as soon as you stop looking at the map.

Got a photographic memory, you say? Lucky, but you'll still have to deal with the blue flashlight guys. They roam the level, shining their light in all directions to catch intruders. These levels are very virtual and look entirely fictitious, but the reason for these guards is to see how well players are at avoiding detection. They have patterns – can you pick up on them? They'll work in unison – can you figure out how to avoid them at that time? These are clever stages that result in a lot of, "Aw, not again" on the player's behalf.

The third maze type, dark mazes, send you into a room that prevents you from seeing where your guy is going. How do you reach the goal when you can't see what's in front of you? By memorizing and carefully following the arrow pattern shown before you enter. It's a weird system that causes frustration, but at the end of the day I can't help but think how clever all of these puzzles are.

Clever – always. Intelligent – sometimes. PQ has a few illogical moments that'll make you scream. The first time I began to judge PQ's intelligence was when I had to push a block off other blocks to fill a gap that prevented me from reaching the goal. There were two single-square blocks underneath that are supposed to be stacked next to each other on the left side. That way you can push the block right off.

But the game does not explain that or give a logical reason as to why that's the way it should be done. Technically, since the block I'm pushing (which is the size of two squares) can be pushed on a single-square box, the placement of the single-square blocks should not matter. If they're diagonal, the larger block should still slide off them. But it doesn't.

After the fact it makes more sense than it does when you're trying to solve the puzzle. A newbie wouldn't have figured that out without guessing or trial and error, thus replacing the "intelligence" with "video game strategy." There's a big difference between the two.

Gameplay: 7.9
Stock blocks, interlock special pieces, navigate through mazes, avoid getting caught by the blue guys with flashlights – this isn't your everyday puzzler. PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient is an original puzzle game with a lot of interesting ideas. The clock starts ticking the moment these ideas are presented. Every lost second results in lost points. They deplete faster than the clock, leaving you with nothing if the timer runs out. It's at that point that most puzzle games end, but in PQ you have what is more or less a backup clock that gives you an extra three minutes to reach the goal.

Graphics: 7.0
Simplistic, bold, color-base images that resemble the IQ series.

Sound: 6.5
Distinct, but not memorable.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
The first few levels aren't too difficult, but there are 100 of them! The latter 50 can be very challenging. Puzzle nuts will go nuts (in a happy, non-straightjacket-threatening way).

Concept: 8.5
Original ideas and original puzzles that have been executed beautifully. The frustrating, less-logical puzzles will raise a few confused eyebrows. Regardless, PQ is an extremely original title.

Overall: 7.9
PQ is a puzzle game of great variety. Just when you begin to think that mazes, conveyor belts and stacked boxes are all this game has to offer, in comes another puzzle type: weights. One (or several) large door(s) block the goal at the end of the stage. Stand in front of the door and a few digits will appear. It seems that when you carry special blocks over to the door, the digits drop. Could it be that the door's lock is triggered by weight?

The math is technically simple, but you have a time limit to contend with, and each block must be carried to the door from wherever it has been planted. There are often additional, unnecessary blocks to throw you off course. The easiest way to solve the problem is to find all the blocks, pause the game and add them up to see exactly which ones are needed to open the door. But that's not the way the game is meant to be played. Play these stages without pausing and they're frantic, intense, and even a little exciting.

Overall that's what this game is – frantic and intense, but also one of frustration and at times illogical confusion. This is definitely not for everyone. But if you're like me and love an interesting puzzle game, PQ belongs in your PSP collection.