puzzler

plural puzzlers

1. A puzzling situation or problem.

   And reason cannot answer that question, because it exists outside of reason. It’s a puzzler, right? A real head-scratcher? Which brings us back to me.

   2012, Mandy Keifetz, “Perfect”, in Flea Circus: A Brief Bestiary of Grief, Kalamazoo, Mich.: New Issues Poetry & Prose, →ISBN, page 133

   Synonyms: puzzle, puzzlement, stumper, enigma, brainteaser

2. A puzzling person.
   1. One who is mysterious.

      Synonyms: enigma

   2. One who devises puzzles for others to solve.

      Near-synonyms: riddler, quizzer, setter

      Synonyms: riddler, quizzer, setter

3. video gamesA video game in which the player is presented with (usually abstract) puzzles to solve.

   With the exception of certain handheld titles […], puzzlers (such as the countless Tetris iterations), and download-only games […], two-dimensional gaming has largely become a lost art, alienating many of us who grew up in a 2D virtual world.

   2012, Brett Weiss, Classic Home Video Games, 1985-1988: A Complete Reference Guide

4. A person who solves puzzles as a hobby.

   […] he commits what to a hardened puzzler seems an unforgivable sin when he uses a picture of a two-masted ship followed by HTER for the word BRIGHTER.

   1927, Frederic Gregory Hartswick, Read the Pictures, page v

   1 more example

   Mentally stimulating leisure activities, such as doing crossword puzzles, seem to help keep the brain sharp. […] The puzzlers delayed the onset of accelerated memory loss (a sign of dementia) by an average of 2.54 years.

   2013, Linda B. White, Barbara H. Seeber, Barbara Brownell Grogan, 500 Time-Tested Home Remedies and the Science Behind Them