I’ve never truly gelled with Picross games before, but whisper it, I think I’ve finally found the one that has made it click for me. The game is Squeakross: Home Squeak Home, and it takes the traditional Picross format, pops a sim-like rodent house decorating theme on it, and makes it cute, accessible, and approachable to anyone.
At the beginning of the game, you’ll need to create a mouse. You can change the height, weight, colour, fur pattern, and other attributes like tail length. Then you’ll name it. This is the mouse you’ll be looking after throughout the game, moving them into a tiny house. Initially, you’ll only have one room – an empty one. Our furry friend needs some furniture. Enter Picross to save the day. Each puzzle is an outline of a piece of furniture for your rodent’s house, and once completed, it’s unlocked. Each piece of furniture has two versions of its puzzle. The first unlocks the object, the second unlocks multiple designs and colours for it. Squeakross is like catalogue shopping but with puzzles.
Picross puzzles are logic-based, and so guessing isn’t really the best option. Instead, you’ll need to use some light maths and powers of deduction to work out which spaces on each puzzle’s grid need to be filled. Left click to add in a cheesy block; right click to add in a red cross where you know a block won’t be. There is also a blue circle option, which is used for potential spots where cheese could be placed to fill out the object. These tools are helpful, and so is the user interface. It highlights very clearly if you’ve not followed the number patterns at the edge of the grid that are trying to tell you the size of blocks in that row or column that need to be filled in. Alongside this, there are three hint types you can get by phoning your mouse friend. One shows any mistakes you’ve made, another randomly fills in one grid space, and the third highlights potential solutions for a row or column for you to mark out. All are helpful, have a very short cooldown period between uses, and can be switched off if you want to go full brain mode into the experience.
Levels range in size and complexity. The further you progress, the more Squeakross leaves patches of the level more open to deduction. They aren’t harder in a traditional sense, but you may need to lock off a few potential locations and cross-reference a few lines and columns together to get it right the first time. Part of the trick is working out how the perspective of the object you are unlocking has been shifted to. Shelves, desks, fridges and baths may look a standard shape head-on, but from a 45-degree slant, things look different in a Picross grid.
Selecting, moving, and arranging items in your mouse house is simple and easy. Clicking on all the items will encourage your mouse to interact with them, a bit like a sim but without the basic needs requirement. The more puzzles you complete, the more rooms you unlock, and therefore the more you can tinker. Clothes and dress items for your mouse can be unlocked too, along with floor and wall designs. It is so simple to play and customise, with every puzzle giving a tangible reward, which makes Picross effortless and immediately rewarding.
The theme, the helpful interface, the hint systems, and the upbeat tone all combine to make Squeakross: Home Squeak Home the best Picross game I’ve played – possibly ever. I think it is in part due to the tutorial, which explains how to narrow down choices and selections using logic and simple strategies. Stick to them, and you can’t go wrong! I’ve appreciated Picross games before, but never felt fully invested in them, and Squeakross changed that for me. What a delightful surprise! More cheese, please!
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