IQ-Puzzler Deluxe
The product development of IQ-Puzzler Deluxe Edition (for SmartGames)
Raf Peeters, January 2026
Last year I told myself I would try to develop fewer IQ-style games. Personally, I’m more drawn to sequential movement puzzles or connection games than to pure packing problems. But in practice, 2025 ended up being the opposite: I actually created more IQ puzzles than ever. That’s partly because the market keeps asking for them. But I am not complaining. After all, how many people get to say their job is to design puzzles and play all day? And so, along came IQ-Puzzler Deluxe.
There’s no shortage of puzzles using ball-shaped pieces either. The competition includes Lonpos and Kanoodle (essentially the same game under different branding), while SmartGames already has IQ-Puzzler Pro, IQ-Six Pro and IQ Mini. Over the years, I’ve also added to the family with titles like IQ-Fit, Quadrillion, IQ-Bubbles, IQ-Go Marbles, IQ-Plus — and now this Deluxe Edition. Even though the similarities between these games are obvious, I always make sure each one has its own unique piece set and challenges. Here’s what sets IQ-Puzzler Deluxe apart from IQ-Puzzler Pro:
• Instead of the usual orange piece, there’s a new T-shaped piece.
• The game board is made of dark-painted plywood and is double-sided: one side for building the pyramid, the other for 2D challenges.
• Most puzzle pieces were borrowed from Quadrillion or Cube Puzzler Pro. We only had to design one completely new piece. A few existing pieces were recolored to match the style of the IQ series.
• The packaging is premium: a black box with gold logos, larger than the other Deluxe boxes (240 × 240 mm x 45 mm). It’s also slightly more expensive, at around €25 instead of €20.
• The game comes with 120 challenges across all levels, including Wizard: 80 2D challenges and 40 3D ones, presented in a hardcover booklet with black pages.
Designing the pyramid side of the board was straightforward. We used the standard 5×5 grid, but angled it at 45°. This made better use of the available space on the game board. A straight 90° grid would have looked uninspiring and empty. The flip side, for the 2D challenges, was trickier. You can’t fit a neat orthogonal grid for 55 balls onto a square board. By angling the grid again, we managed to make it fit, though the layout became irregular: the left and right sides are similar and straight, but the top and bottom are not. To avoid confusion during setup, we printed the SmartGames logo on the border to give the game board a clear orientation. Even though IQ puzzles aren’t my personal favorite category, I enjoyed working on this one. The larger, glossy puzzle pieces — polished from the original Quadrillion molds a few years ago — look stunning against the black wooden board. Together they give the game a real “eye candy” quality, which photos made by Bert (Milo-Profi) capture beautifully as usual. Where IQ-Plus leaned heavily into 2D puzzles, IQ-Puzzler Deluxe shines with its 3D challenges. That’s why we included 40 pyramid challenges ranging from easy to very difficult. The wooden game board means there’s no transparent plastic lid, so unless you leave it on display after building a pyramid, you’ll want to store the pieces in the box. IQ-Puzzler Deluxe is as much a design object as it is a game — a puzzle that looks at home on a coffee table, inviting you to pick it up and play. IQ-Puzzler Deluxe will be available in Summer 2026.
Example of 2D challenge (left) and solution (right) of IQ-Puzzler Deluxe
Example of an EXPERT 3D challenge (left) and solution (right), with the grid angled 45°
GAME RULES IQ PUZZLER DELUXE 2D challenges
Before you start: Flip the game board to the side with 55 dimples AND rotate it so that the word "SMARTGAMES" is facing you.
1) Choose a challenge and place the puzzle pieces as indicated. You are not allowed to change the position of the pieces given in the challenge.
2) Fill all the empty spaces on the board with all the remaining puzzle pieces.
3) There is only one solution, found at the end of the challenge booklet.
GAME RULES IQ PUZZLER DELUXE 3D challenges
Before you start: Flip the game board to the side with 25 dimples.
1) Place the puzzle pieces as shown in the challenge:
• A puzzle piece can be placed horizontally (with all its ball shapes in the same layer), or vertically at a 45° angle (with all its ball shapes spread over multiple layers).
• White balls shown in the challenge indicate spots in the pyramid that are still empty.
2) Fill the empty spaces with the remaining pieces to create a pyramid with 5 layers.
3) There is only one solution, found at the end of the challenge booklet.
Website ©2026 Raf Peeters
Products and images: © Smart