Foresteg has found it prudent to get you locked away in a room and leave you to figure a way out. It's important to mention that they haven't made it easy. Several varying puzzles await to test your mettle. Here's your chance to prove that you can outsmart even the most obtuse of puzzles.

Good morning and welcome to Detarou's amusing wake-up call, Ohayo, a surreal room escape that continues the whacky Detarou tradition. Yes, Detarou greets the morning in some strange, strange ways, but that's to be expected. Ohayo is the usual surreal mind trip through a house filled with odd characters and strange puzzles, sprinkled with a hint of the bizarre. Pretty much like every morning in Detarou-world.

Have a Tesshi-e styled happy Halloween by finding the ten happy coins and three spooky-themed ornaments scattered about the hexagonal room. Just click around gathering clues and solving puzzles, including the familiar wobbly picture, Mr. Birdy, and one of Tesshi-e's most abstruse riddles, until you've earned the escape key and can escape. Have a happy day!

With Tesshi-e's 77th escape offering, you're inside the entrance room to...where? If you want to find out, you'll need to poke around in the drawers and cupboards to find clues and needed tools, deciphering some clever puzzles and making a tough choice in the end. While Escape from the Entrance Room is not the most challenging, it is very clever and fresh and, most happily of all, definitively Tesshi-e. Enjoy!

Hottategoya serves up another short but sweet escape game, locking you in a room you'll need to find three keys in to get out. The catch? There are no items to be found, but there are three distinct puzzles you'll need to wrap your brain around as you figure out where and what the clues are. Neat and tidy but without a lot of bells and whistles, it's a solid little mental exercise with logical design to keep you ready for your day.

Explore this room of bears (kuma) and mushrooms (kinoko) to find clues and solve puzzles, all in pursuit of getting out. This is quintessential Robamimi: seamless navigation, an intuitive inventory, and all the helpful features you could wish for in an escape-the-room game. So escape into the lovely, subtle magic of Robamimi's world; the only disappointment is having to leave.

In this episode of Libertechno's escape game series, you're locked inside a small, studio apartment and need to gather an abundance of clues—colorful pieces of Legos, among other things—overlooking a fair amount of misdirection to solve the puzzles that will elicit your key to freedom. A changing cursor is a good friend in this situation, especially as certain items utilize tone-on-tone color camouflage to avoid detection. A generous portion of exploration and code breaking make our escape feel well-deserved in the end.

Empty White Room has a theme, and what a theme it is. The game begins in an empty, almost featureless white room. There is no furniture, no windows, no doors to be had... but there is a surprising amount of complexity. Enjoy this short yet mind-blowing mini room escape!

Enjoy Detarou's usual surrealistic nightmare as you try to escape from indifferent gymnasts, strange men in turtle costumes, and one of the grosser sights you might see in any room escape game. Just, you know, don't be creeped out by the living Dharma doll who not only watches but physically seems to follow your every move.

Take a resort vacation in Thailand in this relaxing and peaceful escape-the-room game from Cabeza. A clean design makes navigation straight forward: point and click around the room finding useful clues and objects. After solving a few logical, affable puzzles, you'll have the exit key in hand and a slide show of your vacation memories to enjoy.

This escape game from Jan's Room is the kind of place where you'd want to hang out with your friends. While here, search through the Pool Bar for clues, enter codes, and even uncover the top secret VIP lounge. Pixel hunting detracts from the experience in a couple instances but not enough to ruin the fun. A pleasing number of puzzles, with just the right bit of challenge, makes being here enjoyable even while escaping feels well-earned.

Petithima is back with another mellow mini room escape to delight all of those who like logical, graceful puzzles. Mugcup makes the escaping go down smoothly. With an easy to use inventory, a mute feature, and a save feature, Petithima's games, although short, feature everything we like to see in a room escape.

Escape from the Room with a Strong Door is the perfect equivalent of a bowl of beer nuts, an addicting little nibble that makes you hungry for more. The game is pretty stripped down, involving a stark room with the aforementioned strong door, one piece of furniture, a wastebasket, and two pictures on the wall. Try the latest salty snack from Hottategoya, a cute little bite-sized escape game that will leave you craving more.

Point-and-click your way through this modest escape-the-room game from Tateita, encountering a number of slightly sticky, never abstruse puzzles until you find the key to the exit door. It's short and easy enough to fit into those times when you're glued to your computer but want a nice escape to lighten your mood. Best yet, you won't end up with fingers stuck together or glue globs on your clothes.

Introducing a new-to-the-scene escape designer in this pleasant locked room venture from Libertechno. Those familiar with other, more well known escape games, will likely be making a lot of comparisons here which could leave you stumped when not everything is as it seems at first glance. Yet Aries Escape's puzzles are logically fair, with plenty of direct clues and a changeable cursor to keep the experience light and amusing. Can you open the door of code-filled café with both the normal and "happy" ends?

Feel like you haven't played enough escape games lately? Especially games that involve animate pickles, potted noses and astronauts having a shove match? In perfect surreal serendipity, here is another Detarou game for your point-and-click escaping amusement. Explore your way through the multiple rooms, find and decode clues to open doors, and watch out for that Bad Panda end again! You'll be happy to discover plenty of challenging-yet-logical puzzles and all the oddball zaniness you've come to really appreciate about Detarou.

Feeling peckish for a tasty room escape? Escape from the Dining Room is Tesshi-e at their best, so pull up a chair, unfold a napkin, and dig in! Gorgeous graphics, logical puzzles, what more can a person ask for?

Welcome to a room washed with sunlight and decorated with that symbol most associated with it, the sunflower. Whatever the time of year, or time of day, check out Sunflow and bask in the glow of a room escape done right, the Tomatea way.

In this humble escape-the-room game by minimalist mastermind Hottategoya, it's up to you to find three medals and use them to open that stubborn, locked door. Whether it's arrows or fragmented shapes you need to examine, Escape from the Room with Three Medals is a joy to encounter. It's hard to want to escape when being stuck in the room is so fun.

Robamimi once again infuses magical allure into a very affable escape-the-room game. You're locked inside a serene and slightly surreal little courtyard garden; surrounded by such pretty peacefulness, who would want to leave? Anyone who likes solving puzzles, that's who. Just point and click your way around, find clues, open doors and, eventually, get the key which leads to the world beyond in this user-friendly escaper's paradise.

Delight in the artistry of 58Works latest room escape adventure in an abandoned art gallery, a place of mystery, wonder, and fantastic puzzles! Available in your browser or free for your iOS, Garou is a distracting and challenging escape and yet another hit by the designers.

Enter the eerie world of a playground at night and try to escape before becoming totally creeped out in this fun new escape from Dassyutu. The puzzles are a fun mix, mostly use of found objects and observational skills involving colors and shapes. There is almost no dialogue, but what's there is in English.

Hottategoya has got-ya once again in this short, simple, but oh-so-elegantly clever little escape gem. There are no items to pick up apart from the three keys you'll need to find your way out, but there are clues just hanging around waiting for you to find them if you can put two and two together. Hardcore escapists will find this one a snap, but treat it like a warmup for your brain and you'll have a great bite-sized bit of puzzling for your day.

Hottategoya has got-ya once again in this short, simple, but oh-so-elegantly clever little escape gem. There are no items to pick up apart from the three keys you'll need to find your way out, but there are clues just hanging around waiting for you to find them if you can put two and two together. Hardcore escapists will find this one a snap, but treat it like a warmup for your brain and you'll have a great bite-sized bit of puzzling for your day.

This wonderfully weird escape-the-room game has all the characteristic surrealism you expect from Detarou. The puzzles are quite thinky but never unfairly difficult. That doesn't mean Detarou won't try to trick you so keep your eyes open, and do your best to avoid, the "bad" end. Collect all ten Saito figures and find the red stamp if you want the very best ending. You might have to jiggle a pudgy belly to get there, but the fun you have along the way makes it worth it.

You want to be a Ninja? Okay. But first you must pass the ninja training examination: find the ten escape men who are hidden in and about the ninja house. To do so, you must employ acute puzzle-solving and observational skills with little to aid you besides your own wits. But if it is enlightened humor and heightened amusement that you seek, here is a secret ninja school opportunity made available just for you.

The Reisen series catalogues the tale of a small red-headed girl named Jitter, who recently lost her parents to the war (World War II, I think) and wants to go see her grandmother. This is easier said than done, as she is confined to a bunker far away from where her grandma lives. If she wants to make the journey, she'll have to be cunning and resourceful, doing everything from trekking through dark forests to pole-vaulting over deep water to getting guards drunk. This is a series with good points and bad points, like many others. The visuals are relatively unimpressive, the puzzles are okay in the logic department, and pixel-hunting can get annoying, although it gets much more tolerable later in the series. What really makes it worth playing, though, is the story.

Sometimes Sunny Block appears at first glance to be (and actually is) a basic one-room escape that's not terribly difficult, but the charm of finding new and interesting ways to solve the puzzles within the strange room create an atmosphere that can definitely compete with the well-established designers of the field. Haretoki packs the room with some delightfully entertaining and original puzzles which we've come to expect.

Bianco-Bianco is back with a simple, two-end scenario room escape that plays on the love of freedom and the open road with some pretty sweet custom bikes and a throbbing soundtrack that makes you want to fly down a deserted highway with the wind in your hair.

When it comes to providing creative puzzles, pleasing design and a relaxing respite any time you need a little pick-me-up, Robamimi can always be counted on to prove that one scene is all it takes. Just as in the first three installments of the series, this escape-the-room game will have you exploring many angles and views along a single wall for clues and codes to break until you discover the exit. Short, affable and undeniably fun!

Mr. Y is back with more room escaping goodness in Tesshi-e's 75th escaping effort, Escape from Mr. Y's Room 3. It features all that is good about Tesshi-e room escape design from the beautiful backgrounds to the easy-to-handle inventory. Welcome to Tesshi-e's world where random friends and strangers spend days creating puzzle-filled rooms for you to solve your way out of.

In this escape-the-room game by Fuwayura, help the little girl find her raincoat and boots so she can go outside and play. With its simple pastel design, affable puzzles, cheerful music and an overall motif of cuteness, Raincoat Escape provides a perfect intermission whenever you need on a bright ray of happiness to shine on your day.

This unassuming escape-the-room game by Kiteretsu might have a scary sounding name, but there is nothing horrific about the puzzles you'll find inside this ordinary four-walled apartment. As per the requisites for this genre, you are trapped inside a room, no notes or friendly invitations brought you here. You are only here. Now you must piece together the clues to break the codes and find your way to freedom.

Nyan and Wan have been named "Most Valuable Escapers" and you get to join them in the first course of an escape game tournament. Mission cards will provide hints and provide the premise for this delightful installment in the continuing escapades of the charismatic pair. While purposefully on the easy side, It Happens Escape Game: Beginner Course has a clever presentation and enough heart-warming charm to have you smiling all through the week.

This gorgeous scene from Robamimi is filled with charisma as well as fun puzzles. Just like One Scene and One Scene 2, all the gameplay takes place along one wall. Point and click your way through every picturesque detail, finding the clues needed to "escape" the scene. The quality of design and the affable features make this a relaxing and beguiling experience. When something is this good, it's always a happy occasion to find more!

Tesshi-e gives us a sequel to The Happy Escape with Happy Escape 2, yet another challenge to find as many happy coins (and, thus, happiness) within a classic locked room escape. There is only one escape scenario in this little charmer that features the standard gorgeous Tesshi-e visuals and a jazzy little tune to help pass the time while solving a nice selection of logical puzzles.

It's time to raise a toast in celebration of Tesshi-e's 73rd astonishing room escape effort and once again enjoy its tricky, twisty, mistily nostalgic personality. There's really nothing to complain about in Mild Escape 5. The puzzles are tricky and satisfying with some neat solutions, the construction is at a minimum, the English translations are terrific, the controls are top notch, and the color puzzles come with text making them solvable even for the colorblind.

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.

In the mood for cracking some codes and breaking open a few boxes but short on time? This escape-the-room game from Tateita is just the right size for a quick fix. A sparse, five-walled room and several locks are all that stand between you and the open door. While its brevity might disappoint, Box 19's puzzles are sure to please.

A four-walled room escape game with simple, gradiented graphics and plenty of puzzles, most of which center around a particular theme. In this case, the theme is the blue enigma machine over on the cabinet there and the circular tumblers that it uses. Solve puzzles all around the room, get everything figured out, and eventually get that door open. The puzzles show a bit more variation than Otousan's games typically do, and the game as a whole is a bit longer and more substantial (it must be, there's a save feature this time!), which is good for those of you who found the developer's past games too easy.

It's always great when Japanese developer, Yoshio Ishii, gets experimental, and his RPG, Parameters, is certainly that. It looks like an Excel Spreadsheet, and plays like a computer hacking scene from a 1980s action movie. Abstract, but very addictive, Parameters won't be for everyone, but those looking for something a little different should find it quite compelling.

Tesshi-e introduces us to yet another person who likes to lock their friends into a room and leave them to solve their way out, although with the lush surroundings in this bar you might want to kick back on the comfy furniture and try a cocktail or two before attempting escape.

Once again Robamimi brings us a classic four-wall one-room escape that is more than it seems. Explore the sparse area and use the day/night differences to solve your way out of this amusing puzzler. What this charming room lacks in theme or decor it more than makes up for with engaging and amusing challenges, a perfect mid-week break.

Over the years, Cogito Ergo Sum's Wan and Nyan have charmed their way into our hearts. So here's an escape-the-room game from an earlier time in the Wan and Nyan chronicles, where we can see Nyan was even then getting herself locked out and Wan to scurrying about the house, solving codes and learning special abilities. It's short but there's a plethora of puzzles to tickle your brain without frustrating you. The two endings and endless good humor will leaving you feeling warm and cheerful all over.

A wonderful room escape game with puzzles and solutions that are quiet, elegant, and echo the theme, thus creating a massively entertaining experience that is so much more than "throw a bunch of random puzzles into a four-wall room" that permeates so much room escape design. The delicate balance of theme, puzzle, solution, and space gives Kotorinosu games a unique feel that makes them so popular and so fun to play.

With it's lush backgrounds, complex puzzles, and amusing fake-out ending Fake proves to be one of Robamimi's better room escape efforts. Best of all is the ending, which is much funnier than expected and makes all of the effort worthwhile. For those who've had a tough week and even for those who haven't, here's a perfect way to celebrate the day, and what could be better than that?

A dear old friend, Mr. Y, has invited you to his newly remodeled study just to trap you inside. Now you must put together clues and figure out how to manipulate these wacky devices before you can sit down to lunch and do a bit of catching up. All the trademark qualities that make Tesshi-e escape-the-room games so enjoyable are here, there's nothing to displease but you will have to work hard for your final reward: a visit with Mr. Y. Aw yes, there's nothing like a chance to reconnect with old friends who know your love of puzzles.

This escape-the-room game from Robamimi takes place from a singular point of view: one wall that is filled with interesting fixtures to explore and manipulate simply by clicking about, following the changing cursor for useful objects, clues to deconstruct and codes to crack. There's a lot happening along in this one beautiful scene but your main objective is plain: get out. You'll find yourself out before you know it, probably sooner than you wish, but you'll have fun while it lasts.

For those who love GUMP's planetary room escape exploration, Jupiter is a welcome addition to the set, much more challenging than the ones that came before, and even more unsettling as the player is drawn even further into this odd, sterile, mechanical house.

Not terribly complex, but a fun five to ten minute room escape game with logical and surprisingly original puzzles. As the title implies, a perfect break in the clouds of humdrum and a few minutes in the sun, a perfect theme for our Weekday Escape!

Like others in the Robamimi "Who Am I?" escape-the-room game series, your successfully exiting depends on whether or not you can guess the mystery identity in five clues or less. That answer is your exit code yet you're still tasked with solving a few light puzzles and gathering the necessary parts to open the door. Perhaps the easiest "Who Am I" to date, a few lateral jumps in your critical thinking are just about all to hold you back. Everything you love about Robamimi is here, though. As it turns out, Robamimi loves you, too!

Robamimi is back with this tasty little escaping treat, a small yet satisfying snack for the room escape afficionado. Feeling a bit peckish? Want to sate the late-night cravings? Hungry is definitely the way to satisfy your hunger for a fun, logical room escape. Just be warned, though, because while Hungry may conquer your escaping hunger, it may also cause a bad case of the munchies for something more substantial than instant cup-o-noodles. Time to take a bite!

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.

It's tough to decide between two classics, so FonGeBooN has offered a unique solution: play both at the same time! That's what TETRISweeper is in a nutshell: a unique fusion of the tetromino-sorting gameplay of Tetris and the mine-avoiding tension of Minesweeper. TETRISweeper is an intense game to say the least, but surprisingly fun to fans of both its parent games.

The designers behind Tesshi-e go down memory lane with this fresh remake of their very first escape game and they drag us along for the ride. It's a wonderful, nostalgic look back that brings those old, simple designs into the stunning present. With its stunning graphics, involving puzzles, and two endings, Mild Escape 1 is a fantastic addition to the Tesshi-e escape catalogue.

At first, To Nothing sounds like a misnomer for SuzumeDr's newest escape game. You start out in a somewhat sparsely furnished room with nothing in your hands except a black-and-white sports bag. You dump out the bag's contents and instantly all the slots in your inventory are full. The catch? As you go around and solve puzzles, every object in the room and in your inventory will... disappear, one by one. It's hard to be original in a well-established genre like the room escape, but SuzumeDr is definitely good at his trade.

Robamimi never fails to delight escape-the-room aficionados with beautiful yet minimalistic interior design, light puzzles that require thought without enervating the brain, and buoyant endings that leave us smiling in accomplishment. Move about the room following the arrow keys, clicking on anything that begs closer examination and keeping an eye out for clues, no matter how surreptitiously found, until you find your way out. With its seamless, intuitive quality to gameplay, a neatly organized inventory, and lack of misdirection, Sound Color R turns a graceful and serene diversion into a spark of vibrancy and music to light up your day.

As the title suggests, the room you're to escape from is haunted, although it is haunted with a Japanese ghost, which means not jump scares, screams, and buckets of blood, but rather quiet glimpses as you explore each area of the tiny apartment searching for a way out. Escape from the Haunted Room is an atmospheric little escape game with amusing puzzles. It's not very long, but it contains enough chills to be worth the effort. Enjoy trying to escape the room with the good ending.

Tesshi-e's latest stars a protagonist taking a much-needed vacation to the titular open-air hot spring, only getting into it isn't so easy; a number of puzzles to solve and inventory items to pick up and use lie in wait before the customer can warm their body properly. This game doesn't break Tesshi-e's streak of good escape games; the puzzles are fairly logical and make sense without being too easy, the controls are just fine, pixel-hunting is nonexistent (as is a changing cursor, but who needs it?) and there's a save feature for when you want to take a break from your break.

An escape game that is heavy on story and light on escaping, since the goal is not to leave the room but to find a time capsule left by your now deceased wife to celebrate what would have been your 10th wedding anniversary. Even if you don't have a sentimental bone in your body The Time Capsule is still a lot of puzzle packed into a small space and definitely fun for any escape fanatic. Let the soothing music clip relax you as you solve puzzles that range from pretty simple to head-banging-hard and enjoy the mid-week escaping challenge.

Sometimes Cloudy Challenge, by Haretoki, is a fresh, fun, and fabulous Japanese escape game. The space is small and cramped, less a room and more of a large closet. Crammed within the confines are a plethora of strange and wonderful devices, each one more mysterious than the last. Take the plunge and enjoy a small yet meaty escape that is sure to tickle your logic circuits and prompt at least one "wow, cool!" moment before you're done.

Sometimes Cloudy Challenge, by Haretoki, is a fresh, fun, and fabulous Japanese escape game. The space is small and cramped, less a room and more of a large closet. Crammed within the confines are a plethora of strange and wonderful devices, each one more mysterious than the last. Take the plunge and enjoy a small yet meaty escape that is sure to tickle your logic circuits and prompt at least one "wow, cool!" moment before you're done.

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.

Raise your hand if you've heard this one before: The evil Dr. Mad has corrupted the programming of six thematic robots and has sent them out to do his bidding, each utilizing a weapon that would be suspiciously effectively against exactly of their evil kin. The only thing possibly standing in Mad's way is the new creation of the good Dr. Thane: the high-jumping, fast-dashing, laser-blasting, ability-stealing Rokko Chan! Okay, Japanese developer King admittedly isn't exactly trying to hide the inspirations for his retro platformer. But if Rokko Chan may look and play like a ROM hack, then it is a very lovingly crafted one of high quality.

From Strawberry Café, here's a brisk escape-the-room game just for kicks! Bunny is chillin' with his shades on and there is some funky tropical Christmasy New Year's partyesque thing going on here. So hack into the computer, pick up some clues and solve the requisite puzzles so you can get out of this place.

It's a truth universally acknowledged that a single lunch in possession of a good screwdriver must be in want of a sequel. So it is with Dismantlement: Box Lunch 2, the perfectly explosive follow up to the first box lunch dismantlement surprise. As with the first, this Dismantlement is on the easy side yet still likely to cause more than a few "face palm" moments amongst its players out there. Nevertheless, it is an irresistibly satisfying bite-sized bit of a point-and-click fun. Dig in and enjoy!

If there's anything Christmas specials have told us, it's that the big man at the North Pole is notoriously bad at managing his assets. In Tesshi-e's holiday escape this year, Santa has lost ten of the Happy Coins he's supposed to give the children, and in The Happy Escape it's up to you to find them and save Christmas once again. Tesshi-e has come through with a spectacular escape this time, as per usual; the puzzles flow perfectly and logically, the sounds and graphics are charming, and although there's still no changing cursor, you never really have to do any pixel-hunting.

Neutral's newest seasonal escape. What more needs to be said? This escape-the-room game, though miniaturized (that little banner at the top of Neutral's web page is the game—click it to begin), is full of the details and enjoyable, logical puzzles that you'd expect from the best escape game designer in the biz. Merry Christmas JIG readers!

Once again one of Tesshi-e's wacky friends has locked you into a room filled with strange devices. Escape from the Device-Filled Room has everything you expect from a top-notch design, easy controls, a save feature, decent English translation, and the obligatory happy coin alternate escape. Get ready to challenge yourself with another of Tesshi-e's freaky friends and their habit of locking you into a strange house!

Even if you don't speak Russian you are still probably familiar with matryoshkas, also known as nesting dolls. And just like the dolls this escape game unfolds in layers, each one revealing a lovely little surprise. Despite the fact that it is called a "mini-escape" Matryoshka contains all the bells and whistles expected in a well-designed escape game: easy inventory control, great puzzles, intuitive navigation, and even a save feature. Come and give Matryoshka a try and, even if you're a macho guy, discover the joy of playing with dolls (and escaping).

New from Yoshio Ishii of NekoGames, TOUKA is a short and simple game of darting your mouse all over the place. It follows closely in style and basic format as the previously-released KIKKA and OUKA, only this time around, there's less puzzle and more action.

Sometimes receiving a message can be so exciting that the letters seem to jump off the page. Then those letters form into a giraffe, which will dart across the landscape pursued by snakes, sharks and Godzilla. Okay, that just might be the interactive music video for Japanese rock group Andop's song "Bell". With an amazing combination of typographic and charcoal art, the game so visually interesting that it makes up for the CPU-hogging and somewhat loose gameplay. There are probably easier ways to post a missive, but this is definitely one of the most fun.

Don't you just hate when you're hungry for some lunch and when you sit down, ready to eat, you find that you used your puzzle lunch box? Or maybe you love it. Similar to the Dismantlement series, Chovy Works brings us Pot, a point-and-click puzzle game where the ultimate goal is a scrumptious noodle lunch. It's a cute and quirky distraction to try out during your much simpler lunch break.

3 Doors is a standard point-and-click escape game that involves a basic room with three mysterious doors and a lot of fun and tricky puzzles, mostly visual. You're faced with the usual dilemma, getting out of a locked room, and the standard "pick up everything that's not nailed down" in order to get out scenario. This is definitely an escape skewed towards those who take careful note of their surroundings and can spot the hidden patterns.

Like an early holiday present from Robamimi, Snow Dance is the perfect escape game to start the holiday season here on JIG—it has all the sumptuous conveniences we escapers prefer: changing cursors, logical puzzles, sparkly music, perfect graphics and, to top it off, a hint system better than any in the genre. While the puzzles are farm from difficult, they do require the right amount of thought and investigation to complete, so you can find the key to the gorgeous, snow-blanketed world just outside the door.

Like an early holiday present from Robamimi, Snow Dance is the perfect escape game to start the holiday season here on JIG—it has all the sumptuous conveniences we escapers prefer: changing cursors, logical puzzles, sparkly music, perfect graphics and, to top it off, a hint system better than any in the genre. While the puzzles are farm from difficult, they do require the right amount of thought and investigation to complete, so you can find the key to the gorgeous, snow-blanketed world just outside the door.

Yoshio Ishii of NekoGames is back with another stress busting, eye pleasing simple discovery game borrowing from the same formula as Ouka. This time, though, you're looking for the delicate, many-floreted chrysanthemum—petal by petal. Use the mouse to scroll about the soothing charcoal grey backdrop and figure out the rule that will bring all the petals back to form the lovely mum. Like a lovely vase encased in flowery bubble wrap, Kikka is both beautiful and gratifyingly fun.

Check out this early effort from the great room escape designer Kotorinosu. While Color is a pretty basic, bare-bones escape it is definitely worth the effort, especially to see the genesis of what would come later. Even in this early design there are hints of the clever puzzles and solutions which would eventually make them one of the most popular room escape designers we've ever featured. Time to learn some color theory!

Lift for Life is an escape game by SuzumeDr, whom you may remember for Triangle a while back. The game takes place in a room with a somewhat athletic theme, as well as an adjustable glass table that's a little too low, a nice TV hooked to a game console, two strange pedestals that seem to react to one another, and a few other fixings. Naturally, you've got some puzzle-solving and some inventory management to do. It's a splendid escaper that's definitely worth a try to break up your weekday blues, so go out there and get your Lift on! For Life!

Nobody knows how to make relaxing yet still brain-teasing puzzle games likeYoshio Ishii of NekoGames, and his new game OUKA is no exception. Move your cursor to a symbol of a cherry blossom (the meaning of "ouka" in Japanese) and click on it. Sound easy? Well, the symbol doesn't always play by the rules, and it's your job to figure out what the catch is in each of sixteen levels.

Welcome to the strange and somewhat twisted world of Tesshi-e, where the news of a friend opening a new restaurant means not only free food but a restaurant that is specifically set up as a room escape game as well. Escape from the Brick Room is a rather unimaginative title for a quite imaginative and tasty escaping experience. With gorgeous graphics, fun puzzles, and the usual twisted logic Escape from the Brick Room is a mid-week favorite for both escaping and a lovely snack, even if it is virtual. Time to visit your friend's new eatery and enjoy an escape from the everyday.

A fantastic escape game designed within the constraints of a single room puzzle scenario and packed with tons of logical and tricky puzzles. Robamimi makes the escaping chore entertaining with elegant puzzles and solutions, along with top-notch controls that include the easy to use inventory and fantastic hint feature. Resembling the Japanese omelet this game is named for, Tamago is a wonderful, sweet, multi-layered joy to consume. Dive in and take a bite!

Once again we are faced with the classic Tesshi-e escape-the-room scenario, to wit: We have been invited by "him" to a cabin somewhere (and what a great invite that is, let's go to an isolated cabin somewhere in an unspecified place with a guy we only know as "him"). Unfortunately, he's already gone and once again we are locked into a gorgeous space, looking for a way out. Everything you expect is there, navigation bars at the sides of the screen to move around, lots of interesting items to examine or pick up, clues and puzzles at every turn.

The Latest Work of Dai Hyakka is not a terribly difficult escape; seasoned players will probably be out in five to ten minutes. Considering all of the puzzles (many color-based) that have to be solved to view this precious piece of art, it had better be worth it.

Strawberry Cafe designed room escape games usually contain a luscious mix of reds, pinks, and whites that together evoke images of strawberry desserts, and Enchanted Room Escape is true to form. Despite the minor flaws this is one of the better escapes from this designer, simple enough for a snack but complex enough to satisfy the appetite. Perhaps you'd better grab some munchies before you dive in, just in case, and prepare to be enchanted!

During a long and tedious day at work there is nothing better than a lunch break, especially if you've skipped breakfast and are starving. You're so hungry, in fact, that you're ready to take that lovely Bento Box Lunch and dismantle right it down to the bottom where the bomb is...wait, the bomb? Must be a Dismantlement puzzle!

Robamimi is one of our favorite room escape designers and One Scene is a perfect example of why. It's a room escape that features just one scene, a single point-of-view of a room, which makes navigation in this amusing little escape pretty easy. There's no wandering around, just investigating everything from one perspective. One Scene is a midnight snack, meaty but not too heavy, a wonderful bite rather than a main course.

It seems like only a few days ago we were given a new installment in Yoshio Ishii's gorgeous Hoshi Saga series, and today another one, number 8, lands in our virtual laps: Hoshi Saga Dokuringo. But before you go off playing this one, please note the rating. This latest set of levels contains some risqué imagery, as well as some way more difficult levels.

A typical Kotoriscape consists of a handful of well-designed puzzles that follow a specific theme revealed by its title, and Device does not disappoint. There are all kinds of devices to fiddle with in the vaguely Oriental room: a smartphone with a dead battery, a mysteriously fast-running clock, a service robot with three cranks on its head, and many more. Logical puzzles, soft and pleasing gradient-filled graphics, and a save feature for when you need a break are also hallmarks of Kotorinosu that stay with us for Device.

Evolution has you wandering a rocky underground base filled with mysteries and puzzles, your only company an egg-headed scientist who really likes bananas and seems to have lost his pet cat. As is the 58 Works custom, you'll pick up and use various items that come in handy here and there, and more uniquely acquire pieces of a rather cool bodysuit that gives you all sorts of new abilities. Everything that made Solitude great (an interesting environment, totally logical puzzles, simple but appropriate graphics and sound) is back in Evolution, and the new content (intermittent short cutscenes, a somewhat more artificial setting) is nothing to sneeze at either.

Hoshi Saga Ringohime is the seventh installment of the popular and revered Hoshi Saga series by Yoshio Ishii, and it's in full, glorious full color as all the "Ringo" versions of the series have been. There are 25 new stages to clear, so don't just sit there, click and play! :)

There's very little to complain about with Escape Hotel 4: the puzzles are logical and flow, the navigation is pretty intuitive (except in some hidden spaces), the translations are excellent, and the pixel hunting is at a minimum. This is Tesshi-e room escaping at its best!

Libra Horoscope: Today you are likely to play an escape game by Otousan, with puzzles themed around determining the weight of objects by various means. When Otousan picks a theme, they play with it in seemingly every way they can; Libra is no exception. It has all the hallmarks of an Otougame: a group of well-designed themed puzzles with some simple minor ones to tie them together, and a simplistic atmosphere that makes sure you know what you're messing with without being distracting.

The Escape Hotel is back in The Escape Hotel 3, from Tesshi-e, and this time the fun begins before you ever make it to your room. How hard can it be to escape a hotel lobby, you might ask? Harder than you'd think, especially since you're not escaping to get out, but to get into your room. All you have to do is navigate around the spacious area, figure out your hotel room number, discover how to make the elevator work, and break into a few "employee only" areas.

We dig deep for an oldie but a goodie with Kotorinosu's Shape. Shape is logical, fun, challenging escaping awesomeness that depends mostly on spatial perception and the ability to observe and deduce using various shapes found around the room. Despite the paucity of furnishings or other decor there is a lot of puzzle-solving to be had in this amusing little room escape.

Welcome to yet another strange friend of Tesshi-e who loves nothing more than to lock hapless strangers into a puzzle room and make them solve their way out. Mr. K is back and better than ever in Escape from Mr. K's Room 3.

This summer vacation themed point-and-click game by Nekonote is perfectly sized for a leisurely sojourn. With savvy item usage and a careful inspection of small spots, you'll soon find ten new tiny friends to pal around the beach, go camping, sail on tropical waters, listen to beautiful, soothing music. So don't miss the boat, join your buddies at Find Dwarfs in Summer 2011!

A classic one-room escape game with puzzles that are nicely varied with a lot of combination type and those that use found objects. What is nice to see with Escape from the Room 202 is a designer who seriously understands how an escape game should flow. Let's welcome Tsukisuna-sou to the ranks of promising game designers and have fun playing this wonderful new effort.

Gam.eBB.jp proudly brings us a new toy to dismantle with the usual exploding surprise buried within. The puzzles are pretty simple but are nicely varied, and this is definitely a fun way to start the day. Just don't mute the sound, otherwise you'll be stuck from the beginning. Wake up and grab a screwdriver!

A delightfully logical and quick to solve room escape game, this one from Petithima. It's a simple room design with simple, easy to understand controls and simple puzzles. And when added together these make for a wonderful experience that is not too heavy on the palate. Fortunately we have games like Room 9 to fall back on, secure in the knowledge that the escaping fun will be logical, amusing, and flow easily from one challenge to the next.