History Main / FifteenPuzzle

* They were included in Windows OS Vista and 7 as desktop gadgets.

* In ''VideoGame/WarioWareDIY'', [[spoiler:Orbulon]]'s boss stage is a 3x3 variant of this.

* This is the premise of the minigame "Puzzle", which shipped with early versions of UsefulNotes/AppleMacintosh from the original to System 7. Later revisions of Mac OS replaced "Puzzle" with a jigsaw puzzle.

* The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version of ''VideoGame/Action52'' has this.

* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' featured a large scale sliding puzzle as part of the floor in the apartment of inventor. It is already solved and turns out to be [[spoiler:part of a DeathTrap]]

* Sam Loyd, who claimed (probably falsely) to have invented the puzzle in the 19th century, offered a $1,000 reward. The puzzle conserves parity and cannot be solved if the numbers 14 and 15 are swapped, which was the configuration he provided it in. Rumor has it that Loyd couldn't patent the puzzle because it was insoluble, though "because he didn't invent it" is another plausible reason. ''TabletopGame/PerplexCity'' has a card based on Loyd's version of the puzzle. Henry Segerman [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfAEgxNEOrQ demonstrates]] a variation of this impossible puzzle where the puzzle is projected onto a cylinder and the opposite corners are placed adjacent to each other. This enables one to change the parity of tiles, thus rendering the problem soluble.

* At least [[OncePerEpisode once per series]] in ''Series/TheCrystalMaze''.

* In ''VideoGame/WarioWare D.I.Y.'', [[spoiler:Orbulon]]'s boss stage is a 3x3 variant of this.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'': Such a puzzle also appears in the LethalLavaLand course. It solves and scrambles itself, though. Whenever it reaches the solution, coins pop out of all the panels. The puzzle is the only thing standing between Mario and hot molten lava, so the moving vacancy acts as a mobile hazard.

* Such a puzzle also appears in the LethalLavaLand course of ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''. It solves and scrambles itself, though. Whenever it reaches the solution, coins pop out of all the panels. The puzzle is the only thing standing between Mario and hot molten lava, so the moving vacancy acts as a mobile hazard.

* ''Literature/TheCaliforniaVoodooGame'' throws out one of these in a timed situation. The trick is that it's a word-version and there are two [=Rs=]: "RATE, YOUR, MIND, PAL". Put them in the wrong place and the puzzle is uncrackable.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Ripper}}'', two cyberspace locations - the WebRunners' Archive and Falcon Eddie's personal well - are protected by these puzzles. [[spoiler:However, the game has cheat codes for all the puzzles in cyberspace.]] A woman who gives you the former well's address unintentionally [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this.

* The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version of ''VideoGame/{{Action 52}}'' has this.

* The indie game ''VideoGame/{{Cogs}}'' is this TurnedUpToEleven.

* Showed up as a hidden MiniGame in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' and all of its remakes. Accessing the puzzle required you to GetOnTheBoat and hold down one button while mashing another. Completing the puzzle gave your party extra money, but just how much depended on which version of the game you played.

* Sam Loyd, who claimed (probably falsely) to have invented the puzzle in the 19th century, offered a $1,000 reward. The puzzle conserves parity and cannot be solved if the numbers 14 and 15 are swapped, which was the configuration he provided it in. Rumor has it that Loyd couldn't patent the puzzle because it was insoluble, though "because he didn't invent it" is another plausible reason. ''TabletopGame/PerplexCity'' has a card based on Loyd's version of the puzzle.
** Henry Segerman [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfAEgxNEOrQ demonstrates]] a variation of this impossible puzzle where the puzzle is projected onto a cylinder and the opposite corners are placed adjacent to each other. This enables one to change the parity of tiles, thus rendering the problem soluble.

--> '''Woman:''' You're on your own with the ICE, though. It's a bitch.

* Sam Loyd, who claimed (probably falsely) to have invented the puzzle in the 19th century, offered a $1,000 reward. The puzzle conserves parity and cannot be solved if the numbers 14 and 15 are swapped, which was the configuration he provided it in. Rumor has it that Loyd couldn't patent the puzzle because it was unsolvable, though "because he didn't invent it" is another plausible reason. ''TabletopGame/PerplexCity'' has a card based on Loyd's version of the puzzle.