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Why did I want to do all this hand-drawn art for the new game? There are a few reasons. One reason is that I wanted to see how players can observe their way into solving, rather than following instructions. While there are still written clues in the game (because I never want puzzles to fall into “guess what I’m thinking” territory), I’ve tried to lean it further into “show” rather than “tell.” I also hope this might make it easier for non-native English speakers to play, and it’s been an interesting challenge to see how much information I can convey without words. One way in which this game differs from The Tale of Ord is that it will have a lower price point, mainly because I wanted to make this type of game more accessible to a wider audience. It will be a bit less artifact-heavy as a consequence, but that doesn’t mean it should be less beautiful, so I set my mind on making it visually appealing and pleasant to interact with using the imagery. There are many games I love in large part because they have beautiful components - it’s easy to take for granted how different most board games would look and feel without the illustrations. Despite being incredibly time-consuming to execute, I think hand-drawn art adds a lot to the experience. Even using real handwriting instead of a font can elevate something simple like a letter and make it feel more realistic. The events of this particular story follow an alchemist in the 15th century, and since many of the “recovered” documents are meant to have been drawn by them, I felt clean computer edges would seem a bit out of place. That said, I can imagine how cost-prohibitive this might be for any other not-yet-funded project, and I do feel blessed to be able to create this work myself. Below are some time-lapses of one of the drawings in the game, showing my watercolor and ink process. As a personal bonus, I took this as an opportunity to get back to my roots in the fine arts. It had been a while since I flexed those muscles, and after participating in Inktober for the first time in 2018, I was pretty excited to work on these drawings (and have enjoyed doing so tremendously!) It was a nice break from sitting at the computer and the mental drainage that can sometimes come after mulling over a puzzle for hours, so I highly recommend it. For anyone wondering, most of these original pieces will be available as Kickstarter rewards during the campaign, so if you’re an art fan, keep an eye out. I’ll be writing more about the process of creating and digitizing this art in my next post! Final drawing below. :) What are your favorite games with great art? #art #illustration #watercolor #penandink #gameart #gamedev #gamedevelopment #puzzlegame #tabletopgames

I’ve been asked many times for other tabletop puzzle game recommendations, so I’ve finally decided to write out a list of some games I’ve enjoyed in recent memory! Please note that these are not in any order, it’s not a ranking. :) And if you have any recommendations of your own, I would love to hear about them! Escape Tales: the Awakening by Escape Tales Escape Tales: The Awakening is a card-based game, at first glance not too dissimilar from an Unlock! deck, but offers a deeper narrative and some player choices that will result in different endings. The player chooses cards by “exploring” different areas in a location, playing a father who is trying to wake his daughter up from a coma by traversing through a different reality and performing a ritual called “The Awakening.” The cards can be objects, puzzles, or occasionally, nothing. The player has only a certain amount of energy to explore each location with, so the empty areas can feel like red herrings at times, but the overall elegance of the gameplay mostly made up for the snags we hit. Since the player has the opportunity to make some choices, the game is technically replayable, but with 3-4 hours of gameplay we felt pretty satisfied with just one run through. Escape Tales has also just released a new game in this series, called Low Memory -- it’ll be on my To Play list! Pros: Captivating narrative and smooth gameplay mechanic. Cons: Movement limits can feel a bit punitive, a couple red herrings. Difficulty: 2.5/5 EXIT: Catacombs of Horror by Thames & Cosmos The Catacombs of Horror is a new “double-size” release by EXIT. It presents itself as having two parts, though there isn’t really a break in narrative; it just takes about double the amount of time as a standard EXIT game (about 2 hours). The player is led into the catacombs to search for a friend who had gone down there and never returned - perhaps he was taken by a demon? The story was pretty standard -- cohesive, but not particularly different. We did have to resort to hints at times, but we found the puzzles in Catacombs of Horror to be consistently clever and interesting, and occasionally even surprising. If you’ve enjoyed other games in this series, this one is a must-play. Pros: Great quality and variety of puzzles. Cons: We accidentally bypassed a climactic part of the game because the solutions to two different puzzles were one number off… double check your answers before you input them! Difficulty: 3/5 Cryptogram Puzzle Post Cryptogram Puzzle Post is pretty singular in the world of tabletop puzzle games. The creator, Jack Fallows, comes from a comics and illustration background, and leverages those skills very effectively in this work. The monthly installments each consist of an envelope and eight pieces of paper, seven of which are part of the puzzle to be solved. The story follows the adventures of a young witch exploring the mysteries of the world, and is not only refreshingly conceptual and well-written, but also interweaves well with the puzzles as you progress through each envelope. The puzzles often feel like a breath of fresh air away from the usual number/letter ciphers, but… sometimes the clues feel a little too subtle, and there are often not enough hints to get past the point you’re stuck on. That said, they are delightfully clever once you do get them, but I’ll be trying to solve the rest of my collection with a second pair of eyes. Pros: Very portable, gorgeous artwork, unique story, and creative puzzles. Cons: High level of difficulty, needs a more robust hint system. Difficulty: 4/5 Wish You Were Here by Enigma Emporium Wish You Were is the first installment in a 3-part series by Enigma Emporium. It consists of 5 postcards, each jam-packed with details and information, revealing little bits of the mystery as you solve through the cards. This one plays a little more like a puzzle hunt, requiring some online research, deciphering, and solution tracking. It may not be as big a pleaser for the more narrative-hungry players, but the puzzle quality was consistently good, and it took us a good few hours to play through. Pros: Lots of puzzles in a small package. Can be passed on to other players. Cons: A little process-heavy at times, hints could use more granularity. Difficulty: 3.5/5 The Heist Vol. 1: Chasing Hahn by The Escape Game Unlocked This is the first installment in a play-at-home series by the national escape room chain called The Escape Game. While it can be said that their escape rooms are good quality, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this envelope, but I was pleasantly surprised. The player is tasked with tracking down an art thief and part of the gameplay involved using a digital interface, both for investigative purposes and for answer submission. The components were of good quality, but felt under-utilized. A couple of them were used so briefly that it almost felt silly that they were included, and there was a nice big map I was excited to get to, but it didn’t quite deliver in its function. That said, this game used some deductive reasoning and was fun to puzzle through. The gating mechanic on the digital interface worked well, allowing us to solve multiple things at once without being overwhelmed. Overall, this game might not blow you away, but it’s definitely a good one when you need to satiate that puzzle craving! Pros: Fun, logical puzzles. Good for a quick play. Cons: Under-utilized some components, digital interface use was a bit confusing at times. Difficulty: 1.5/5 Doctor Esker's Notebook by Plankton Games Doctor Esker’s Notebook is a light puzzle card game in the form of a single deck of cards (great stocking-stuffer in my mind). The premise was that Dr. Esker was missing, and we had to use his lab notes to find out what happened. It takes about an hour to play and isn’t terribly challenging, but the challenges it does pose are enjoyable and surprising. A couple puzzles felt like a stretch, but they were made up for by the majority, which felt fair and playful. It also had an innovative solution check mechanism, and we liked that there was no ambiguity as to which puzzle we were meant to be working on next. The graphics and theming could use improvement, but it was great to see this new take on a card game. Pros: Great for a quick play and can easily be passed on to a friend. Cool answer-check mechanic. Cons: Light on theme and story, visual design could be improved. Difficulty: 2/5 Het Boekanier Dossier by Puzzelpost I realize the majority of my audience is English-speaking, but I just couldn’t leave Het Boekanier Dossier off my recommendation list. This game was a delight from the packaging to the very end. The story is about a woman named Helena who is looking to find out what happened to her sister in 1979. It unravels organically as you solve more clues, and offers a deeper and more original story than most tabletop games; even the introductory letter is written in character. The puzzles were varied, challenging, and enjoyable to solve. The components were beautifully designed, nice to handle, and even contained some unexpected surprises! If you understand Dutch, this is a must-play. Pros: Beautiful components, great puzzles and unique story. Cons: It’s only available in Dutch :( Difficulty: 3/5 The Wilson Wolfe Affair by Simulacra Games Okay, this is another tough one, because it’s out of print (ALTHOUGH, it’s not impossible to find someone reselling their copy...) but again, it merits being on this list. The Wilson Wolfe Affair is a story about an animator, presented as a box full of old cartoon memorabilia, that slowly unravels to reveal all sorts of secrets about the studio and its clandestine activities. It plays a lot like a puzzle hunt, and comes with a lot of content. (I would recommend tackling this one as a small group, unless you enjoy hours and hours of solo detective work.) The creators even made actual animations, and it was clear how much work and thought went into the overall design of this game. It was a bit overwhelming not knowing where to start or which pieces went together, but they were a pleasure to rummage through, as the illustrations, production design, and component quality were some of the best I’ve seen. The puzzles were a little inconsistent; some were good clean solves, some felt underclued (or requiring big logic leaps) and some were really clever but required tedious extraction methods. There was one puzzle I was excited to have cracked, but after the aha moment and extracting about half of the solution, it became such a drag that I ended up looking up the rest of the answer just to avoid another half hour of work. Thankfully, Simulacra Games built a functional hint system that included solutions, and the majority of puzzles were interesting and unique. This is a good one for anyone that likes a challenge. Pros: An original premise that leaks the story into the real world. Impressive illustrations, clever puzzles, and well-designed components. Cons: A few puzzles felt like a big logic leap, and a few others involved tedious extraction. Also, it’s out of print. :( Difficulty: 4.5/5 What are your favorite tabletop puzzle games? #puzzlegames #boardgames #recommendations #games #tabletopgames #puzzles

Puzzle-Driven Games This is the third (and longest!) in the series about unique digital puzzle games, and is focused on puzzle-driven games. You can also check out the entries on narrative games and platform puzzle games. Before I get to the list, what is a puzzle-driven game? Basically I mean that the main focus of the game is the solving, and it doesn’t quite fit into any other major category. It may or may not contain some level of narrative, but the story is not the main feature. These games also don’t require dexterity the way a platform or action game does, and puzzles usually have some sort of distinct segmentation, such as levels, rooms, panels, etc. Gorogoa Available on: Windows, iOS, Android, Xbox One, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch What is it? Gorogoa is a gorgeous hand-drawn puzzle game with a truly original mechanic. Players are presented with up to four images in a two-by-two grid, which can be manipulated in a variety of ways, such as zooming in, panning across, or moving the image to another grid space to extend a scene or create a doorway into a new area. The player must explore each scene and combine images to advance the story, which follows the life of a boy and his encounters with a fantastical beast, exploring themes of spirituality and reflection on the different periods throughout his life. Why play? Beautiful hand-drawn artwork. You can tell this was an enormous labor of love. Unique gameplay mechanic that develops throughout. The aha moments in this game are satisfying and full of delightful surprises. The way the story unfolds through your actions, intertwining the narrative with the puzzles. The Swapper Available on: Mac, Windows, Linux, Playstation 3/4/Vita, XBox One, Wii U What is it? The Swapper begins with the player character discovering a strange device that allows her to create multiple clones of herself and switch consciousness between these clones. Navigating through different rooms on an enormous abandoned research station in space, the goal is to collect orbs from different rooms in order to unlock more areas and eventually escape. The core gameplay revolves around projecting clones of your character, swapping into them, or manipulating them to do things like step on buttons that open doors, for example. Clones will move with the player unless otherwise blocked by the environment, but the main obstacles are colored lights that prevent either cloning functionality, swapping ability, or both. Why play? A fresh iteration on a puzzle side scroller. You must step on buttons, manipulate objects, etc, to get to the other side of the room, but have you ever done that with 3 clones of yourself? There are a lot of good brain-busters in this one. There were some puzzles I was stuck on for a while, but luckily the non-linear format allows you to walk away and come back to them later. Lots and lots of content. The Witness Available on: Mac, Windows, iOS, Xbox One, Playstation 4 What is it? The Witness is an open-world game in which you walk around an island solving puzzles, but if you’re about to say “That sounds like Myst,” you’d be wrong. The puzzles in The Witness all stem from the same concept: find a panel and draw a line from point A to point B. If you think that sounds simple, or even boring, you would also be wrong. Unlike Myst and many other games in this genre, there is no story and no objects to interact with aside from the panels, but boy are there a lot of panels. There are over 500 puzzles in The Witness, which means many hours of gameplay and dozens of inventive iterations on the deceptively simple-looking concept of drawing a line, to the point where you aren’t even always drawing a line anymore. Why play? The graphics are beautiful and make for a very zen experience. The gameplay is exceptionally elegant. It does a great job at seamlessly onboarding players, and gradually increases the complexity and intricacy of the puzzles. Despite the similar format of the puzzles, there is a lot of variety, and even when it gets challenging, the problems never feel unfair and the solves are always satisfying. When you do get stuck on something, the open world format allows you to simply walk away and work on something else. So many puzzles, plus lots of Easter eggs - this game will keep you occupied for a while. Opus Magnum Available on: Mac, Windows, Linux What is it? Opus Magnum is a game of building machines using available parts in order to make them accomplish a certain task using tracks, pivots, and other tools. This is reminiscent of a childhood favorite of mine, The Incredible Machine, but Opus Magnum takes this idea to a new level. Once a player has successfully assembled a device that completes the goals of the puzzle, they are ranked with all other players based on three factors: the speed, cost, and total area that the device takes up on the hexagonal grid space. Players can then attempt alternate solutions that improve in any of these areas, making this solo game unusually competitive. My only complaint is that the UI can feel a bit clunky at times, but not enough to ruin the fun. Why play? Building gadgets is fun, and completing a machine always feels rewarding. There are many different ways of solving a puzzle, making the gameplay varied and interesting. It’s as much about exploring your own problem solving skills as it is about solving the problem itself. Where Shadows Slumber Available on: iOS, Android What is it? Where Shadows Slumber is a neat game with a Monument Valley-like aesthetic, except the whole world has been plunged into darkness. You will guide an old man who discovers a mysterious lantern in the forest, using light and darkness as your only tools. Anything that is not touched by light has the freedom to change, so a seemingly simple scenario of getting across a room becomes quite challenging when a platform changes position as soon as the light of the lantern moves away. Interspersed between the puzzles is an oddly violent narrative, in which the man gets viciously attacked by woodland creatures. It is worth noting that while I really enjoyed the puzzles, the narrative cut scenes here felt startlingly out of place - I kind of wish the creators made these puzzles around a different story. Why play? An interesting puzzle mechanic with eight different worlds/variations. Will please fans of Monument Valley while providing more challenging and intriguing puzzles. They really were quite clever. Makes for a great casual game you can play on your phone. Honorable Mention: Donut County Available on: Windows, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS What is it? Ok, you got me, Donut County isn’t REALLY a puzzle game, but it has puzzly aspects, and I had too much fun with it to leave it off the list. I mean, you get to play as a HOLE! Literally. You’re a hole in the ground swallowing objects and getting bigger and bigger until you gobble everything in the entire scene. The puzzle aspect involves figuring the order in which to swallow the objects, and later on includes some neat variations on the concept. The story was amusing; the narrative cuts wore out their welcome a bit to me, but the whimsy of the whole thing more than made up for it. Why play? Did I already mention you play a hole? Delightful and intuitive gameplay. Om nom nom. What are your favorite puzzle-driven games?

This is the second in my series about unique digital puzzle games, and will be focused on puzzle platformers. The third post will about puzzle-driven games, and you can check out the first post on narrative-driven games here. Puzzle Platformers Braid Available on: Mac, Windows, Linux, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 What is it? An oldie but a goodie (hard to believe it’s been 10 years already!), Braid might seem like a traditional platformer at first glance, but the main mechanic of the game actually centers around the protagonist’s ability to manipulate time. The player uses this ability to stop and rewind scenarios, using creative problem solving to optimize conditions that allow the character to proceed. Text passages throughout the game slowly unfold a narrative, giving the player purpose and enhancing the overall concept. Why play? An intriguing puzzly twist on a traditional platformer. Creative variations on the mechanic as the game goes on. The resonant premise of “undoing your mistakes.” A lot of heart and soul went into this game, and it shows. Fez Available on: Mac, Windows, Linux, Playstation 3/4/Vita, XBox 360, iOS What is it? Fez is set in a three-dimensional world being represented in two dimensions… from all sides… but not all at once. In addition to jumping, climbing, and walking, the player can rotate between four 2D views of the 3D world (like the sides of a cube) revealing new paths by connecting otherwise inaccessible areas while they try to collect cubes in order to open more doors in the secret hub of this multi-world universe. Various environments (you could call them rooms but they are all small islands floating in the sky) are connected through doors, many having multiple gateways connecting to various branches in that world. On top of all that, there are extra layers of puzzle that are not essential to completing the main goals of the game, but serve as delightful Easter eggs if you are clever enough to figure them out. Why play? A brilliant mechanic of switching views on the same area offers a ton of variety and exciting gameplay. THERE ARE SO MANY WORLDS. Every single time I found a new door and it expanded the map, I marvelled at how enormous this universe was. Layers of puzzling. From the straightforward finishing of a level, to strange monuments you can decode, and more, there is a lot of content in this game. And you get to do secret things in order to open even more secret things! Limbo Available on: Mac, Windows, Linux, Playstation 3/4/Vita, XBox 360/One, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch What is it? Limbo is a 2D side-scroller in which the player guides an unnamed boy (or rather, his shadow) through dangerous environments and traps. It starts without any tutorial or preface, letting the player learn the language of the game on their own. The boy travels through different environments, but there are no separate rooms or levels, only one continuous path. Frequent death is to be expected, and is in fact what leads the player to find solutions that allow the boy to move forward. The game is presented in minimalist black and white tones, creating an atmosphere that ranges from film-noir-like mystery to gruesome death by giant shadow-spider. Why play? Intuitive and clever gameplay. The atmosphere, morbid as it is, is simultaneously both simple and arresting. The lighting, animation, and soundtrack in this game add up to something really special. If you prefer something linear with a shorter time commitment, this is a good choice. It can be completed in a couple of sittings. What are your favorite platform puzzle games?

Even with my deeper immersion in the tabletop world, I haven’t stopped playing video games, because there are just so many good ones, damnit! And since a lot of them remain unknown, I wanted to share some great puzzle games I’ve enjoyed, some from a while ago and some more recently. Hopefully my list will contain at least a handful that you haven’t heard of. Because there are so many exciting games to talk about, I’ll be dividing this list into three posts: Narrative-driven games Puzzle-driven games Puzzle platformers Narrative-Driven Games Return of the Obra Dinn Available on: Mac and Windows What is it? Return of the Obra Dinn is set aboard a ghost ship whose entire crew and passengers have all mysteriously died or disappeared. The goal is to identify each person’s name, cause of death, and attacker, if applicable. This is accomplished by using the tools given to you by the game, such as the ship manifest, a map, glossary, a sketch of everyone aboard the ship, and, most importantly, a special stopwatch that allows you to access the memories of the dead as you walk around the ship and find their corpses... but things are not so simple as seeing how they died and recording it. There are multiple layers of deductive reasoning necessary to solve each detail, including but not limited to: parsing information from small bits of dialogue, finding out what other crew members were doing during someone else’s death, using character ranks and affiliations, country of origin, etc. Why play? This is the best deduction game I have ever played. I have never felt more like a real detective trying to piece together obscure pieces of information. We are about a quarter of the way into the game, and I can't wait to sit back down and keep playing. It prevents you from making wild guesses by only verifying your deductions once you have filled in three people’s fates. Getting those verifications is immensely satisfying. There is a lot to keep track of, and the game provides an adequate method of reference so you don’t need to do the mental gymnastics of figuring out who was in what memory when. Although you do not discover the memories in chronological order, they are recorded chronologically in your reference book, and you can always go back into a memory to see if you missed something. What Remains of Edith Finch Available on: Windows, Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch What is it? The game centers on the character of Edith Finch, last in the Finch family line, which has a perceived curse that causes members of the family to die in unusual ways. Following her mother’s death, Edith returns to their previously abandoned home to learn about her relatives and their deaths by exploring different areas of the house. Each space offers insight about one particular relative’s past and allows the player to dive into each of their stories and experience it for themselves, accompanied by Edith’s voice narration. As the player has no goals beyond exploring and discovering, it could be said that What Remains of Edith Finch is more of a narrative experience than a game, but with that said, it is a piece of art worth experiencing. Why play? A captivating and touching narrative. There are emotional beats to the storytelling that you don’t often experience in games. It spans from sad to funny, but it is always charming. Despite not being very “gamey” in the traditional sense, it offers plenty of surprises and fun interactions. You don’t always play the role you think you will, and there were many moments of delight throughout this experience. Her Story Available on: Mac, Windows, iOS, Android What is it? Her Story can be described as an interactive movie game in which the player searches through a database of video clips from police interviews and uses them to solve the case of a missing man. There are over 200 video clips, some longer than others, featuring the missing man’s wife as she answers unknown questions to an off-screen police detective. The player can find clips by searching for certain keywords, but the caveat is that with every search, only 5 videos in the database are shown to you, even if many videos with that keyword exist. The core gameplay revolves around finding new keywords to search by watching the clips and catching new details to narrow down the searches and watch the previously unseen videos. Why play? A mystery that keeps you captivated until the very end. A unique gameplay mechanic. The videos feature a performance by an actual human woman, adding to the realism of the story. It has a solid detective feel as you piece together limited information using deductive reasoning. What are your favorite narrative-driven puzzle games?

I’ve encountered a good handful of people that have expressed interest in creating games or experiences of their own, but feel like they wouldn’t know where to begin. In the interest of encouraging all creative endeavors, I am writing this with the hope that it will be useful to some folks. As with any creative process, there is no right or wrong way to go about it, but this is my own personal process. Like any sort of venture, it’s always good to start by laying out your objectives and constraints. Some important questions to ask: Who will be playing your game? For example: Kids, board game players, escape room enthusiasts, puzzle hunters, etc. The answer to question 1 will drive the answer to question 2: How long and how difficult do you want your experience to be? Do you want to focus more on narrative, puzzles, or a balance of both? Will be entirely analogue, digital, or a mix of both? Do you intend to sell this game? If so, will it be handmade and fulfilled by or do you intend to manufacture it? What’s your budget? And if you intend to sell it, what price point are you aiming for? No one is good at everything, so unless you plan on hiring help, how can you leverage your strengths to make the best game possible? (I.e. if you’re a writer, the game might be heavier or narrative, or if you can draw, make the game more visual, etc.) What will be the “theme” or premise of the game? A murder mystery? A treasure hunt? Or (even better) something completely different? To answer that last question, I try to think of a topic that I am already passionate or knowledgeable about, or am interested in learning more about. I often get inspired by things in my surroundings, during travels, or weird facts/stories I come across online. I also try to avoid themes I have already seen many times. Stay Organized Once you think you’ve landed on something, start doing a ton of research on that subject. As you do that, you may find even more interesting things to divert to. Remember that the more you learn, the more you see details that normally you might skip over. Use your research as inspiration for your story and puzzles - I recommend keeping a folder of images for reference and a document with your notes and links to relevant sites and information. (Tip: I use Google Drive to organize everything and can’t recommend it enough. It autosaves and you can access your notes from any computer and mobile device, so you can always jot down those 2am thoughts in your phone!) Beyond this point, it is a lot like writing - take lots and lots of notes, then outline your major story beats and puzzle ideas to go with them. Don’t save the ending for last - coming up with a solid and satisfying ending is one of the hardest parts. Think about how you can weave the puzzles in with your narrative, and allow them to drive the story forward. Once you have a more concrete idea of your story and gameplay, start a master document and write it out in detail. This should be a cleaner document, in contrast to your notes. I also use this to write out the premise, process, and solution of every puzzle, so it’s all neatly organized to reference later. Non-paper Objects If you’re making an analogue game, one of the advantages is that the player will handle the objects in front of them, so think about how the puzzles can be manipulated beyond a flat surface. If you decide to include non-paper objects, it’s good to factor in the logistics of doing such a thing before you commit to any plans. Is it something that can be sourced or does it need to be custom made? If the latter, who will be making it? How much will it cost? Etc. At this point, it’s helpful to make a spreadsheet comparing sources, pricing, and of course any relevant links. This will at least give you some idea about what is feasible. I’m a big believer in using objects you include as part of the gameplay. I know there is a faction of players who love experiences that include keepsakes or display objects (and I cast no judgement on them!), but I don’t see a reason why those can’t also be used in the game - why not make the most of your medium and come up with some clever way to interact with the object? Start thinking outside the box. Last But Not Least When you’ve constructed your experience, playtest it with different people, and keep iterating! For more on that topic, check out my previous posts about playtesting puzzle games. The most important thing to remember is this: Make an experience that you yourself would want to play. If you enjoy it then others probably will too. And of course, don't forget to have fun with the process - otherwise, what is any of it for? :) Have you crafted an experience? What was your process like?

Would you rather walk down a straight path, an open field, or something in between? In retrospect, I’ve preferred non-linear gameplay since before I knew what that meant. My feeling on this dates back to playing MS-DOS games (remember those?) in the 90’s, in which I would inevitably get stuck on some level of a platformer and never be able to move forward in the game, leaving me feeling frustrated and helpless. The first time I played a game that actually allowed some level of exploration, I fell in love with puzzle adventures. The game was Syberia, a point-and-click with a female protagonist and a strong narrative that wove the puzzles seamlessly together. Of course this was not an “open-world” game but it did allow one to complete a certain number of tasks in no particular order before moving forward to the next area. The best part about this style of design, and the biggest reason I prefer non-linear gameplay, is that it allows players a better chance of figuring things out on their own. I would be remiss not to mention The Witness as an exemplar of this type of play. The Witness has no verbal or written instructions, and while it does start by leading you through what is essentially a tutorial, it quickly lets go of your hand and allows you to roam free about the island, but not before confronting you with a very complex puzzle that promptly causes you to realize you don’t yet have the information to solve it. This is brilliant and immediately teaches you a valuable lesson: if you can’t solve it now, come back to it later - something I did dozens of times throughout the game when I got stuck. Having that freedom resulted in my never having to resort to a walkthrough, because more often that not, walking away and solving some other puzzles would illuminate something I was missing and allow me look at the same problem with fresh eyes. That is not to say that open worlds are the ideal, and they can often be overwhelming when there are too many options. In a tabletop game that contains a lot of components that may or may not need to be combined with other components, it’s helpful to know a place to start. This is where gating comes in. Gating Gating is a way for a designer to prevent players from moving forward in the game until a certain task is complete, just like when you need to find a code to open a door in an escape room to move forward into the next area - a literal gate. A linear game looks something like the drawing on the left, and a non-linear game structure might look something like the one on the right. I find it is a helpful practice to draw a flow chart when working on a game. It allows you to clearly visualize the structure and see where you may need to make adjustments if there is too little or too much happening at once. What are some ways to create gating in tabletop games, when you can’t confront a player with a literal door? Putting some items in a locked box you need to open (example: Escape the Room: The Werewolf Experiment) Dividing the entire game into distinct chapters (example: The Tale of Ord) Dividing items between envelopes that can be opened after a certain passcode is found (example: ThinkFun’s Mystery at Stargazer’s Manor) Having a deck of cards in which new cards are only revealed when prompted (example: Exit: The Game series, Unlock! series) Entering a code into a digital app or website to prompt your next actions (example: Escape the Crate, Unlock!) Having password-protected areas on an in-game website that contain information to move forward (example: The Tale of Ord, Dispatch’s On The Run series) Having at least one of these mechanics in place is useful so that players are not confronted with too many items or too much information at once. That can cause analysis paralysis and extra confusion, especially if there are things that cannot be solved right away, unless it is very clear that something is meant to be kept for later. Otherwise, if your player has access to an item that cannot be used until several other puzzles are solved, you risk them getting frustrated and wasting time trying to figure it out before they actually have the necessary tools to do so. Parallel Solving The second reason I prefer less linear games is that they allow for parallel solving of multiple puzzles at a time. Once you exceed a group of 2, it is likely that the entire group would be happier if they weren’t all crowding around the same puzzle at once, so it is best to have enough puzzles to occupy several people simultaneously. I normally aim for somewhere between 3-6 at a time so as not to leave anyone twiddling their thumbs while others are actively engaged. (I do find this to be less of an issue with tabletop games and certainly more prevalent in escape rooms, especially when larger groups are encouraged.) The bottom line is, don’t recommend 6 people play a game together if there aren’t enough puzzles to keep everyone occupied - this will cause team members to get bored and lose momentum. All that being said, there are plenty of great linear games out there (including a few mentioned above) and sometimes a more direct approach works well. Before you commit to it though, be sure to consider things like team size and bottlenecking and try to avoid situations where a single puzzle is going to hold up the entire game (unless there is a good reason to do so, such as a reveal you want everyone to see). What do you think? Do you prefer linear or non-linear games? Why? #puzzle #puzzles #puzzledesign #puzzlegames #gamedesign #gamedev #gamedevelopment #linear #nonlinear #gating

As I begin the playtesting process for the new game, I thought I might write some notes based on what I learned while playtesting The Tale of Ord. It was my first time doing playtesting a tabletop game, so if you’re new to it too, hopefully some of this will be helpful. Finding and choosing playtesters Before you begin choosing playtesters, be sure to ask yourself who the game is for. Granted, this is a question better asked way earlier in the design process, but it’s always good to remind ourselves. Consider difficulty level: is your game for beginners, hardcore puzzlers, or something in between? How many people should it be played with? What age group is it for? Once you make/confirm these decisions, try to find a diverse group of playtesters to cover different ends of that spectrum so you can see and hear about a variety of experiences. Let’s say it’s a game meant for 1-4 players with a medium difficulty - test it with every player count from 1 to 4 and make sure there is a mix of beginner and experienced puzzlers, ideally in mixed and separate groups. Do the puzzles make sense to the beginners? Are they still challenging for the experienced player, or are they too easy? Is it fun to play by yourself? How does it play with 3-4 people? Does everyone have enough to do? How do you find playtesters? Friends and friends of friends - that’s an obvious one, but not always the best one, because friends may not give you the most honest feedback. Still a good place to start, though friends of friends who don't know you will likely be more impartial. Facebook groups - join a Facebook group for mystery/puzzle game/escape room enthusiasts (for escape rooms, there may even be one for your area specifically). Introduce yourself and your game and ask if anyone would be interested in playtesting - there are usually many takers. “Secret” Escape Room Slack - not such a secret, but full of people excited about puzzles! Try the #puzzles channel for remote testers or a regional channel to find people in your area. Puzzled Pint events - if you live in or near a city, chances are there is probably a Puzzled Pint event near you. This is a monthly meetup of people who love puzzles, so there’s probably someone there who will want to try your game - maybe not on the spot, but it's a good place to gather contact info. Game cafes - if you’re lucky enough to have a board game cafe or store where you live, ask if they do any playtesting events or public game nights that you could bring your game to (keep in mind this works better for shorter games). Playtest Co-op - Currently in beta, but keep an eye on it! The goal of this site is to be a place where designers can connect with other designers and playtesters in order to get feedback on their games. It won't work for games with physical components, but if you can make a print-and-play version, you can upload it here. Blind vs in-person testing One of the biggest challenges with playtesting puzzle games is that (with a few exceptions) you can only play the game once, so be sure to make each playtest count. I found it was helpful to make adjustments after every session so that obvious problems could gradually be sifted out, but I’ll write more about that process in the next post. In-person playtests One great way to make playtests count is watching them in person (thank you Juliana and Ariel of Escape Room in a Box/Wild Optimists for that wise advice.) Watching in person is the best way to get an understanding of what people actually do and feel throughout the game. You can see their unfiltered reactions, ask questions if need be (I normally try to stay quiet and ask questions at the end, but sometimes they’re needed in the moment!) as well as take notes throughout, keeping track of how long each puzzle takes, where players get stuck, what hints they use, etc. You can also do a follow up interview immediately after and the bonus is that you'll have a better idea of which questions to ask in the first place. Blind playtesting Blind playtesting can be tricky for two reasons. The first being that you’ll never get the same level of detail in the feedback. Things will inevitably be forgotten, and a recount of an experience after the fact will usually be inferior to your observation of the event in real time. The second reason is a hard truth: sometimes people are just flaky and unreliable. If you send them one of your precious few prototypes, there is no guarantee it will actually be played. I particularly had this problem with The Tale of Ord, since it’s such a long game and a big time commitment. It’s true that this may be less of an issue with a shorter game, but I suggest finding puzzle enthusiasts that also have a decent amount of free time. Meeting people in person might limit your tester pool and take up more of your time, but people are usually more dependable when they have to be physically present. That said, depending on how many tests you are running or what area you live in, you probably can't be present for all of them, and that's fine. If you have a reliable person who will take diligent notes for you (thanks, Alex!), blind playtesting can still be very useful, especially for early stages in testing when you might not have added all the frills yet and just want to make sure everything is solvable. More on that next time! Am I missing anything? Where do you find playtesters? Do you prefer playtesting blind or in person? Why? #puzzle #puzzlegame #puzzlegames #gamedev #gamedesign #escaperoom #tabletopgames #boardgames #playtesting #gamedevelopment

Despite the challenges of testing puzzle games (such as people only being able to play the game once), there are also good news: they generally don’t need quite as many playtests a “traditional” board game because there aren’t as many variables. This is not to say that you should skimp on playtests - it usually shows if a game hasn’t been tested enough - but, unless the game has branching paths, there is usually only one “correct” path, and that is to solve the puzzles. Even if players deviate from the obvious solving path, they can only go so far, so you don’t face the challenges that come with drawing cards, rolling dice, or even allowing players to make strategic decisions that change the course of the game. So that said, what are you testing for? Solvability The minimum criteria for a functional game (or individual puzzle) is solvability. Unless an individual puzzle is intertwined with the overall game, I usually create a rough draft of the mechanic alone, and ask a couple people to solve it. (Tip: I normally ask people who I know won’t be playtesting the full game to do these, so as not to spoil the puzzle for later.) If a couple people can solve it with no issue, then at least you already know you have a solvable puzzle. If not, fix any errors and keep making adjustments until they can. That might mean physical alignment of pieces, clarity or wording of a clue, presentation, layout, etc. After I know a puzzle is solvable, I mock up a draft of what a “final” version would look like. If it requires detailed or time consuming art then I just create a better looking draft that’s close to the finished look but won’t take too long to execute, as I still expect changes to be made. Then I test this second version in context with the narrative and the rest of the puzzles. Details matter It is possible to achieve clarity and precision, so don’t ignore the details. If something is meant to line up, keep adjusting it until it does. If two shapes look too similar, change one to avoid confusion. If you have similar colors on things that don’t go together and people keep trying to combine those components, change one of the colors. Some people try not to be too nit picky in their feedback, so it’s always beneficial to carefully observe how people interact with and interpret the clues. Be proactive about changing ambiguities. Finally, once the game has passed all these tests to your satisfaction, don’t forget that it must be tested with the final art. Puzzles can be made or broken by the images used. A change of one element could cloud up an otherwise logical puzzle, so make sure you do some final testing before sending it out into the world. Take it or leave it? Different people will give you contradictory feedback, and you will most certainly receive feedback and suggestions you disagree with, so how do you decide which advice to follow? First of all, if multiple people are identifying the same problem, it’s something that needs to be fixed, so ignore them at your own peril. More often than not it’s just a matter of clarity or lack of cluing (a puzzle is too hard, doesn’t give enough direction); see my previous post about balancing difficulty. I would say don’t worry if you think adding clues makes it less “challenging” - challenge shouldn’t come at the cost of fun. After all, you’re designing a game, not an exam. Same goes for puzzles that no one can solve without hints - they need more signposting. People like solving puzzles because it makes them feel smart, so allow them to have that satisfaction. My personal rubric is that at bare minimum 1 out of 4 people should be able to solve a single puzzle without a hint, though it’s worth noting that I usually try to have a variety of difficulties within a set of puzzles, so 1/4 would be on the hard end. So what if just a couple people encounter a problem with a certain aspect? You can take this on a case by case basis and ask yourself: Is it something you noticed before they pointed it out? How difficult would it be to change? Would changing it improve the game? To what degree? Put yourself in the player’s shoes as you make this decision - what experience would you rather have? Test your hint system Lastly, don’t forget to test your hint system! After the first test of The Tale of Ord, I decided to set up my hints right from the start, so testers can experience the game the same way a regular would. This is important because there are even things about hints that might not be clear to people, and it’s better to catch those things early on. If you get stuck on a puzzle and the hints don’t make enough sense to help you move forward, that should be addressed. See my previous post on hint systems for more. How do you make the most of your playtests? How do you decide which feedback to move forward with? Any other playtesting advice?

We’ve been diligently developing the next PostCurious game, and I thought it might be time to share a few thoughts and a peek at some artwork! Over the past year I had gotten a few inquiries regarding translation of The Tale of Ord into other languages. While it doesn’t seem impossible, it presents a daunting task to translate a game in which the language is so intertwined with the puzzles. As a result, I began to think about what my design philosophy might be for the next game, and how it might be more accessible - not just by making translation easier but in the conception of the puzzles themselves. I began to lean toward a more visual approach and it followed naturally that a more visual game should have more original art. I've come across many games that are not only a pleasure to play but have beautiful art and components that elevate the entire experience to another level. I hope to do the same with this game, and today I wanted to share a few of the drawings I’ve been working on so far. (Oh and don't worry, the entire game is not just about flowers, although I think that would be pretty cool too...) What do you think? What games do you love because of their art?

First of all, if you’re wondering whether or not you should even provide a hint system, for the love of puzzles, yes! Do your players a favor and set it up. No one knows your game better than you do, and getting stuck and frustrated is no one’s idea of fun - especially when they’ve paid money to play your game. Now, what makes a good hint system in a mystery tabletop game? I’ll start by saying that hint systems diegetic to the narrative are definitely preferable, but often challenging to execute because it requires having some sort of all-knowing character, as well as AI that will be able to address all potential questions. (If you have made this work, I would love to hear about it!) Setting that aside, some games opt for crowd-sourced hints, and while forums can be great for discussion, as a player myself I prefer a self-service hint system. This allows players to control what information they see, avoiding potential spoilers, and progress through the game at their own pace. It is also fairly simple to execute, even without any programming knowledge, and allows for a robust structure with plenty of information. I’m going to focus on online hints for this post, though these principles apply to printed and in-app hints as well. Make it user friendly Differentiate which hints belong to which puzzle, either by the components(s) involved, a card number, an image, or another obvious identifier. If the puzzles need to be solved in a linear fashion, arrange the hints on the page in the same order. Write hints for every step of every puzzle, not just for the points where you think people might get stuck. If you include solutions, make sure people can’t encounter them by accident. Make hints incremental The best thing you can do is allow your player to determine for themselves how much information they want to see. Even if you think a puzzle is really easy, I guarantee not all of your players will, and it’s better to have more hints per puzzle than less. Revealing too much information at once can make the player feel like they’re being robbed of the opportunity to discover something, thereby significantly diminishing the satisfaction they get from solving the puzzle, because they will feel like the answer was just handed to them. The first few hints should notify the player if there was any previous puzzles that had to be solved in order to proceed, and ask some basic questions to make sure they’re looking at the relevant components and/or information. The following hints should provide further nudges in the right direction, keeping in mind that many people looking at the hints might have already completed the earlier portions of the puzzle. If it is a puzzle with multiple steps, it can be helpful to provide mid-way solutions so people can double check their work. The last few hints can essentially act as a walkthrough to the solution, but should still go step by step rather than revealing all the information in one clue. Even the last few steps should give the player as much opportunity as possible to finish the puzzle themselves. Include solutions Nothing frustrates me more than getting stuck right near the end of a puzzle and not being able to move forward. Unless you’re running a competition, there’s not really any reason to stop players from experiencing the game on their own terms - not everyone is going to play your game exactly how you envisioned. Sometimes one just really doesn’t understand a puzzle, and desperate times call for desperate solutions. If it isn’t already explained in the late hints, include an explanation of how the solution is derived. Being able to move forward is important, but it’s also nice to know what you were missing or doing wrong. If you can, include a spoiler free solution check. This is a great tool for people to be able to check if they’re on the right track without potentially spoiling the puzzle if they’re wrong. Integrate hints into your play testing Prepare to have a hint system ready when you start any serious play testing. Just like every integral game component, this should be tested, both in terms of the hints themselves as well as the usability of the platform. First of all, it is helpful to keep track (or if blind testing have your players keep track) of when players take hints, because it will highlight problem areas in the puzzles themselves. Secondly, this will allow you to make sure your hints make sense and are sufficient for people to move forward. When asking for feedback, don’t forget to ask about the hint system too. Penalties If it’s a timed game and you’re adding penalties for hint use, consider if it actually adds anything to game, or if you’re just discouraging hint use for the sake of it. The truth is that most people want to experience the game as much as possible and use hints only when they need them, rather than just to get a faster time. Anything to add? What do you think makes for a good hint system? #PUZZLE #GAME #GAMING #TABLETOP #DESIGN #GAMEDESIGN #GAMEDEV#TABLETOPGAMING #PUZZLEGAME #MYSTERYGAMES #DEVELOPMENT #HINTS

Are ciphers even puzzles? Well, not necessarily. Okay, okay, hear me out. If you get a piece of enciphered text along with a key to decipher it, is translating that text a puzzle, or just busywork? On the other hand, if you get a piece of text and need to either skillfully decrypt it or go through some other process in order to piece together the key, that’s a different story. If you’re implementing the former, ask yourself why the text needs to be encrypted in the first place, if the player is going to translate it immediately anyway. Types of ciphers There are a lot of common ciphers used frequently in puzzle games: Morse code, semaphore, Caesar shift, pigpen/masonic cipher, book cipher, etc. Using one of these is not necessarily bad, but it needs to make sense in context. Personally, I wouldn’t mind never seeing a semaphore cipher again; looking at the key below, you might notice just how similar every position is, and consequently semaphore takes longer than some other ciphers to translate. Next time I see it though, I hope it's in a nautical themed game. I tend to prefer games with originally designed codes and ciphers. One benefit is that the key won’t be available to everyone on the internet, but I also think they are just more interesting. You're a designer, so why not allow your creativity to shine? Length Keep it brief. No one wants to spend half an hour translating letters. Likewise, a book cipher can be fun sometimes, but it can also overstay its welcome. I don’t mind looking up 5, maybe 10 words, but any longer than that and I would suggest a shorter sentence, or perhaps a different avenue of extraction. The only exception is when you’re trying to decode encrypted text without a key. When you’re starting from scratch, the more clues you have, the better. This way you can try to determine letter frequency and make some educated guesses based on the patterns you find (but even then I mean a few sentences, not an entire page of text.) Leave space It can be really helpful to leave space either below or above each row of encoded text for the player to write in the translation. Yes, really. You can save your player a lot of time and frustration when they don’t keep losing their place and don’t need to rewrite the text on another piece of paper. This may seem like a tiny thing, but it does make a difference in the user experience. What do you think? Do you have a favorite cipher? What games have you played that handle ciphers well? #PUZZLE #PUZZLES #CIPHER #CIPHERS #CYPHER #DECRYPT #ENCRYPT #PUZZLEGAME #ESCAPEROOM #GAMEDESIGN #GAMEDEVELOPMENT #GAMEDEV #DESIGN