Forgotten Sokoban Puzzles
Published: 2025 April 28
A few years ago, while collecting 1980s Japanese computer magazines featuring articles about Sokoban, I came across some puzzles I didn’t recognize. They didn’t appear to be part of any official release. After extensive searching, I confirmed they only ever appeared in these printed magazines. All of them date back to 1984.
The first puzzle was found in the March 1984 issue of MICRO magazine, which included the source code for the 倉庫番 Tiny Editor for the MZ-700. The magazine mentioned that, unlike the commercially available Sokoban 2 editor (which didn’t specify its platform), this version lacked graphics. Instead, the warehouse layout was displayed using the MZ-700’s character set. Alongside this, the magazine featured eight puzzles as screenshots — some from 倉庫番1 and others from 倉庫番2 for the PC-8801 — as well as three additional puzzles for the MZ-700. While one of these puzzles had been published in 倉庫番2, the other two were new to this issue.
The first of these unpublished puzzles is titled “A Work by Sokoban user Yasushi Inoue” (「倉庫番」ユーザーの井上寧さんの作品). Below is a screenshot of that puzzle:
I consider this puzzle a gem — a room-based puzzle in the classic Thinking Rabbit style. Here it is in XSB format:
------------###########- ----#####---#---#-----#- ----#---#####-#$--#$$$## ---##-#-##--#-#-$##--$-# ---#-$---------$----#--# -###----###-###-##---$-# -#--##-##....#--##--$-## -#---$$-#....#-$####@##- -#-#$#--#....#--#--###-- -#-#---##..#.####--$-#-- -#-$---#.....#--#--#-#-- ##-$####.....#---$-#-#-- #--$---###-###--####-#-- #--#$#---$----$-#----#-- #----$-#-#-######-####-- ####-###-#--------#----- -#--$----##########----- -#-$-##--#-------------- -#---#####-------------- -#####------------------ Title: A Work by Sokoban user Yasushi Inoue Source: 1984-03 MICRO magazine
Next to this puzzle was another, titled “When MICRO Makes It…” (MICROがつくると…).
While more straightforward, it is still an interesting puzzle. It uses walls to form the word 'MICRO'. Here it is in XSB format:
---###-----####-----#####-#####- ####--######--########--###---#- #-----@$-----$-----#---$----$-#- #--#---##--#---###$#-$######--#- ##-##--#--##-$--#-----#.....#-#- -#-###---###-$--#----#......#-#- -#-#-##-##-#-$--#-$--#.....---## -#-#--###--#-$--#--$-#.....----# -#-#---#---#----#-----#.....#--# -#-#-------#---###----######---# -#-$----------$-----$--------$## -#--$#--######----######--$---#- -#--$---#-----#$-##----##-#$--#- -#-$#$--#-----#--#------#-$---#- -#--$---######---#------#--#--#- -##-----#---#--#-##----##--$-##- --##----#----##---######----##-- ---##-----------------------#--- ----##########---############--- -------------#####-------------- Title: When MICRO Makes It… Source: 1984-03 MICRO magazine
Another puzzle appeared in the June 1984 issue of Oh! FM magazine, which included the source code for 倉庫番EDITOR for the FM-7. This type-in program, which included machine language data, allowed players to create their own Sokoban puzzles. The magazine noted that this editor was part of 倉庫番2 for the FM-7. Since creating puzzles from scratch was considered difficult for beginners, the article included three example puzzles: two from 倉庫番2 and one created by the editorial department. I’d like to share that last one here, as it’s not found elsewhere:
The storage locations form the phrase 'Oh!FM', and once the puzzle is solved, the boxes clearly reveal it. This puzzle may seem simple at first, but it requires a significant number of moves to solve and presents some challenges. Here it is in XSB format:
################################ #-----#---#--------------------# #-$-$---$-#--$-$-$-$----$-$-$--# #####-#---#-$#########$####-$--# #---#-#---#---------------#-$--# #-$-$-##$############--#---#-$-# #--$---$----------------#---#--# #-$-$---$-#######$#####--#---#-# #--$---$--#-----------#---#---## #-$-$---$-#-#-###-###-#-$--#---# #---#--#--#-#-#-----#-#-$---#--# #---#--###--#-#-###-#--#--$--#-# #---$--#---#--#@#---#-$-##-----# #####-##$###$##$##$###---------# #---$-..--.----.-....#.---.###-# #-$-#.##.#.---#.#.-###..#..#---# #--$#.##.#...##.#...--.-.-.#$$-# #-$-#.##.-.--.###.--##.---.$---# #---$-..##.--.-.#.#-##.#--.#---# ################################ Title: Example puzzle by editorial department Source: 1984-06 Oh! FM magazine
It’s fascinating to unearth these forgotten puzzles from 1980s magazines, reminding us how, back then, creating your own Sokoban puzzles was a significant part of the fun.