Hi, I’m Stephen (part of a stairway + female chicken) Pachucki (anagram of “Pikachu + c”). Most of my friends know me as the person who writes trivia and makes puzzles. My game-making resume is a work in progress, but it includes founding Stevens Trivia Club, creating and contributing to The Stute’s puzzle section for four years, and designing numerous escape rooms and puzzle sets.
That sounds like a lot of effort, so you might ask, “Why did you make all that stuff?” Before answering that, I’ll start by answering a simpler question: Why do people like solving puzzles?
Generally, the joy in puzzle solving comes from one thing — the “aha” moment. Also known as the “eureka” moment, it’s that moment when everything about the puzzle just falls into place. It’s the Wordle word popping into your head, realizing the answer to a crossword clue, or noticing that only one number can go into a sudoku box. If you’re solving a good puzzle, there’s always a moment where things simply “click” and the answer comes to you naturally. To me, every puzzle is a new way to experience this “aha” moment, and I love to curate and gift this experience to others.
Most people probably think of puzzle-making and trivia question-writing as a technical process. While there is a lot of research, fact-checking, and attention to detail required to craft these games, there are also a lot of artistic and emotional choices that contribute to the feel of a puzzle. People like to figure things out and get stuff right, but in order for it to be satisfying, there needs to be some struggle first. My favorite part of the design process is figuring out interesting ways to help the player get the answer while still giving them enough of a challenge for it to be satisfying.
For instance, compare the following two trivia questions.
- Who designed the metal framework inside the Statue of Liberty?
- What engineer, most famous for his namesake world landmark that opened in 1889, designed the metal framework inside the Statue of Liberty?
If you asked me the first question, I would probably say: What? That’s such an obscure question. I have no idea. Who even cares? (I’ll admit that I can be a bit of a trivia snob sometimes.) The second question is far better. Even if you don’t know it at first, you might think about how the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France, so the engineer is probably French. The most famous French landmark named after some guy is definitely the Eiffel Tower, so maybe that’s a good guess. That’s just one of multiple ways to get to the answer. Writing clues is a delicate balance of keeping things challenging and interesting while maintaining fairness and giving players the best chance at success.
I’m always guessing at what the average person can figure out, and (like many other people who attempt to predict human behavior) I am often wrong. That’s why nearly every piece of content is tested before it’s released.
I love the process of seeing what works and what doesn’t and then fine-tuning the experience for my players. I love balancing difficulty and watching people solve problems they initially thought were impossible. I love working on the canvas of human interaction and emotion and giving solvers a dopamine rush that they earned. These reasons are, ultimately, why I love to construct puzzles.
