i dunno if the parent post meant this, but i personally do feel that a game which seems to "let you do anything to solve the problem" plays better than one which has a "designed solution".
Think an adventure game, where in order to proceed, you have to figure out the intention of the game designer for items and combinations (and pixel hunting). Compare that to the recent zelda game, where puzzles are more free-form - where you can employ physics to solve the problem at hand (such as crossing a cravice by falling a tree trunk across it).
