Last year, the Thinky Puzzle Games Discord server hosted the very first Thinky Puzzle Game Jam, organised by Dom Camus, and showed us just how many brilliant puzzle designers there are in our community. Now we have been blessed with the jam's much anticipated return, this time with the theme of "Magician's Hat" to inspire some fascinating ideas. With extremely relaxed rules, the jam asked participants to spend 48 hours in a 1 week period to make a puzzle game. No other rules. Even the theme was optional!
We've had great fun playing through all 40 entries and have performed the very difficult job of narrowing them down to some of our favorites. We highly recommend checking out the full list because it's a wonderful collection of games that you really don't want to miss.
Corey's pick
Atlantis no Puzzle by pancelor
Atlantis no Puzzle is inspired by an obscure Japanese Famicom game, and it shows. Traverse a strange landscape of rooms and doors using unusual jumping controls, play with magic items, and figure out what the heck you’re supposed to be doing. The puzzle games that really grab my attention are often in this vein: playful games with cryptic goals and rules that require experimentation, rather than clear-cut logical problems. All the pieces of Atlantis no Puzzle work together to compliment this feeling of finding your own way, and it takes some dedicated hunting to uncover its final secret.
Honorable mentions:
- The Magician’s Assistant by Beekie - Cute, charming and elegant, like most of Beekie’s games.
- A Dove’s Work by Neonesque - PuzzleScript with 3D hats!
- The Sorcerer’s Detritus by CHz - My vote for funniest name & theme.
Joe's pick
Magicians Have Long Handkerchiefs by Toombler and duyaa
Somehow, Magicians Have Long Handkerchiefs has stuffed entire puzzles into a hat, which must be pulled back out as one long string of puzzle components and arranged into a solvable layout. This ingeniously thematic mechanic has every right to produce some painful puzzles, yet each one is carefully crafted to have a unique and satisfying insight that unveils the solution.
Honorable mentions:
- Tower of Hatnoi by RJCunningham - A wonderfully amusing goal condition and much less tedious than its namesake might suggest.
- Isaac and the Conservation of Mass by Menderbug - The limitations of a grid-based puzzle game turn to jelly in these well-designed puzzles.
- Bunny’s Magical Hat by EPICPIKAGUY - Inserting and extracting items from a hat is taken to its absurd and abstract extremes.
Hira's pick
Bunny’s Magical Hat by EPICPIKAGUY
Despite its rather simple appearance, Bunny’s Magical Hat challenges you to figure out the best path to getting the titular bunny to its carrot. Using the power of teleportation and suction, maneuver obstacles out of the way. Each puzzle is a joy to solve because, despite its simplicity, it has a few clever tricks up its (sleeve) hat.
Honorable mentions:
- Atlantis no Puzzle by >pancelor - Bringing back memories of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, use hats to hold valuable items as you solve puzzles and traverse deeper within.
- Magician’s Cat by Jack Kutilek - A simple, yet devious game about jump physics and being a cat.
- Hat&Mathics by PandarooInteractive - Arithmetic and poker cards, except there are no stakes.
Matt's pick
The phrase opposites attract is taken quite literally in this simple yet clever puzzle game. By using the power for magnetism and careful thinking, you'll push and pull magnetic blocks to solve puzzles in this nifty Thinky Jam 2 entry. It's satisfyingly simple with a bit of challenge thrown in, and makes for a great and more than enjoyable entry to this list.
Honorable mentions:
- Hat Tricks: Hare in Box by patrickgh3 - Using behaviour changing hats, clear the way through each level to feed the rabbits their tasty carrots.
- Issac and the Convservation of Mass by Menderbug - Weigh up your options in this puzzle game that involves charming pixel art and plenty of jelly blocks.
- Locked in by JohnLee Cooper - Get ready to commit in this block pushing puzzler with your first push locking in that block's path!
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