The 4th annual Thinky Puzzle Game Jam wrapped up a couple weeks ago, in which 70+ thinky developers created a plethora of new diversions you can explore at your leisure, following the theme of "Extreme Sports". In case that number of games sounds a little overwhelming, the team here at Thinky Games has played a bunch of them and we've each picked a game or two to personally recommend. Here are our favorites:
Rachel's pick
Tome Tumble Tournament by Dito Seregin
What I love the most about Tome Tumble Tournament is that it makes you think about book physics. Playing as a teeny tiny wizard with a big beard and beautiful bald head, you’re tasked with pushing a giant tome around a grid to land on a finishing square. Rolling your book around the map — avoiding puddles and navigating tricky corners — will get your neurons firing, but the book can also flop open, taking up two spaces instead of one. I love that you need to think carefully about the different sides of the book, making sure not to let it open in a way that means game over. I could see Tome Tumble Tournament being expanded to feature bigger, heavier tomes or have magical spells that affect the game’s rules poof out of the book when it’s opened.
Joe's pick
I almost quit latin without making any progress at all. Just as I was ready to close the tab, something special happened. I often find these kinds of cryptic puzzles far too obtuse, so this is an unusual pick for me, but once I broke through the initial barrier, the joy of each discovery after that was incredibly satisfying. And there were quite a few discoveries packed into such a small game! My advice: question everything, look for patterns, count everything, describe everything out loud. Oh, and be patient with yourself.
Honorable mention: Wing Walker is such a unique idea, cleverly combining sokoban with aerobatics. Its puzzles truly create the sensation of pulling off some death-defying stunts. Puzzles have never been so thrilling!
Luis' pick
GRAB-O by unless games, rabator
GRAB-O feels almost like a fever dream and I mean that as a compliment. You're this character with two stretchable limbs trying to step on platforms and grab donut-like holders to reach the level exit. I was so confused at first, but as I began to understand the possibilities that my limbs offered, I started to enjoy the playful nature of the game and find creative ways to move around the space. The cute sound effects and animations reinforced that playfulness, my character would let out a tiny scream every time they fell (something that happened quite a lot).
Lots of people tell me bouldering is like a puzzle game. I wouldn't be able to tell you, I haven't tried it myself (yet), but GRAB-O definitely gave me that vibe of trying to move through a wall in a thinky way.
Corey's pick
Skiers by Osi
When it comes to PuzzleScript games, my favorites tend to be those that check some specific boxes: games that keep things compact and minimal, aren't overwhelmingly difficult, don't entirely explain themselves, and do something fun with a mechanical/thematic connection. Skiers checks them all. I was a little confused at first, but gained ground quick thanks to everything making sense in skiing logic. I love the trail-marker symbols used to represent different skiers, the overall simple presentation, and the gentle challenge level. Short and sweet.
A couple other submissions I enjoyed: GridRacer by Jack Kutilek is a videogame take on a paper-and-pencil racing game where you need to carefully control your momentum so you don't slam into walls (featuring online leaderboards), and Bracket Packet by Nabokos is a figure-out-the-rules puzzle in the form of a single image. If you enjoy LOK you'll probably have fun with it.
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