Under the Ward
Horror
Work the night shift on a hospital ward where the patients keep moving
- Dread built from routine, not monsters
- Binaural audio, best with headphones
- Content warnings in the menu
$11.99
Indie games, curated by players
A zine for the games that never trend
Each week our curators write up the small games they could not stop talking about: what they are, how long they last, who they are for and the one thing that might put you off.
- 50
- games played to credits
- 23
- volunteer curators
- $0
- paid placements
- 7
- categories, hand-sorted
7 new games added recently · every entry reviewed by a person
Index
Every category
7 sections, 50 games.
- 01RoguelikesRuns that end badly and start again a little smarter. Deckbuilders, dungeon dives and bullet hells that reward one more go.8 games
- 02PuzzleLogic, deduction and clever machines. Games that make you reach for a notebook and feel brilliant twenty minutes later.7 games
- 03CozyLow stakes, warm light, no fail states. Gardening, tidying, baking and small jobs done well.7 games
- 04PlatformersJumping, gliding and climbing, from forgiving strolls to one-hit precision runs with leaderboards.7 games
- 05StrategyTactics, card games and tiny empires. Turn-based thinking in sessions that fit an evening.7 games
- 06NarrativeStories you walk, read or talk through. Short, well-written games where the choices are the mechanic.7 games
- 07HorrorDread over jump scares. Night shifts, frozen lakes and motels you should not have checked into.7 games
Featured
This month's featured games
Paid
Saltglass Descent
Dive a flooded lighthouse where every breath of air is also your currency
Borough of Small Hours
Walk a city borough at 3 a.m. and talk to everyone still awake
Lamplight Laundromat
Run a 24-hour laundromat, fold clothes and listen to night-owl stories
Mirror Kiln
Bend light through hand-blown glass to fire a glassmaker's old kiln
games by category
Roguelikes
Runs that end badly and start again a little smarter. Deckbuilders, dungeon dives and bullet hells that reward one more go.
Brinewick Games · Dive a flooded lighthouse where every breath of air is also your currency
Paid$14.99Kasumi & Reed · A bullet hell where ringing a temple bell rewinds the last three seconds
Demo out$16.99Damp Basement Games · Play as a mold colony spreading through a different damp cellar each run
Early access$9.99Firebreak Studio · Harvest everything you can before the wildfire reaches the trees
Paid$13.99
Puzzle
Logic, deduction and clever machines. Games that make you reach for a notebook and feel brilliant twenty minutes later.
Glasshouse Two · Bend light through hand-blown glass to fire a glassmaker's old kiln
Paid$14.99Callsign Kilo · Tune an old radio and deduce who is broadcasting from where
Demo out$11.99Walnut Hinge · Open a dead inventor's writing desk, one locked drawer after another
Paid$8.99Little Auk Studio · Learn a language of birdsong by listening, guessing and being wrong
Paid$13.99
Cozy
Low stakes, warm light, no fail states. Gardening, tidying, baking and small jobs done well.
Spin Cycle Studio · Run a 24-hour laundromat, fold clothes and listen to night-owl stories
Paid$12.99Steam Lantern Co. · Build and run a mountain hot spring for tired forest animals
Early access$14.99Ottilie Marsh · Stitch, glue and bind books for a village of very particular readers
FreePay what you wantGull & Pier · Captain a little ferry carrying vegetables, villagers and one stubborn goat
Paid$15.99
Platformers
Jumping, gliding and climbing, from forgiving strolls to one-hit precision runs with leaderboards.
Paper Kite Pilgrim
FeaturedTamsin & Hollow · Ride the wind across a mountain range on a kite made of old letters
Paid$17.99Gutterball Interactive · Parkour across a rain-soaked city's rooftops as a very determined rat
Early access$12.00Elytra Works · Roll, bounce and build momentum as a beetle in an overgrown greenhouse
Paid$14.99Small Orbit · Deliver parcels across tiny moons where gravity pulls in odd directions
Demo out$13.99
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can't find what you need? Read about how we work.
How are games picked?
A rotating panel of 23 volunteer curators plays every submission for at least two hours. A game is listed when two curators independently recommend it. One of them then writes the entry, including the caveat, and a second curator checks the play time and platform details.
Can studios pay to be listed or featured?
No. There is no paid placement, no sponsored badge and no affiliate link on any store button. Featured slots rotate every Friday and are chosen by curator vote. The site is funded by readers who chip in through the newsletter.
Where do I find press kits and screenshots?
Each game page links to the studio's store page, and most studios include a press kit there. Writers and streamers can also email us for a studio contact; we pass the message on rather than sharing addresses.
How do you keep listings up to date?
Curators re-check prices, platforms and early-access status every quarter, and studios can email a correction at any time. When a game leaves early access or gets a major update, we revise the write-up and note the date.
My game was not accepted. Can I try again?
Yes, after six months or after a significant update, whichever comes first. Every rejection comes with a short note from the curators, so you know whether it was the build, the scope or simply a crowded month.
Five small games, every Friday
One email a week with five picks from the directory: a long one, a short one, a free one, something odd and whatever the curators argued about most.
No sponsored picks. Unsubscribe in one click.
Tonight, play something nobody told you about
Browse fifty games by genre, length and platform, or let the Friday letter pick five for you.
Free to read. No paid placement, ever.