One thing I've been thinking about is that database games are not purely an exercise in applying your understanding to unlock more info - I also really enjoy the element of serendipity, where you can stumble on a search result that you had no idea existed, that gives you all new things to look into.

new blog post: I also wrote about "metroidbranias". Surely if enough of us write about how we dislike a term, people will stop using it? That's how it works, right? blog.vbuckenham.com/database-gam...

Wow! The Roottrees are Dead has been nominated for Best Narrative Game at the Indie Game Awards!

Andrew Plotkin's interactive fiction games are known for their mind-expanding metapuzzling. Appropriate, then, that his talk about designing them was equally mind-expanding!

Are real languages too complex to design a game around? Daria Jerjomina talks about the challenges involved in designing The Land Forgotten!

Anyway if you like knowledge and deduction games may I point you towards KINOPHOBIA, my exorcist-detective game about ghosts, movies, and movie stars that are ghosts? brunodias.itch.io/kinophobia

A beautiful genre chart! 🤩 I definitely think grouping by features is more useful than a simple in or out, and this gives a lot to interesting classifications to ponder. Great stuff for fans of these areas!

Daniel King, the director of games at The Boston Globe, gave a fascinating talk that dives into the history of the newspaper puzzle!

Nicolas Cage and puzzle games might seem like an unlikely pairing, but Ludipe showed us that we can learn a lot from the actor's weird indie movie picks! @ludipe.bsky.social

If you liked The Roottrees Are Dead and want more games like it, you'll probably like A Case of Fraud, a very similar game that's nice and short and cute. I really enjoyed it store.steampowered.com/app/3036350/...

Really enjoyed this talk! Learned some interesting things that apply to narrative deduction games, like how a straightforward “explore phase” - like Golden Idol’s word collecting - makes sure players have seen everything and sets them up for interesting inductive & deductive leaps.

Absolutely loved this one, really cool ideas about how to make and iterate on small games!

Here's the first video from ThinkyCon 2025, a beautiful 5-minute talk from @flebpuzzles.bsky.social about the art essay "Specific Objects". www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkMc...

Hey #PitchYaGame ! Magical Greenhouse is a cozy simulation game where you manage your own potion shop ✨ 🌿 Take care of Magical Plants 🔮 Experiment with Potions 🎨 Customize your Greenhouse 🌸 Fill Villagers Quest Thank you @indiegamelover.com & @liamtwose.bsky.social for hosting this event!

Thanks for tuning in to ThinkyCon 2025! Did any of the talks inspire you to make a game? If so, check out our game jam that just started!

Fill in the org chart of a pet translation startup to investigate a missing person and crack A Case of Fraud #PitchYaGame

Hi, #PitchYaGame! Puzzle Spy International is a '60s spy adventure where you travel the world, chat with (& flirt with!) contacts, and solve substantial thinky puzzles involving wordplay, logic & rules discovery. A standalone demo is on Steam at s.team/a/3406690 and on itch.io. #puzzleGame #VN

#PitchYaGame Burn With Me is a game for those with an Inscryption-shaped hole in their heart. 🕯 Teacher who lures students into a dangerous ritual 🔥 Deckburner gameplay: sacrifice cards to fire 🖤 Find balance between desire and sanity Playtest soon: s.team/a/2954010

Season reset is November 6th at Noon CST. It’s a bright shiny day on the Island and there’s 8 new balance changes, new challenges, and a new card coming next season. Don’t forget your shades, the sun is still shining bright. play.novaisland.com/Playnow

ThinkyCon 2025 begins in about an hour! Check out the schedule here:

Been messing around with a Detecting Mechanic visualization. Probably best viewed on PC, I have no idea if it works on mobile. My idea was to be able to show this to anyone who says "I Liked Game X, what's like it?" flatfootsandfools-design.github.io/game-visuali...

Happy Halloween! 🎃 I’ve been carving a #NovaIsland pumpkin every year since I fell in love with the game. This year it’s Bloom Kitten, the most adorable little friend who just needs a little love to grow game-winningly huge! @novaisland.bsky.social

This is a parser game, but it's also a 'database thriller' mystery game inspired by titles like Return of the Obra Dinn, The Roottrees are Dead, and Immortality. Discover an alternate history of cinema; pull threads to learn the fates of lost souls; become an utter movie pervert.

Explore a haunted movie studio. Learn the fates of the tormented souls bound to it. End a 50-year curse inscribed in blood and celluloid. KINOPHOBIA, my first piece of noncommercial interactive fiction in eight years, is now available to play. brunodias.itch.io/kinophobia

If you want to join our ThinkyCon Jam and need some inspiration, feedback, or someone to collaborate with, we have a wonderful community over on Discord! itch.io/jam/thinkyco... thinkygames.com/discord

I'm giving a talk at ThinkyCon 2025! thinkygames.com/events/think... Towers of Pen: puzzle experiences that zoom out and out Thursday, November 6th 4:00 - 4:30 pm (Eastern time) Free, streamed online.

Introducing the Undermere collection on Steam! Strange Horticulture (currently 60% off) + Strange Antiquities are now bundled into one delightfully dark & cosy package. Whether you're new to our Strange games or need to complete your Strange collection, an extra 10% off is the deal for you.

And now the final cases of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. A game that's launched a 24 year franchise, spanning multiple media forms, and still remains a good experience, especially with the updates when brough to PC and Mobile. RSS Link Here: anchor.fm/s/108c64748/...

I've been working on post- #LDJam updates to My Friends the Monster Trainers. I'm adding an alignment chart you can fill out as you find clues about which monsters are strong or weak against others. Still in progress, but I hope it'll be a fun part of solving the puzzle! #gamedev

Mind Diver from Indoor Sunglasses & @playismen.bsky.social is a tragic mystery and intimate, character-driven story inspired by @dukope.bsky.social's Return of the Obra Dinn. Excellent work from @breum.bsky.social and team. #pcgaming #steam #indiegames 🎮 My review on @thegeeklygrind.bsky.social -

We're trying to decide how characters in PSI transition from one pose to another. The 2 methods shown in this vid: In part 1, characters change poses with a 0.25s dissolve. In part 2, they pop from pose to pose with no transition. Which do you like better? youtu.be/sbPk8Qmk9Rc #indieDev #VNdev

Hi everyone 💛 We’ve teamed up with The Roottrees are Dead for a new bundle on Steam. Both games are built around observation and quiet investigation, but each tells its story in a very different way. @roottrees.com #indiegame #indiedev #cozygame

Being a rank amateur doesn’t stop me from enjoying trying to put together my own cryptic clues. This one is inspired by an idea @josephmansfield.uk had on @thinkygames.com discord - “Stick to conversation, start sending back short letters from penpal” (4) www.minutecryptic.com/custom/2b972...

I’ve officially solved the entire archive of #MinuteCryptic cryptic crossword clues! So much fun! I’m open to recommendations of other cryptic puzzles to try - though I’m not sure I’m ready to move on from Minute Cryptic’s security blanket of hints and explanations, even if I rarely need them now…

Just played a delightful Game jam project from @celia-14.bsky.social A reductive description is The Roottrees meets Pokemon, but for those more immersed in deduction games it feels similar to playing some of Owlskip's games like Family celia14.itch.io/my-friends-t...

The secret to keep consistency through all my games?? I use the SAME color palette ✨🎨🌸 #IndieGameDev #indiegames #cozygames #gamedev #screenshotsaturday

I already have lots of ideas about how I can improve the puzzles in My Friends the Monster Trainers, so there will be a post-jam version. Anyone who tries it out, definitely give us feedback on what works well and what parts can be improved!

This #LudumDare 's narrative deduction game: stuck at home while your friends go catch monsters and battle trainers, can you complete your Monster Tracker with deduction alone? Follow the story and search for tricky clues in your friends' letters. celia14.itch.io/my-friends-t... #ld58 #gamedev

I thought while voting, “collector” is the most @rosekeller.bsky.social -coded of all the theme options, I wonder if that will be it 😄

Ludum Dare 58 kicks off in 6 hours! Cast your vote! ldjam.com #LDJam

I got to playtest Mind Diver earlier, but now that it's out I had to replay! Great narrative game - I love the use of deduction puzzles to draw you in without ever taking the focus from the very well-written and acted story and characters. It's a short game and on sale, so definitely check it out!

Kickoff League 🏆🌟 (Sep 30, 2025) Goals: ⭐⭐⭐ Forbidden: 🌟 Completed in 1m 52s kickoffleague.com Woo, my favorite team are the champs!! 🎉 Getting into #KickoffLeague has been great, the daily puzzle is challenging and fun, and it’s been surprisingly fun to follow the teams (as a non sports person.)

🧠🤿MIND DIVER IS OUT NOW!🧠🤿 “Mind Diver is absolutely captivating”-Lucas Pope “It's the kind of game that makes you remember why you love games”-heavyeyed Investigate a broken mind to solve a twisted case. Uncover a story of love and lies. store.steampowered.com/app/2259330/... #indiegames #gaming

Just finished up the last case of Little Problems! So cute! From the demo, I was worried it'd be a little easy - so I was pleasantly surprised to find some nice complex and interesting cases in the full game. Love a puzzle game that's both adorable and a good challenge! 💖

Good chance to get two awesome games! Neither particularly crime-based, when you think about it, but they are cozy and a great thinky time!

I got really sucked into 12 Word Searches last night. It's a PDF puzzle game (I recommend playing in Firefox, so you can use the highlighter tool) that starts simple and layers on a bunch of rules and fun puzzles. Strong recommend! playcebo.itch.io/12-word-sear...

I love this! Really cool to hear Mind Diver’s process!

you're right, it does; for example, outer wilds has great investigation with a similar "insert knowledge to progress" mechanism. however, i think the static part of it does contribute to a coherent sense of genre. there's something about viewing the mystery from "outside" that can be really engaging

@celia-14.bsky.social here's a sort of family tree of static/narrative deduction games - IMO, they influence each other in interesting ways. is there anything major you think is missing?

@rosekeller.bsky.social and I have been working hard on our #GBJam entry and it was a real scramble to get something uploaded this morning! 😅 Definitely want to fix a few things in a post-jam version, so stay tuned - but for now just glad it's done and I have time to kick back and play some games!