Thinky Third Thursday

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Thinky Third Thursday
July 2026 (Thinky Puzzle Jam highlights)

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

This newsletter has always been a bit of a group effort, but from this month onwards you'll see sign-offs telling you which member of our team wrote about each game. As ever, it was curated and collated by your friend and mine (okay, me, I'm writing this), Alan Hazelden, the Head Draknek at Draknek & Friends.

Recent news from Draknek & Friends

  • We were recently at Glasgow Indie Games Fest and Develop Brighton showcasing our two upcoming published games! A big shout out to the organisers of those events, and everyone we met there.
  • We commissioned Devin Harrington to make us some new key art, which you can check out on our publisher page on Steam.
  • And new key art means... new merch! If you wanted even more Draknek & Friends games on a t-shirt or mug, you're in luck.
  • Lastly, we've been posting a lot more on social media recently. If you don't already follow us on Bluesky, TikTok or Instagram, you can keep up to date with more regular updates there. As of last week I've also now got a personal Bluesky account so follow me there for occasional game recommendations and more subjective opinions.

From the Draknek & Friends Official Podcast

Highlights from Thinky Puzzle Game Jam 6

What is a thinky puzzle game? Nobody really knows. But the annual Thinky Puzzle Game Jam, organised by Dom Camus, encourages people to design them nonetheless! This year's theme was "Locked Room" and there were over 80 submissions. Here are a few we've played and enjoyed (and one I designed).


All the Gold in Fort Locks, by Alan Hazelden, Lucas Le Slo, Benjamin Davis, Murray Somerwolff

My game jam skills are a little rusty, but I had a great time making this with a lovely team! Can you steal all the gold in Fort Locks, using the magical power of opening doors? I came up with the game concept, Lucas did most of the puzzle design, Ben made it work in Godot, and Murray made us some cute art. The end result is pretty challenging, but that just makes it all the more satisfying if you manage to reach the vault.


Every Door a Portal, by ELAiNE

I wanted to highlight this because of its similarities to (and differences from) my own game. In both games, what lies on the other side of a door changes depending on which key you used to open it, overwriting reality. However, this game lets you conveniently keep those keys in an inventory rather than pushing them around, and spreads its puzzles across 11 standalone levels rather than a single interconnected challenge. A great example of how similar game ideas can diverge and very quickly become totally different experiences!


Very Normal Lock Opening Game, by tetramouse

One for the "extremely hard sokoban game" sickos, Very Normal Lock Opening Game impressed me with just how quickly its level design put me in my place. It features an early gameplay twist that I'm always a sucker for, but before long the devious puzzles are the focus.


Deductopia: Community Theater, by Gwen C. Katz

Always a joy to get a new chapter of Deductopia, and if you've played any of the Gwen C Katz's previous instalments (Bring Your Pet to School Day, Hill and Dale and Scout Camp) then you'll be excited by Deductopia Theatre, a short but satisfying single-scene deductive mystery about figuring out the names of actors and the parts they play in a local community theatre. After all, the show must go on!


Shadows In Sanluca, by nicoop

That this was made in a very short amount of time for the jam is incredibly impressive! Shadows in Sanluca is a highly polished deductive mystery, with time-rewinding and navigating different periods of the house adding a thinky, spatial twist to the classic visual deduction model. I had a lot of fun with this short game and it bodes very well for Funeral for the Sun (set in the same world) which releases later this year.


A Most Special Service, by Ruben S.

A mystery game inspired by Her Story and Type Help, A Most Special Service is a database detective game where you need to search for specific file names, look at the information in those files, and then use that information to find more files. It’s one of those information games where you begin with a single clue and then it cascades quickly into finding more. Each file depicts part of an overarching story, and the way you experience these events is pretty cool. You first see the dialogue between the characters, and are then transported to that scene frozen in time and can look around. It’s very Return of the Obra Dinn, and it’s a great way to create unease and tension. A fun thriller.

Recent thinky highlights


The Incident at Galley House, by William Rous, Evil Trout Inc.

Having not played Type Help, The Incident at Galley House has been my most anticipated game of the year and... wow it did not disappoint! This is an excellent murder mystery set in a house in the middle of a storm, that at times dips its toes into the supernatural. The full remaster improves Type Help with a new interface, fantastic voice acting, lovingly rendered illustrations, and some extra mysteries to solve. There are no ghosts in Galley House, but this game will still haunt me for a while longer.


The Mermaid Mask, by SFB Games

Detective Grimoire and Sally are back for another supernatural mystery in The Mermaid Mask. In their previous adventure, the detective duo had to solve the curious case of a painting that had killed its creator. In this next game, you’re investigating the death of Magnus Mortuga, a submarine sea captain and owner of an ancient stone cauldron, a relic that was once sealed, now open. Mythos, magic, mystery, and mermaids - this game has it all. It's a solid mystery with a satisfying conclusion, and - on top of that - has gorgeous background art, lively animation, and brilliant voice acting. Another excellent entry in the Detective Grimoire series.


Clover's Quadrants, by Two-Headed Deer

You are what you eat! And you have four stomachs, each pointing in a different direction! Oh no, that's... a lot of food. With each new item you grab, your movement in that direction is affected - sometimes in useful ways, but often your vital tool is also an infuriating obstacle. It's occasionally fiddly, but quite unique and always logical, and the striking art style is a cherry on top.


The Message from Deep Space, by Applesinmypants

You and a band of eccentric scientists are given the challenge of initiating first contact with an alien species. Hard sci-fi? Beam me up! Message from Deep Space is realistic and diegetic in all the best ways, and each aha moment was utterly satisfying. Unfortunately (for me) that realism comes with a lot of maths. Did I just willingly spend my last two evenings solving quadratic equations? Maybe. Worth it for 30+ hours of genuinely good writing, speculative xenobiology, and good old fashioned logical deductive puzzles.


Looking For Fael, by ARTE France, La Poule Noire, Swing Swing Submarine and Plug In Digital

At the beginning of Looking for Fael, you receive a strange voicemail from your roommate. The message is cryptic but the message is clear: your friend has gotten lost in your shared apartment and you need to go find them. We’re not talking about a normal two-bed apartment here, your once familiar home is now a nesting doll of impossible rooms and hallway - a winding labyrinth that defies logic. If you love exploring impossible structures and solving environmental puzzles, this is a game for you. There’s also a cool gadget with a bunch of satisfying grid tile puzzles if you love those.


Cat Squeeze, by Pone Games, Cattery Studio

This cozy, hand-drawn puzzler is nothing if not adorable. Guide kitten Coco through a series of surprisingly satisfying sokoban levels. It's got cats. It's got puzzles. What more could you want? It doesn't fundamentally break the mould, but it's vibes are meowvellous throughout.

Thinky releases from the past month

Free games:

And many games made for Thinky Puzzle Game Jam 6, including but not limited to:

Paid games:

New demos:

Other upcoming games to watch for


Helix: Descent N Ascent, by Badass Mongoose

The first thing you notice about this game is its striking black and white hand-illustrated art style, and those immaculate vibes continue all across the mysterious world of Helix. I really enjoyed the demo, which introduced a couple of your abilities and got me very excited about the potential of the full game. Fortunately I don't have long to wait now - it's releasing next week!


Rita, by SporkTank

Crossword fans, you need to play Rita. This is a very cosy puzzle game where you play as a little bird collecting letters to fill out newspaper crosswords. Alongside Rita’s love of crosswords are other word-based puzzles like word searches, anagrams, and rebus puzzles (the ones where you need to work out a phrase from pictures). Each time you complete a puzzle, the landscape in the world transforms and you can continue on your journey. Rita feels perfect for a Sunday morning. It’s a gentle, relaxing puzzle game - look forward to its release at the end of the month.


He Who Watches, by Danga Games and Draknek & Friends

Lastly, this one should look familiar! This great game from Bobby Vanden of Danga Games is one of two in-development titles we're publishing, and will be the next thing we release. If a first-person puzzle game about 3D spatial reasoning complete with secret paths, hidden mechanics, and cryptic symbols sounds appealing then play the demo on Steam and give it a wishlist. We'll have some exciting news to share early next month, so watch this space!

That's it!

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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