If you happen to like puzzles, take a look at this trippy comic-style escape room recreation for Playdate

Assembly an internet good friend in particular person for the primary time could be fairly awkward. If solely there have been a option to skip the bizarre small speak half and get proper into the movement of actual dialog — like, say, getting shrunk right down to the dimensions of a chess piece and trapped in a collection of board video games, forcing you to speak so you could find your method out. That is precisely the state of affairs during which characters Alex and Sarah discover themselves within the Playdate game Escape the Boardgame, and it is extremely charming.

Escape the Boardgame is sort of like an interactive comedian, and it is the second such recreation by Julie and Anders Bjørnskov, following 2024’s Escape the Arcade. You employ the crank and generally the D-pad to maneuver the story ahead panel by panel, operating into puzzles alongside the best way that may function momentary roadblocks till you’ve got provide you with the answer. Whereas it’s an escape room of types, this is not a high-tension scenario; Alex and Sarah are caught in a comfy boardgame cafe, not Jumanji. As they attempt to make their method out the door by traversing numerous recreation boards, they encounter a bunch of quirky however in the end innocent characters.

Simply because it is informal doesn’t suggest it will be a breeze to resolve the puzzles, although. They’re actually inventive, generally requiring you to pay shut consideration to each little element on the display so as to crack some obscure code, and different instances forcing you to zoom out and take into account the entire image to see what’s hidden in plain sight. The video games inside the recreation, like one during which you must match pets with their right homeowners, are a delight to soak up. There are a number of hints for every puzzle, which you’ll entry within the menu, so you may have various levels of help relying on how caught you might be.

Savvy puzzle solvers will most likely end Escape the Boardgame in beneath an hour, so this one is ideal for while you simply need to play one thing easygoing that may be wrapped up neatly in a single sitting. As an alternative of leaving you annoyed, it is a mind teaser you are prone to stroll away from feeling all heat and fuzzy.