Sokoban
You push boxes or other blocks around a grid until each one is on its target; since you can only push, never pull, you have to plan several moves ahead so you don't leave a piece stuck against a wall.
Also known as: box-pushing puzzle, pushing block puzzle, Sokoban-like
This is a basic entry: it has the definition and the classification. Full entries add history, games and a demo.
History
- 1982OriginSokoban
Hiroyuki Imabayashi created Sokoban in 1981 and Thinking Rabbit released it in Japan in 1982; its mechanics have been copied in countless clones.
Sokoban (Wikipedia) - 1989
Adventures of Lolo builds Sokoban-style block-pushing puzzles into its design, as many action-adventure games would later do.
Sokoban (Wikipedia) - 2016
Stephen Lavelle's Stephen's Sausage Roll takes the Sokoban grid to puzzles about sausages you must grill on every side, widely praised by other puzzle designers.
Stephen's Sausage Roll (Wikipedia)
Reference games
1982
Sokoban
You push boxes around a warehouse seen from above until each one sits on its spot. You can only push, never pull, so one bad move can leave the level unsolvable.