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Thinky Third Thursday
September 2025

Welcome to the September 2025 edition of Thinky Third Thursday - a roundup of games that the puzzle experts from Draknek & Friends think are worth your time.

Recent news from Draknek & Friends

Submissions for the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant close soon

Are you a game developer from a traditionally under-represented group or background, working on a puzzle game that you think shows promise?

The Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant is a no-strings attached funding opportunity, with applications open until 23:59 PDT on Sunday 28th September. More information available on the website.

The Draknek & Friends Official Podcast is still going strong

Did you know we have a podcast? Every two weeks we release a new episode, interviewing great thinky game developers every time.

The most recent episode marks the five year anniversary of A Monster's Expedition, talking to the fantastic art director Adam deGrandis. It's our longest episode to date, purely because we were all having such a good time recording.

Before that we spoke to Zach Barth, designer of Kaizen: A Factory Story, Opus Magnum, and other games from Zachtronics. This episode contains a stunning reveal about SpaceChem that left us speechless.

Our next game Spooky Express is almost here!

Our spooky pathfinding puzzler is a little over a month away from launching on PC and mobile. It launches October 21st, just in time for Halloween, and I promise it's going to be a real trick and treat.

Bonfire Peaks on Nintendo Switch has a major update

Bonfire Peaks just got a major update on Nintendo Switch, enhancing the graphics and bringing it much closer to its appearance on other platforms. Additionally, if you're playing on Nintendo Switch 2, go into the settings and enable 60 FPS to improve it even further!

Play For Peace Charity Bundle ending soon

Speaking of Bonfire Peaks, you can get it and 300+ more games by supporting the Games for Palestine Charity Bundle, with all proceeds going to UNRWA. This bundle is only available for another few days.

One day left for the Draknek & Friends 12th Anniversary Humble Bundle

Last but not least, tomorrow is the final day to get the Draknek & Friends 12th Anniversary Humble Bundle. This is the cheapest you've ever been able to get all of our games together, and this is your last chance to take advantage of that deal and support The Trevor Project.

Recent thinky highlights


Glowkeeper, by oolimry and bucketfish
I went to check out Glowkeeper briefly... and ended up playing for two and a half hours straight. You could accurately describe it as a match-3 puzzle platformer, but that description wouldn't do it justice - those are surface-level qualities, not what makes it special. What this really is, is a brilliant metroidbrainia game filled with secrets and mechanical surprises. The opening sequences are a little slow in revealing its depth, but I promise it's worth the journey.


Little Problems: A Cozy Detective Game, by Posh Cat Studios and Amplified Games
A new type of Golden Idol-like that centres around not around solving grisly murders, but of navigating the minor inconveniences of being a teenage girl. You've overslept and have to get to class, your homework is due, your friend's birthday is coming up, and your cat has run away. They may be "little" problems, but the game pulls no punches in the escalating difficulty. If you like cozy mysteries but thought even Duck Detective had too much crime in it, then Little Problem is the game for you.


LEGO Voyagers, by Light Brick Studio and Annapurna Interactive
LEGO Voyagers is less about fiendish puzzles and more about having a nice time with a friend. You and your co-op player two each control a single Lego brick and roll your way through 3D islands constructed out of bricks, collecting and assembling the materials to craft bridges, contraptions, and edit the world. I haven't played enough to tell how puzzly it gets (probably not particularly), but I have played enough to endorse it as thorougly delightful.


Strange Antiquities, by Bad Viking and Iceberg Interactive
Imagine you're Sherlock Holmes moonlighting as an antique dealer in the rain-drenched town of Undermere and you've got Strange Antiquities. Every trinket on sale at your shop has some occult properties and only through careful research, observation and exploration (on a delightful Victorian map) will you be able to figure out the best artifact to recommend as a remedy for each customer's ailments. It's hard to follow up a hit like Strange Horticulture, but Strange Antiquities definitely has that special puzzle solving something about it.


Snekcross, by Justcamh
Finally, Snekcross is a free and delightful single-screen puzzle game. Plan the path of a snake to get to your next destination, which will then reconstruct part of the world and give you a new goal to aim for. It starts out simple but quickly throws surprises at you, with each step asking a little more from you than the last in a very satisfying buildup. You might hit a point where you want to try again from the beginning, but I found I never needed to undo too far to find a solution - there's a lot of flexibility in how you approach each challenge. This is a real gem, one of my favourite free games I've played all year.

Thinky releases from the past month

Free games:

Paid games:

New demos:

Upcoming games to watch for


The House of Tesla, by Blue Brain Games
Launching next week, Blue Brain Games' follow-up to their House of Da Vinci series puts the players in the electrical world of inventor Nikolai Tesla. It's a classic escape room puzzle game with fantastical contraptions that allow you to visualise electrical currents in the air. Like its predecessor, many of the puzzles centre on fixing broken machinery: find the right hidden panel, combine the right objects, and pull the right lever to make things go bzzzpt.


HeartLinks: A Puzzle Called Love, by Flip Alive Games
This was one of the games chosen in the first iteration of the Draknek New Voices Puzzle Grant, back in 2022, and I'm so happy to see them finally release a demo so everyone can check it out! If you're an anime fan then you'll almost certainly love this - it's very much a love letter to that aesthetic and vibe. If that does nothing for you, I can recommend it for the puzzles alone.


Spooky Express, by Draknek & Friends
As mentioned above, we're a little over a month away from the launch of Spooky Express. Can you successfully plan the route for the world's spookiest train line through deepest, darkest Trainsylvania? For fans of Cosmic Express, this is a more approachable followup with even deeper puzzles, and for those who haven't played it, you won't be missing anything if you jump in here. We can't wait for you to play on October 21st!

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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