Joseph Mansfield
@josephmansfield.uk
I play, make, and share thinky games!
🤔 Sharing great games at @thinkygames.com
🧩 Puzzle playthroughs on https://www.youtube.com/@JoePlaysPuzzleGames
https://josephmansfield.uk/
🏴 Edinburgh
🤔 Sharing great games at @thinkygames.com
🧩 Puzzle playthroughs on https://www.youtube.com/@JoePlaysPuzzleGames
https://josephmansfield.uk/
🏴 Edinburgh
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
This game combines concepts in Chants of Sennaar and Strange Horticulture in a clever way!
Decipher a book of potions written in an unknown language (The Apothecary of Trubiz)
Not sure how we ended up in this situation, but we're suddenly in charge of curing the townsfolks' ailments but we have no idea how to understand either the people or the recipe book! This is such a cool concept, combining games like Chants of Sennaar and Strange Horticulture in a clever way, and I
youtu.be
November 24, 2025 at 6:14 PM
This game combines concepts in Chants of Sennaar and Strange Horticulture in a clever way!
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
Cool, but we're talking about two separate categories here, right? Action-arcade and puzzle? Right? 😭
Tetris wouldn't get a nomination if it was released today. This needs fixing
Tetris wouldn't win at The Game Awards — a new category could fix that
Tetris wouldn't get a nomination if it was released today. This needs fixing
www.polygon.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Cool, but we're talking about two separate categories here, right? Action-arcade and puzzle? Right? 😭
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
Defy the bug-gods' punishment in the knowledge-based platformer Sisyphus Is a Bug!
Gain knowledge of movement tricks to scale Mount Olympus in this insectoid physics platformer · Thinky Games
After getting lots of attention in the 2025 Game Maker's Toolkit game jam, the knowledge-based-platformer Sisyphus Is a Bug has now released in an expanded version on Steam.
thinkygames.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Defy the bug-gods' punishment in the knowledge-based platformer Sisyphus Is a Bug!
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
Tonda Ros gave his first ever talk at ThinkyCon! Check it out to hear all about the playtesting process for Blue Prince!
Testing Blue Prince - Tonda Ros (ThinkyCon 2025)
Tonda Ros joins us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "Testing Blue Prince"
Talk description: How do you test a game that refuses to be predictable? This talk explores the unique hurdles of playtesting a title defined by extreme variance, and presents the unorthodox tools, and wildly impractica
www.youtube.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Tonda Ros gave his first ever talk at ThinkyCon! Check it out to hear all about the playtesting process for Blue Prince!
Yep, I actually did this.
Joe played all 4000 games on CrazyGames in search of thinky gems!
I played all 4000 games on CrazyGames, here are the thinkiest · Thinky Games
We’ve partnered with CrazyGames to introduce Thinky Games to those nerdy kids who love puzzles and problem solving as much as we do.
thinkygames.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Yep, I actually did this.
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
The Apothecary of Trubiz and Once Glorious Artahk are two new games with old-world settings and and forgotten languages!
Cryptic languages, symbols & lore abound in these two recent puzzle game releases · Thinky Games
The Apothecary of Trubiz and Once Glorious Artahk both released in the last few weeks, and both feature strange symbols and alphabets you must decipher while centering around very different kinds of puzzle gameplay.
thinkygames.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:24 PM
The Apothecary of Trubiz and Once Glorious Artahk are two new games with old-world settings and and forgotten languages!
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
Since we mostly focus on games with less timing/dexterity and more logical reasoning, we sometimes get asked what the best communities are for more arcade/action puzzlers, e.g. Tetris-likes, match-3 games, Peggle, that sort of thing.
Any suggestions?
Any suggestions?
November 18, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Since we mostly focus on games with less timing/dexterity and more logical reasoning, we sometimes get asked what the best communities are for more arcade/action puzzlers, e.g. Tetris-likes, match-3 games, Peggle, that sort of thing.
Any suggestions?
Any suggestions?
Had a lot of fun trying out MotionRec! If you liked ElecHead and Ooo, this is one to take a look at.
MotionRec is a playful, snappy puzzle game with a movement recording mechanic that has a lot of potential!
A brilliant new take on "record your movement" puzzles (MotionRec)
This is one of those games where I'd heard enough people raving about it that I knew it must be pretty good - and it is! It's so clearly inspired by the games of NamaTakahashi, with much of the playfulness and snappiness of games like Ooo and ElecHead, but with a fresh new mechanic that seems to hav
www.youtube.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Had a lot of fun trying out MotionRec! If you liked ElecHead and Ooo, this is one to take a look at.
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
All of the talks from ThinkyCon 2025 are now on YouTube! If you missed them or if you want inspiration for the jam happening right now, you can find them here!
ThinkyCon 2025 · Thinky Games
On 5th to 7th November 2025, Thinky Games held the second ThinkyCon event, an online conference for creators of thinky games.
thinkygames.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:22 PM
All of the talks from ThinkyCon 2025 are now on YouTube! If you missed them or if you want inspiration for the jam happening right now, you can find them here!
I feel like another article is brewing, haha.
So, IMO:
Very metroidbrainia: Toki Tori 2, Outer Wilds (+Echoes of the Eye), The Witness, Lingo.
Semi metroidbrainia: Tunic, A Monster's Expedition, Animal Well, Full Bore, Leap Year.
Not metroidbrainia: Obra Dinn, Roottrees, Golden Idol, Lorelei, Chants of Sennaar.
Very metroidbrainia: Toki Tori 2, Outer Wilds (+Echoes of the Eye), The Witness, Lingo.
Semi metroidbrainia: Tunic, A Monster's Expedition, Animal Well, Full Bore, Leap Year.
Not metroidbrainia: Obra Dinn, Roottrees, Golden Idol, Lorelei, Chants of Sennaar.
November 13, 2025 at 5:21 PM
I feel like another article is brewing, haha.
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
How do you test a game like Blue Prince that goes so deep and refuses to be predictable? Tonda Ros talks about finding playtesters and watching over 2,000 hours of playtest footage!
@blueprincegame.bsky.social
@blueprincegame.bsky.social
Testing Blue Prince - Tonda Ros (ThinkyCon 2025)
Tonda Ros joins us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "Testing Blue Prince"
Talk description: How do you test a game that refuses to be predictable? This talk explores the unique hurdles of playtesting a title defined by extreme variance, and presents the unorthodox tools, and wildly impractica
youtu.be
November 13, 2025 at 4:22 PM
How do you test a game like Blue Prince that goes so deep and refuses to be predictable? Tonda Ros talks about finding playtesters and watching over 2,000 hours of playtest footage!
@blueprincegame.bsky.social
@blueprincegame.bsky.social
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
In just a few minutes, we'll be streaming A Case of Fraud, The Apothecary of Trubiz, Rhombus, and The Farmer Was Replaced!
Come take a look! twitch.tv/thinkygames
Come take a look! twitch.tv/thinkygames
November 13, 2025 at 2:56 PM
In just a few minutes, we'll be streaming A Case of Fraud, The Apothecary of Trubiz, Rhombus, and The Farmer Was Replaced!
Come take a look! twitch.tv/thinkygames
Come take a look! twitch.tv/thinkygames
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
What can Hungarian mathematicians teach us about game development? Levente Bodnár and Zsombor Fehér answer this question and provide a few puzzles for the audience to solve as well!
Lessons from Hungarian Maths Education - Levente Bodnár and Zsombor Fehér (ThinkyCon 2025)
Levente Bodnár and Zsombor Fehér join us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "Designing for Discovery - Lessons from Hungarian Maths Education"
Talk description: Mathematics teachers have used discovery-based methods for decades, long before it became a design philosophy in puzzle games. Drawing
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 5:58 PM
What can Hungarian mathematicians teach us about game development? Levente Bodnár and Zsombor Fehér answer this question and provide a few puzzles for the audience to solve as well!
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
Listen to some of the beautiful music in Chants of Sennaar and hear Thomas Brunet tell the story of how it was composed to blend in with the vibrant world!
@thomasbrunet.fr
@thomasbrunet.fr
Composing Music for Chants Of Sennaar - Thomas Brunet (ThinkyCon 2025)
@ThomasBrunetMusic joins us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "Composing Music for Chants Of Sennaar: The Soundtrack of Storytelling Puzzles"
Talk description: I will talk about the writing process behind the music of Chants Of Sennaar, what the constraints were, how we got to work together a
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Listen to some of the beautiful music in Chants of Sennaar and hear Thomas Brunet tell the story of how it was composed to blend in with the vibrant world!
@thomasbrunet.fr
@thomasbrunet.fr
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
Developer of Bee Magic and N Step Steve, Ethan Clark, gave a multipurpose talk about making multipurpose puzzles!
@ethanclark.bsky.social
@ethanclark.bsky.social
Making Multi Purpose Puzzles - Ethan Clark (ThinkyCon 2025)
Ethan Clark joins us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "Making Multi Purpose Puzzles"
Talk description: It's hard enough making a puzzle that does one thing. How do you design a puzzle that does multiple things? We'll talk about puzzles with multiple solutions, puzzles with multiple emotional
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Developer of Bee Magic and N Step Steve, Ethan Clark, gave a multipurpose talk about making multipurpose puzzles!
@ethanclark.bsky.social
@ethanclark.bsky.social
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
Are real languages too complex to design a game around? Daria Jerjomina talks about the challenges involved in designing The Land Forgotten!
Designing Puzzles Based on Real Languages - Daria Jerjomina (ThinkyCon 2025)
@dariamakesgames joins us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "Designing Puzzles Based on Real Languages"
Talk description: I've adopted the concepts of linguistic puzzles for my game The Land Forgotten. I would love to share the challenges that came with that and how we've overcome them.
Use
youtu.be
November 12, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Are real languages too complex to design a game around? Daria Jerjomina talks about the challenges involved in designing The Land Forgotten!
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
The Picto Kickstarter is Now Live!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/pic...
#IndieGameDev #indiedev #indiegame #indiegames #mobilegame #mobilegames #androidgame #iosgame #mixedreality #mixedmedia
www.kickstarter.com/projects/pic...
#IndieGameDev #indiedev #indiegame #indiegames #mobilegame #mobilegames #androidgame #iosgame #mixedreality #mixedmedia
A Camera Game - Picto
Escape into a world greater than your own!
www.kickstarter.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:01 PM
The Picto Kickstarter is Now Live!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/pic...
#IndieGameDev #indiedev #indiegame #indiegames #mobilegame #mobilegames #androidgame #iosgame #mixedreality #mixedmedia
www.kickstarter.com/projects/pic...
#IndieGameDev #indiedev #indiegame #indiegames #mobilegame #mobilegames #androidgame #iosgame #mixedreality #mixedmedia
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
Very excited to have Ivan back with a sequel to his Mathematics in Puzzles talk! This time, topology!
@chaoticiak.bsky.social
@chaoticiak.bsky.social
Mathematics for Puzzles 2 - Ivan Koswara (ThinkyCon 2025)
Ivan Koswara (chaotic_iak) joins us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "Mathematics for Puzzles 2"
Talk description: Last year, I gave the talk "Mathematics for Puzzles", giving various examples about mathematical concepts that appear in puzzles -- logic puzzles, puzzle games, and more. There a
www.youtube.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Very excited to have Ivan back with a sequel to his Mathematics in Puzzles talk! This time, topology!
@chaoticiak.bsky.social
@chaoticiak.bsky.social
We are in the process of adding all the ThinkyCon 2025 talks as individual videos to YouTube! You can check this playlist to find them all as they get published: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Thanks to all the wonderful speakers for joining us!
Thanks to all the wonderful speakers for joining us!
November 11, 2025 at 4:19 PM
We are in the process of adding all the ThinkyCon 2025 talks as individual videos to YouTube! You can check this playlist to find them all as they get published: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Thanks to all the wonderful speakers for joining us!
Thanks to all the wonderful speakers for joining us!
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
I went to meet the 'Rockstar 31', the developers who were suddenly fired from their work on GTA 6 for what the studio has described as gross misconduct.
That's not what the workers call it though. They have another couple of words they prefer to use: union busting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9nO...
That's not what the workers call it though. They have another couple of words they prefer to use: union busting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9nO...
The Rockstar Workers Fired Before They Could Finish GTA 6
YouTube video by People Make Games
www.youtube.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:43 PM
I went to meet the 'Rockstar 31', the developers who were suddenly fired from their work on GTA 6 for what the studio has described as gross misconduct.
That's not what the workers call it though. They have another couple of words they prefer to use: union busting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9nO...
That's not what the workers call it though. They have another couple of words they prefer to use: union busting.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9nO...
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
@adamatomic.bsky.social has created a *lot* of small games, and we were delighted for him to join us at ThinkyCon 2025 to share how he approaches it.
My approach to making small games - Adam Saltsman (ThinkyCon 2025)
Adam Saltsman joins us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "CorgiSpace, or, short legs on purpose, or, my approach to making small games"
Talk description: I've made and released 14 games in the last 12 months, all in my very limited free time, and had a super fun time doing it, even though I al
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:56 PM
@adamatomic.bsky.social has created a *lot* of small games, and we were delighted for him to join us at ThinkyCon 2025 to share how he approaches it.
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
Next up, we were joined by returning speaker @lineygames.bsky.social for an insightful exploration of thinky games as emotional experiences.
Thinky games are emotional experiences - Caroline Clark (ThinkyCon 2025)
Caroline Clark joins us at ThinkyCon 2025 to present the talk: "Thinky games are emotional experiences, and designing with those emotions in mind will help you build better games"
Talk description: Games are emotional experiences. This is very clear in genres like first person shooters or adventure
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Next up, we were joined by returning speaker @lineygames.bsky.social for an insightful exploration of thinky games as emotional experiences.
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
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...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkMc...
What Donald Judd's 1964 Art Essay "Specific Objects" Means To Me - FLEB (ThinkyCon 2025)
YouTube video by Thinky Games
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:32 PM
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...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkMc...
Reposted by Joseph Mansfield
Iggy, one of the lead playtesters for Blue Prince, is in urgent need of a living kidney donor.
Please take a look at the information here and share it as widely as you can: www.iggyland.org/
The whole thinky community wishes the best for Iggy! 💛
Please take a look at the information here and share it as widely as you can: www.iggyland.org/
The whole thinky community wishes the best for Iggy! 💛
November 8, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Iggy, one of the lead playtesters for Blue Prince, is in urgent need of a living kidney donor.
Please take a look at the information here and share it as widely as you can: www.iggyland.org/
The whole thinky community wishes the best for Iggy! 💛
Please take a look at the information here and share it as widely as you can: www.iggyland.org/
The whole thinky community wishes the best for Iggy! 💛