Today we released our episode on Little Problems, form @littleproblems.bsky.social. We enjoyed playing as discussing it, with a particular focus on what it adds to the Golden Idol formula, and exploration of non life-threatening stakes. creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/...

Little Problems by Flatfoots and Fools

Today Andrew and John get cozy with Little Problems, the 2025 game from Posh Cat Studios. This cozy detective game utilizes the Golden Idol formula of dioramas with mad-libs style sections to fill in,...

creators.spotify.com

Played through Overboard this weekend. It's a time loop, reverse detective game from Inkle where you have committed a murder, and need to cover it up and survive. But the actual play loop involves doing a fair amount of detecting to find the information you need to survive. I find the game to be...

Now that I've had a week to reflect, I still come out very positive on The Mermaid Mask. @sfbtom.bsky.social and @sfbdim.bsky.social did a great job with improving the Tangle Tower style, without sacrificing what makes the games fun. A delightful adventure! store.steampowered.com/app/1696770/...

The Mermaid Mask on Steam

An impossible locked-room murder: Captain Mortuga lies dead beside an ancient cauldron aboard the world’s strangest submarine, crewed by sketchy suspects. A handcrafted point-and-click with sharp humo...

store.steampowered.com

A very nice interview with one of the more interesting and most prolific creators in the Detective space. I recommend this for anyone who wants some behind the scenes at how these games are made!

Jonny@darthmalks.bsky.social · 2w ago

This week on Indie Game Garden, I chat with the king of freeware deduction games, @bushmonkey.bsky.social! If you like games like Roottrees are Dead and Golden Idol, you’ll love Red Pearls of Borneo :) Audio: indiegamegarden.transistor.fm/21 YouTube: youtu.be/nkDSoNpvW4k?...

This morning, we released our episode on Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping, from @happybroccoligames.bsky.social. The second in the Duck Detective series, this single session deduction game combines cute graphics, with stunningly high criminality. open.spotify.com/episode/64jJ...

Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping

Flatfoots and Fools · Episode

open.spotify.com

It's been great to see people loving The Incident at Galley House. It's gotten a great reception, proving that @eviltrout.com did a great job. And that's including the fact it's been one of the most stacked weeks in Detective games history. It's my favorite game of this year... so far.

The Discord activity I see right now should bring a smile to @sfbtom.bsky.social and @sfbdim.bsky.social:

This is a great review, and I laughed a lot at the shoutout.

IndieLoupe.com@indieloupe.com · 3w ago

The Incident at Galley House (from @eviltrout.com) needed to get a lot right in order to live up to the standards set by The Roottrees are Dead & Type Help, but manages to do so from the very first scene. Read/watch our (spoiler-free!) review: 📝 indieloupe.com/galley-house 📽️ youtu.be/L-0lFvQHE2E

This is well deserved! I can't overstate how much I love the things this game does. And how difficult it is not to spoil people while trying to tell them why it's good.

Robin Ward@eviltrout.com · 3w ago

We hit Overwhelmingly Positive on steam in under 48 hours! Thanks so much to everyone who gave us a good review. I was able to take a break last night and watch some streamers and it made me so happy. There's nothing better as a developer than seeing people enjoy your stuff.

I second this opinion. There are things I want to rave about but they are all crazy spoilers so have to go with everybody's favorite " Trust me it's good"

Celia@celia-14.bsky.social · 3w ago

Given how much I love Type Help and the work of the @eviltrout.com team, I had very high expectations for Galley House, and it exceed them. As a Type Help fan, I can't get over THAT ONE PART. And if you haven't played TH, what are you doing, go play this now! store.steampowered.com/app/3641000/...

Just played through Mini Murder Mysteries. I ended up feeling very neutral about it. It's solidly built for what it aims to do, but the very small scope of the mysteries and UX made it feel very limited. store.steampowered.com/app/4639520/...

Mini Murder Mysteries on Steam

Solve cozy, crafty whodunits. Puzzle your way through nine unique investigations – and use your noggin to make intelligent deductions. Explore the evidence, scrutinize statements, and connect the dots...

store.steampowered.com

I feel like this update was made specifically for me, a repeat offender at missing stories in archive games

Kaden 🥩 Stranger Still - Out Now!🥩@kadenramstack.bsky.social · last mo.

Did you hear?? Did you see? GAME TITLE my database deduction game about searching through the fake internet had its 2.0 release!! You can now organize folders! See some fake screenshots! (And hopefully not miss the story) For free!!! Out now!! k-ramstack.itch.io/game-title

Today we publish our first developer interview with @eviltrout.com and Jeremey Johnston of @roottrees.com. We had a wonderful discussion about the development of the game, the Steam version, and wheat they are up to next with The Incedent at Galley House! youtu.be/moaFqfSJBuw

Jeremy Johnston and Robin Ward Developer Interview

YouTube video by Flatfoots and Fools

youtu.be

Last month, Thinky Puzzle Games had their 6th game jam, with the theme of Locked Room. itch.io/jam/thinky-p... We got 4 fun Detective games out of it which I played this weekend. Here they are:

With Next fest wrapped, I am highlighting the demos of some of the games coming out in the next three months. You can try all of them now if you feel like. Here they are in rough order of expected release date.

Today we released our episode on Tangle Tower from @sfbdim.bsky.social and @sfbtom.bsky.social. We enjoyed playing the second of the Detective Grimoire games, lovely P&C Adventure investigation games. The Characters and especially the music continue as best in class open.spotify.com/episode/4sXy...

Tangle Tower

Flatfoots and Fools · Episode

open.spotify.com

Here's my 9 games to spread. All of them do something cool in the detecting space and deserve a play to see.

My Jupiter from @badvikinggames.bsky.social Strange Antiquities has arrived and passed inspection

I am very excited for this. They did a great job with The Roottrees, and Type Help was excellent!

Robin Ward@eviltrout.com · 2mo ago

Our next game, The Incident at Galley House, is coming out July 14, 2026! You can wishlist now on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3641000/...

Just played 0818 Petrichor lane. It's a cute one-shot case, inspired by Golden Idol. You get to deduce who lives in an apartment building through examining a Day and Night. A good deductive morsel. lestavol.itch.io/0818-petrich...

0818 Petrichor Lane by Lestavol, mo memo, Hazelstorm, Merulon, King_Kai258, VanillaSpooks

Warm puzzle on cold rain day

lestavol.itch.io

Today I played through Dragon Tax Return Simulator 2015. You are a Dragon who needs to fill out your taxes, cross referencing the rules pages and evaluating all the invoices, appraisals, etc. It's a fun Service Sim game, like a light hearted Papers Please... walsh9.itch.io/dragon-tax-r...

Dragon Tax Return Simulator 2015 by walsh9

you are a dragon and you need to finish your tax return quickly

walsh9.itch.io

Whelp folks, I did it again... I managed to miss a big chunk of story while still finding the answer to the question asked at the beginning. I still had fun with this game, made a nice spreadsheet.

Flatfoots and Fools: A Podcast about Detective Games@flatfootsandfools.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Tonight I started playing CAME TITLE from @kadenramstack.bsky.social. This time, I won't miss all the interesting lore like I did with Leaftaker. Speaking of which, I see what you did here...

More games about maps!

Locator: The Search for Abigail Lidari@locatorgame.bsky.social · 2mo ago

An archaeologist has gone missing on an alien planet. 🪐 Locator: The Search for Abigail Lidari is a Geoguessr-inspired detective puzzle game, where you’ll investigate clues & pinpoint locations to solve the mystery. Wishlist now: https://tinyurl.com/5xv7e5tj https://youtu.be/HbRGoZwamcI

Disco Elysium time! Repeatedly requested, we drove into Revachol for this week's episode. We really enjoyed this game, to no one's surprise. Our favorite part was comparing how our different playthroughs gave us unique story threads to pull on! open.spotify.com/episode/1Sgm...

Disco Elysium - The Final Cut

Flatfoots and Fools · Episode

open.spotify.com

Some good recs here! Lots more in the comments, where I will toss a few more

Laura Cress@cressup.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Finished Golden Idol & looking for something similar? I put together 5 game recs, from indie gems to an upcoming game from 1 of Golden Idol's designers. Feat @eviltrout.com, @timsheinman.bsky.social, @kinigames.bsky.social, @inkle.co www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3ri... @flatfootsandfools.bsky.social

Update: This game now releases today!

Flatfoots and Fools: A Podcast about Detective Games@flatfootsandfools.bsky.social · 2mo ago

With no fixed date in June, we have Duppy Detective Tashia from @spritewrench.com. This P&C Adventure features a cast from Carribean folklore in a supernatural murder. I had fun with the Demo, and recommend anyone try it if that sounds interesting for you. store.steampowered.com/app/1958800/...

June will be a bit of a breather after Mystery May's madness I only know about 5 upcoming detective games.

Tonight I started playing CAME TITLE from @kadenramstack.bsky.social. This time, I won't miss all the interesting lore like I did with Leaftaker. Speaking of which, I see what you did here...

Only one day left to grab some of these awesome bundles! Also, if you're looking for a new detective game to play, The Ratline, Murder at the Birch Tree Theater and A Case of Fraud are some of the best recent ones that are all on sale in the showcase. Check them out if you haven't already!

Cerebral Puzzle Showcase (May 28 - June 4 2026)@puzzleshowcase.bsky.social · 2mo ago

There are 80 bundles available as part of the Cerebral Puzzle Showcase, featuring some of the best thinky puzzle games there are! Check them out and find your next favourite game on the "Bundles" tab of the showcase. store.steampowered.com/sale/Cerebra...

Finished manifest 333 this morning. It's a FakeOS game about searching and decrypting your way to figuring out the fate of a lost spaceship. Solid game, but in the end not for me. Structurally very similar to TR-49, so give it a shot if that's your Jam! falconpilot.itch.io/manifest-333

Manifest 333 by FalconPilot

What happened to the Darkrunner?

falconpilot.itch.io