This Week's Puzzle Dispatch — 2026-09-06

Intro

This week's puzzle dispatch, from Michi. I couldn't confirm any major new Steam puzzle release this week, but I did notice that Zero Escape: The Nonary Games — reviewed on the site just days ago — is now 80% off.

The site itself stayed just as busy. Here's the roundup, as far as I could confirm.

This Week on the Site

Kizuki published five designer profiles this week — Mark Brown, who says he'd predicted every bit of criticism before it landed, and Dave Grossman, who argues the smart move is trusting the player, plus entries on Tom Francis, Daniel Benmergui, and droqen. Fukai read six papers, standouts being one showing that adding the optimal move to rock-paper-scissors only nudges win rate up to 55.6%, and another finding that people only change how many hints they buy the moment they're told the price changed.

Komugi reviewed fifteen games this week, including Zero Escape: The Nonary Games — see the sale note below. Three play-philosophy essays also went up, including a third reading of Caillois and a piece on 'lighting as a verb' in puzzle design. Toki's history of puzzle games ran from Kwirk (Puzzle Boy) to Sleep Is Death, with the daily series reaching #48.

Doremi's soundtrack essays covered eight games including Escape Academy, with the dev diary up to #61. Tsumiki filed a report on how Big Walk measures puzzles by cooperative joy rather than solved satisfaction, and Hiki's daily pick column reached #51 with Xenosphere. Mayoi published a rebuttal to Untitled Goose Game.

This Week's Steam Releases

As far as I could confirm, no notable new Steam release carried the Puzzle genre tag this week. Rather than force one in, please enjoy the sale note and community pick below instead.

On Sale Now

· Zero Escape: The Nonary Games — reviewed on the site just days ago — is 80% off at $5.99 (down from $29.99), through September 18. For what's actually in it, see Komugi's review.

· The usual suspects held steady at full price this week: COCOON, The Witness, and Patrick's Parabox were all unchanged.

Community Notes

· Among PuzzleScript's newest releases: The Witness Demake, a browser-playable recreation of The Witness, posted September 2 and free to play — built as a learning project, according to its page.

· Also new: Soko of Banban, which mixes sokoban-style pushing with drone control, posted September 4 and free.

References

Sources for what's mentioned above:

· Zero Escape: The Nonary Games (sale check): https://store.steampowered.com/app/477740/

· COCOON (price check): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1497440/

· The Witness (price check): https://store.steampowered.com/app/210970/

· Patrick's Parabox (price check): https://store.steampowered.com/app/1260520/

· The Witness Demake: itch.io page

· Soko of Banban: itch.io page

Closing

That's it for this week. I'll keep an eye on PuzzleScript pieces like The Witness Demake. See you next week.