Thinky Third Thursday

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Thinky Third Thursday
March 2026

Welcome to the March 2026 edition of Thinky Third Thursday - a roundup of games that the puzzle experts from Draknek & Friends think are worth your time.

But first, some exciting news! This time next week we'll be announcing the next published title from Draknek & Friends. We're extremely excited about this game, and we think you should be too. Keep an eye out for that announcement wherever you get your Draknek & Friends news - social media, our mailing list, or the podcast (we'll be releasing an episode on the same day chatting to the new game's developer).

From the Draknek & Friends Official Podcast

  • A conversation with Levi Pinkert, the creator of Loophole, where we talk about about what ideas make it from the drawing board to actual development, and the terrible crime of not featuring pushable blocks in a grid-based puzzle game.
  • A conversation with Ben Taylor, the creator of Can of Wormholes, marking the 3 year anniversary since the game's release. Topics include the design ethos of doing a lot with a little and how he came up with Can of Wormholes' innovative hint system.

Recent thinky highlights


Rhell: Warped Worlds & Troubled Times, by SlugGlove and Yogscast Games
Rhell is a brightly coloured, top-down RPG about magic. Delightfully, it is as chaotic as a game that lets you cast whatever magic you like on any object should be. With each rune you learn you gain a new ability, and up to 5 runes can be combined at once to create some very unique actions. What happens when you combine "Goo" then "Push" then "Pull" then "Twist"? Probably nothing useful, until you reach the right puzzle. With dozens of solutions to every challenge, this is bound to get you thinking creatively.


The Artisan of Glimmith, by Lunarch Studios and 983 Interactive
The latest release from Lunarch Studios is this cozy game about making stained-glass windows, so expect substance beneath the softness. You play as an artisan restoring the cloud kingdom through colouring, cutting and joining glass artwork, with every level containing novel restrictions on the shapes involved. There's no shortage of puzzles here - not only are there hundreds of high-quality puzzles included in the main game, but there's also a level editor, allowing the community to add even more.


Piece by Piece, by Neon Polygons
A puzzle platformer with strong emphasis on the word "puzzle", as the world is quite literally sliced into jigsaw pieces that you must reassemble in order to create a navigable path. It starts simple - arrange pieces and walk through - and quickly escalates as you unlock new mechanics like rotating or copying solutions, and overlaying them onto blueprints and existing fragments of level. It's thinkier than it looks!


Pieced Together, by Glowfrog Games
We've been watching Pieced Together be pieced together (pun intended) for many years now, and whilst it's not the most hardcore puzzle game we've ever covered in Thinky Third Thursday, what it does do is craft narrative into its puzzles thoughtfully and with care. In its 1-2 hour runtime, you'll sort through mementos, reassemble torn photos, and solve gentle logical deduction puzzles to help process a childhood friendship. Our studo manager Mairi enjoyed it a lot!
...Also Glowfrog games is a really cool team name. Wouldn't it be awesome if we had a whole frog-themed issue of Thinky Third Thursday?

Thinky releases from the past month

Free games:

Paid games:

New demos:

Upcoming games to watch for

Well look at that! It's more FROGS 🐸


Poke ALL Toads, by SpaceMatra
Turns out poking toads is a toadally terrible idea, but these fairies are going to do it anyway. Your goal in Poke ALL Toads is simple: annoy amphibians, and use their counter-attacks to your advantage to solve the puzzles. The demo was a short but fun teaser in which the emphasis is on learning through experimentation, even when (especially when) your actions come back to bite you. Keep an eye out, as the full game is hopping onto Steam tomorrow!


Hopping Out, by KamilFirma
Move (hop) exactly two tiles at a time and navigate a series of levels pushing buttons, spawning lilypads, moving boxes with your tongue, and ultimately collecting flies. A demo was released earlier this month, providing a guarantoad good time for those who enjoy parity puzzles.


Walk The Frog, by Walk The Frog
Another cozy title to look out for launching later this year, this is the puzzle game equivalent of a blanket and a cup of tea (or a nice warm lily pad with delicious flies? How far can I stretch the frog metaphors?). In Walk the Frog you drag and drop sticky notes around to create a path for Froggo, who is trying to reach the Froggapalooza festival. These frog puns write themselves. It's not the thinkiest title ever (it's largely just a set of interactive jigsaws), but the demo has un-frog-ettable vibes.

That's it!

That's all for this month! Don't forget, we'll have an exciting announcement next Thursday so be sure to keep your eyes out for that.

Until then, did you particularly enjoy any of the games above, or do you have a recommendation for a game I should check out? Please get in touch!

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