A bite-sized escape puzzler from Dghgbakufu that drops you in the middle of a cross-shaped five-room dungeon and dares you to solve its puzzles and escape to the surface. Bakufu shies away from the complicated clichés like using screwdrivers to pry open panels and finding power cords to plug in computers. All the keys and doors are symbol-coded, and there's no pixel-hunting, either; what little challenge this developer's games contain lies in deciphering the simple yet clever little clues to open the safes, which is fine for someone wanting a quick and easy escape but not so much for a challenge-seeker.

Although many room escape aficionados prefer long, complicated escapes, sometimes there's enjoyment to be found in brevity, especially if it's done correctly. Chikarou 3 is a short yet memorable and logical little escape game, a perfect 5 minute and out exercise in escaping. Come enjoy Monte Cristoing your way out of this amusing little dungeon, hopefully with no need for a long, protracted plan of vengeance once you've made it.

Japanese, Dghgbakufu, is one designer who combines simple yet beautiful visuals with challenging puzzles. There's no narration, no story, no music. Just a room. With puzzles. Logical puzzles. And sometimes that's all we need out of a decent escape game.

Despite the stripped down interface and fairly simple graphics Escape from the Room Surrounded by Bookshelves 2 is a lot of logical escaping fun. Try this fun and simple escape which is another step in the right direction from a talented new game designer.

Stripped down and basic, lacking music, decor, and some controls, Escape from a Building without Windows is a fantastic way to spend 5 or 10 minutes, and hottategoya is a room escape designer to watch, if only because they have mastered the first basic rule: make it logical, please. If you want to design room escape games or just love playing them give this little gem a try.