Is This Seat Taken?

Is This Seat Taken? is a logic puzzle game about finding seating arrangements that make everyone happy. You must place assorted people into the seats of various vehicles and venues in a way that meets everyone's different requirements. Its cozy tone and relaxed win requirements make it a low-pressure puzzle experience.

Every chapter of the game takes place in a different city and is broken into four levels, each of which involves filling a different venue, such as a bus, classroom, or movie theater. Each level has several stages where different sets of people enter the venue. You must place everyone in seats. You get one thumbs up for each person who is satisfied with their seat. The goal of the level is to fill a progress bar with thumbs ups. Each city also includes one optional level that helps introduce a new mechanic.

Every person has different preferences, such as wanting to read in a corner or wanting to sit with a friend, as well as ways they affect the nearby seats, such as playing loud music or smelling bad. Most venues have different kinds of seating, such as window seats or seats with a power outlet, or standing spots. Some also have interactive elements like lamps that can be turned on or off and props that can be moved around.

The art is cute and minimalist, with polygons representing people, a fact that the game jokes about. There is also a cozy story about an aspiring actor, told in dialogue cutscenes between the stages. These are short, though, and you can click through them if the story doesn’t interest you.

There are many possible correct solutions to most of the puzzles, which keeps the game relaxed. Additionally, you don’t need to fill the progress bar all the way in order to pass a level. You just do the best you can, and you always have the option to go back and try again for a perfect score.

This description was written by Gwen C. Katz.