As we move into the colder months, I’m beginning to pick up my 'grandma hobbies' again. I’m knitting a blanket, bought a bunch of secondhand jigsaw puzzles, and upping my bourbon biscuit intake by 200%. I've also started to scout out some nice, cozy puzzle games to cruise through while watching Miss Marple reruns, and the top of my list was Squeakross: Home Squeak Home. Well, Jane and her six seasons of mystery and murders will have to wait, because this cutsey nonogram rat decoration game has grabbed my full attention. If you’re looking for a cosy, puzzle game to play this Autumn, you’ve found it.
I’m not really one for nonograms, but it’s safe to say that after 8 hours of Squeakross, I may be a Picross convert. I was first enticed by the premise: you play as a cute rat and every time you complete a Picross puzzle grid, you unlock a piece of cozy furniture for your rat’s house. Incredible. Love that. The first couple of grids grant you a lamp, a chair, a bedside table - hell yeah.
This dopamine drip feeding is great, but Sqeakross deserves more credit than that. It's the first Picross game I've played that finds the sweet spot between cosy and stimulating. Not only that, it's the best introduction to the rules of Picross and nonograms I’ve ever encountered, and makes it actually enjoyable to learn them. The tutorial is great at teaching you - quickly and efficiently - the rules and a handful of basic strategies, then you’re essentially let loose, free to progress through a stream of puzzle grids at your own pace, while being showered with homey rewards as you go.
It’s the perfect game for beginners. All the fundamentals of Picross are here, but presented in a totally approachable way, including a handful of helpful features that are optional and free to use at your leisure. One reveals a random square on the board, another shows you the outlines of possible combinations in a single column or row, and a third highlights the mistakes you’ve made (if you’ve made any). I love how these helpful options don’t have to be earned or are a limited resource. You can use them as much as you like, whenever you like.
Even with this approachability, challenge and strategy are far from lost. For each five-piece collection of puzzles you complete, you’ll unlock that grid group’s higher difficulty - puzzles that are more challenging and unlock colour variations of those items. A challenge for those who are looking for something a bit more difficult, and more customization for those who love the wholesome decoration parts of the game.
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As much as I love decorating my lil rat’s home, you can totally forget the furniture and just focus on the Pircross puzzles. There's an option to view the puzzles as one long list, so if you just want to play Picross, you can make your way down this list without distraction, turning off all the optional hints and assists. There are 650 puzzles to make your way through, so it's safe to say you'll be kept busy.
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The result is a game that feels like bubblegum for the brain. Simple, satisfying, and something substantial to chew on. For me, playing Squeakross feels like a crafting project. Every square I fill in feels like a single stitch, and when I complete an entire grid, it’s like finishing a square on a patchwork quilt. It’s relaxing, soothing even. Booting up Squeakcross feels like gathering my knitting needles and continuing my quiet work on a project. Working through something bit by bit doesn’t feel as mentally challenging as other puzzle grids. It's the perfect cosy, comforting game for the Autumnal months.
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