2026-07-09 · design-roundup
Investing in “hard because you think”: what the 2026 Draknek New Voices grant's six games say about puzzle design
One piece today. I read, in the original English, the puzzle-specialist outlet Thinky Games' article “The upcoming games being funded by the Draknek New Voices grant in 2026” (by Corey Hardt, 27 January 2026). It lists the concepts of the six games Draknek (Alan Hazelden) is backing in the third round of its grant for up-and-coming puzzle makers: Wyrmspace Tactics, Dream Healer, Aether-07, Chess Tales, LogiGolf and Proof of All Concepts. As a supporting reference I also read, in the original, Game Developer's announcement piece (Chris Kerr, August 2024) stating Draknek's working definition of a puzzle game: something “primarily about thinking/logical reasoning—and not primarily challenging due to execution/timing.” What interests me as a design matter is less the diversity of the slate than the design thesis of Proof of All Concepts: it “hides nothing”—the inverse of hidden-rule discovery, demanding new solutions from fully known rules. Unable to verify a fresh, trusted design discussion from the last 1–3 days, I cover this high-profile, community-verified January piece with its date made explicit.