Play game
Square Away's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Audio / Sound Design | #10 | 2.667 | 2.667 |
| Art Style / Visuals | #12 | 2.697 | 2.697 |
| Gameplay / Fun / Engagement | #13 | 2.636 | 2.636 |
| Overall | #14 | 2.636 | 2.636 |
| Theme | #20 | 2.545 | 2.545 |
Ranked from 33 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
How does your game interpret and use the theme?
Every tile shows how far away it is from home. Send them all back in as few swaps as you can — but some tiles will have to take the long way.
Devlog Challenge?
No
Easter Egg Challenge?
No
Did you use Farclip and want to be considered for the Farclip Award? (optional)
No
Game Engine?
Other - specify below
Game Engine / Tools (Other)?
No engine — it's a browser game built with SvelteKit.
Self-made & used stuff?
Homemade Graphics/Art (e.g. models and/or textures)
Assets (e.g. free or purchased assets used in the game)
Have you joined a game jam before?
Yes
Roughly how much time did you spend developing? (in hours)
30
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.





Comments
Fun puzzle ! presentation is very nice to.
That could already be a small mobile game to play on and off when you have 2 minute good job !
YOO, THIS IS SUCH A CLEVER WAY TO TURN “THE LONG WAY HOME” INTO A PUZZLE! 🧩🏠🧠
I love how the theme is built directly into the rules: every tile has its own distance from home, and you have to figure out the right sequence of swaps to get everything back with as few moves as possible. The twist that some tiles have to take the long way makes the puzzle even more interesting! It’s a simple concept on the surface, but there’s a surprising amount of strategic thinking hiding underneath. 🔄✨
The clean presentation, satisfying effects, and option to view the optimized solution are great touches. One thing that could help new players is a slightly clearer step-by-step example at the start, since understanding how to reason through the tiles can take a little time. Once that clicks, the puzzle becomes much more rewarding!
A SMART LITTLE PUZZLE THAT MAKES YOU THINK! 🏆💡 Building such a polished browser game in around 30 hours is impressive. Keep creating these clever ideas, and best of luck with the jam! 👏🎮
Really neat package!
This was a fun little puzzle game that didn’t overcomplicate the mechanics. Easy enough to pick up and play for a few minutes here and there. Definitely something that could be a good mobile game.
All of the elements come together really well. Great submission!
Really lovely and polished game! Even though I was pretty bad at this (averaged around 3 stars in 5-6 attempts) I still enjoyed it a lot. The audio and the beautiful UI effects do a LOT to make the experience pleasurable. This could easily be released as a mobile puzzle game! I tried my hand at the 4x4 grid, but got overwhelmed pretty soon, but the 3x3 for me was good fun. I couldn't really figure out a strategy, but I think it has something to do with elimination of options Similar to a sudoku. The concept is very unique and original and fits the theme nicely! Well done, always enjoy playing your games in jams :)
I’m no puzzle game expert, but this feels like a pretty original and interesting project to me. Good work!
very slick, fun game - kind of addicting but requires a big brain to be good at it
I played it on my 1st stream if you are interested https://youtu.be/Jg6PXlVRKcg?si=FXhSjwTBeZ8dgLJY&t=4651
Thank you. I’m sorry you struggled so much.
Really nice puzzle game. Everything feels very polished and it's really satisfying when everything starts to come together at the end :D
Nice puzzle
Really clever puzzle system and interesting way of adapting the theme. Good job!!
its a good puzzle game, very smart way to combine the theme with the puzzle mechanic, really cool
nice graphics and well game. very good levels and dificult.
Very smart puzzle game! Great visuals, nice and fitting sound and music, great level of polish (especially with things like the option to show the optimized solution).
Well done!
Sorry, moved my comment here as it seems a better place for it!
This is slick! I'm impressed with how polished it all feels considering the time restraints.
It bugged out on me: after I finished my first round, I clicked home then selected a new game to try, the game became unresponsive and I couldn't click any tiles. Had to reload the page to try again. I'm using my android phone FYI.
I tested it on my pc as well, but that bug didn't happen.
Really good work 👌
Among the most creative games I have seen thus far!
Gameplay wise, this was a very creative and unique logic puzzle game! This is definitely a game that will come back to, which is a big compliment for a game that you made in 30 hours! The mechanics were a bit confusing at first, and the explanation in the game, could have been more descriptive/clear, but regardless I was able to figure it out pretty quickly. Core loop is simple and fun, and very very addicting. I will say that it is pretty hard to get a perfect run in this game, as there seems to be pretty often, multiple plausible options, though maybe my IQ is too low or something lol.
Visually there isn't much to comment on, but what is there is simple and effective. It's hard to make very eye catching visuals with puzzle games like this, you would need to spend a lot of time on individual art pieces like Little to the Left does, which of course is not really an option here XD. What it is, is very polished.
Audio does its thing. Music and Sound Effects do their thing, and they are all good. Nothing more to say.
Theme interpretation is by far one of the most creative out there! Most games turn into making the player reach the end of a level / reach an end goal. But this game turns into a cool puzzle game, No complaints here!\
Overall, very high quality logic puzzle game, and a breath of fresh air in the jam :D
Thank you.
It is possible to play a perfect game, but it takes practice and patience. On a small board I can do it most of the time, on a medium board often, and on a large board when I really take my time. The board already holds more information than it seems, and every move adds more. The hard part is keeping it all in your head. There are multiple “shortest” paths, which makes a perfect score even more reachable.
Very interesting interpretation of the theme! Such a smooth experience and complete game already. Only feedback would be that maybe I'm just dumb but its basically impossible to play optimally which is somewhat less satisfying than it maybe could be
Thank you.
It is possible to play a perfect game, but it takes practice and patience. On a small board I can do it most of the time, on a medium board often, and on a large board when I really take my time. The board already holds more information than it seems, and every move adds more. The hard part is keeping it all in your head.
interesting theme interpretation and i couldent understand the rules first 3 tries but i got it eventualy
Very solid entry and a bold interpretation of the theme. The game is very polish and feels like a commercial release already.
The concept is hard to grasp though, it took us a while to really get it. Not sure if it's a us problem or a problem with the game haha
We had a discussion about themes on the jam discord. To be honest, I see your point, now that I played your game.
As usual you delivered a good logic game. Truth be told, I think it might be one of the best ones from you. The rules are simple, so getting familiar with them takes just one game. If I was playing for score, one thing I'd point out is it's difficult to play a perfect game- sometimes you have some equally viable moves so you don't have a choice but to guess.
The presentation is great- I loved the earthy colors, the music fit the atmosphere, and the sound effects were crisp. Good job on that front.
As for the theme... I guess you convinced me. Moving the tiles home actually fits, BUT only when accompanied by fitting gameplay. Which is the case in your game.
Good job! Keep it up!
Thank you.
It is possible to play a perfect game, even if you have to guess sometimes, but it takes practice and patience. On a small board I can do it most of the time, on a medium board often, and on a large board when I really take my time. The board already holds more information than it seems, and every move adds more. The hard part is keeping it all in your head.
Good idea! It took me a while to get a grip of how it works and I don’t think I fully understand it yet, but it was a very enjoyable experience.