Alan Hazelden / Draknek & Friends

I think about this Tony Benn speech much more than I used to

Draknek & Friends - Nintendo Switch games Lovingly crafted puzzle games for Nintendo Switch

Our huge Nintendo sale starts today! Massive discounts on all of our Switch titles are available from now until March 20th, with up to 75% off individual games and 60% off our multi-game bundle.

www.draknek.org/nintendo

In this week's podcast, we talk to Levi Pinkert, creator of Loophole, about what ideas make it from drawing board to actual development, how to make the judgement call on ambition Vs. realism, and the terrible crime of not featuring pushable blocks in a grid-based puzzle game.

draknek.org/podcast

Correction: by "one year anniversary", you might think that I meant to type "one one", aka "eleven". However, that is a number of years so implausibly high that it clearly cannot be true.

Download the latest indie games itch.io is a simple way to find, download and distribute indie games online. Whether you're a developer looking to upload your game or just someone looking for something new to play itch.io has you…

Today marks the one year anniversary of the release of A Good Snowman is Hard to Build on PC - still the only game with a price point (on itch.io) set by the weather!

Buy it there today (although it's quite sunny in London) there, or for a fixed price elsewhere.

agoodsnowman.com

Draknek & Friends Puzzle Bundle Three puzzle masterpieces for one low price

The Draknek & Friends PlayStation sale ends tomorrow - it's your last chance to grab these gems at a discount, with 50% off a bundle of all three.

Monster's Expedition, Patrick's Parabox and Bonfire Peaks, plus DLC!

store.playstation.com/en-gb/produc...

Ultrapool on Steam The pool bar is always open! Ultrapool is a colorful roguelike about playing pool with a bunch of wacky balls with crazy effects. Carefully craft a perfect build and get the craziest trickshots!

Ultrapool Steam Next Fest demo is up! Go try the game that has >10k players on mobile before even getting released :)

store.steampowered.com/app/4195110/...

Sokobond Express on Steam Sokobond Express is a beautifully minimalist puzzle game that combines chemical bonds and puzzling pathfinding in novel ways.

Happy Birthday Sokobond Express! Four years young today - look how you've grown!

store.steampowered.com/app/1701330/...

Screenshot of the no ice in Minnesota charity bundle on itchio that has raised $500,008

My heart is full of gratitude and there are still 20 days left of the bundle

Absolutely insane story about a middle-aged woman from Hertfordshire who got arrested, shackled, and detained by ICE and held in a prison for eight weeks.... while on holiday... with a valid tourist visa... as she tried to leave the country.

Alan Hazelden's Thinky Third Thursday — February 2026 · Thinky Games Welcome to Thinky Third Thursday, curated by Alan Hazelden of Draknek & Friends – a monthly roundup of thinky puzzle games that have caught my eye.

There are a bunch of exciting new releases, upcoming games, and a couple future projects hinted at in this month's roundup of thinky highlights!

Who's going to stop me? :D

Thinky Third Thursday (from Draknek & Friends) Monthly game recommendations from the puzzle experts at Draknek & Friends

Get Thinky Third Thursday sent to your inbox each month by joining the mailing list at thinkythirdthursday.com.

Upcoming games to watch for:
* The Detective's Apprentice, by @darqwerful.bsky.social
* Helix: Descent N Ascent, by Badass Mongoose
* AntiMatcher, by @gigomakes.bsky.social and @terzalo.com
* Tiling Town, by muratsubo Games
* ?????, developed by ????? and published by Draknek & Friends

Recent thinky highlights:
* where's my egg?, by @levelclear.bsky.social
* TR-49, by @inkle.co
* Chromatic Conundrum, by @chromaticconundrum.bsky.social
* Bento Blocks, by @sometimesltd.bsky.social
* HER TREES : PUZZLE DREAM, by @stone-gamedev.bsky.social

Thinky Third Thursday - February 2026 Monthly game recommendations from the puzzle experts at Draknek & Friends

Here's the February edition of Thinky Third Thursday, the monthly roundup of thinky puzzle games that have caught our eye:
thinkythirdthursday.com/february-2026

Draknek & Friends Puzzle Bundle Three puzzle masterpieces for one low price

Don't forget the Draknek & Friends PlayStation sale is on now. Get all of our PlayStation games at a discount separately, or with 50% off as a bundle!

store.playstation.com/en-gb/produc...

Sorry to hear this 🫂

Roses are red,
Puzzles are hard.
We know that you love us,
So we made you a card.

Happy Valentines from Draknek & Friends!

Dev snapshot: Godot 4.7 dev 1 – Godot Engine All the colors of the rainbow (and more?)

Our first development snapshot for #GodotEngine 4.7 has arrived!

Virtual joysticks, drawable textures, Windows HDR support, Vulkan raytracing groundwork, and more are ripe for testing:

godotengine.org/article/dev-...

We're helping to raise funds for the Immigrant Law Centre in Minnesota with the No ICE in Minnesota bundle on Itch.io.

Get 1439 items for $10, including A Good Snowman is Hard to Build, all for an excellent cause.

itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...

👾 ANNOUNCING 868-BACK!
Dismantle capitalism one server at a time in this computer-hacking strategy roguelike game by Michael Brough!

Play the free demo in Steam Next Fest on Feb. 23rd!
Wishlist on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3304110/...

Check out a snippet of our conversation and listen to the full episode wherever you get podcasts!

Draknek & Friends Official Podcast Join Alan and Syrenne from Draknek & Friends as they talk to developers of some of their favorite puzzle games, shedding light onto how games get made and th...

The latest episode of the Draknek & Friends Official Podcast featuring @elirainsberry.com is out. Topics include how they got into the industry, the development of A Monster's Expedition, and how designing music for puzzle games is different from other games.
draknek.org/podcast

Some recent releases: Alien Cartographer, HER TREES : PUZZLE DREAM, The Red Pearls of Borneo
Less recent, definitely Öoo

Birdigo is coming to your phone Feb 18! @johnaugust.bsky.social and i took a lot of care in making it all feel right on a touchscreen.

Pre-save today! (its free to try with a one-time IAP to unlock the full game): apps.apple.com/us/app/birdi...

Draknek & Friends - PlayStation games Lovingly crafted puzzle games for PlayStation 4 & 5

The Draknek PlayStation sale starts tomorrow!

Patrick's Parabox, A Monster's Expedition and Bonfire Peaks are available at a discount all the way until February 25th, as is the Puzzle Bundle which nets you all 3, plus DLC!

www.draknek.org/playstation

graphic that says no ice in Minnesota itch.io charity bundle

The No ICE in Minnesota Charity Bundle has officially LAUNCHED!

There are 1,439 games to discover for a $10+ donation to Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota!

Purchase the bundle here: itch.io/b/3484/no-ic...

Sorry to hear that!

Fen Beatty

After 9+ years at ustwo games I have unfortunately been made redundant.

If you are looking for a stylised 3D generalist with 10+ years experience to have on your team please give me a shout or let others know that I am available for work! I'd love to chat ✨

fensartden.com
fensartden@gmail.com