Logic puzzles often work best when they have simple and clear rules of engagement. You know what the goal is, how to achieve it and the kinds of quirks the game will put in your way. Tents and Trees follows all these pillars to create an unassuming and addictive and rewarding game crammed full of levels to keep you entertained – especially if you enjoy Picross.
Each level is mapped out as a grid – anywhere from 6×6 up to 20×20 – and dotted around the level will be lots of trees. Every tree will need to have a tent placed next to it horizontally or vertically but no tent can touch each other (including diagonally). This means there is only one solution. To help you find that, just like picross puzzles, there are numbers around each row and column of the grid to tell you how many tents are in that part of the grid. Using logic and deduction, you can place to tents to win the level.
It is a simple premise but that is why it works so well. The difficulty curve starts very off easy enough as you realise you can cover empty spaces with grass to reduce down all the potential tent placements too. Hints are available that point you towards this, along with highlighting rows or columns with the wrong amount on, completed correct rows with tiles that can be filled with grass or highlighting incorrectly filled grid spots. As the game progresses, you unlock larger levels and the 20×20’s are like a maze to pick apart. This is where an excellent quality of life feature that lets you visually link a tree to a tent really excels. You then know exactly what you’ve cleared and what is still left to do, as little forest clumps are often your downfall late game.
Levels unlock in sets, which means if you get a mental block on one level, you can park it and try another. It saves mid progress too which is helpful for making Tents and Trees a great on the go experience. There are three difficulty levels. Easy and hard are more about the amount of trees placed in a level and its size. Harder levels rely on having no clear starting point so you might have to redo things when you get so far and realise you’ve made the wrong initial assumptions and moves. The third level of difficulty is the missing numbers mode. This removes the numbers from parts of the grid, which means you aren’t given a definitive answer to how many tents should be in a row or column. This is tricky but again, because everything is logical, nothing feels too impossible or out of reach. Alongside the hundreds of campaign levels, daily levels are provided for you to enjoy too. The more campaign levels you’ve completed, the more daily levels you are given too.
Tents and Trees is a fantastic example of taking a very simple idea and executing it fully. Its lack of time or move pressure is welcome, as it allows you to make your next move at your pace. Levels are satisfying to complete without being overwhelming or too lengthy. The music and graphics are beautifully pastel and meandering and the graphical themes you unlock through progression is a nice touch too. One of the unusual additions to the game is that you can tackle levels in up to 4 player local co-op. It isn’t something I personally tested with others but I could see that working well on the larger maps.
In many ways, everything is so unassuming, you might sleep on or overlook this hidden gem. I hope this review entices relaxed puzzle fans to pitch up a tent and stay a while. Its the perfect breezy logic puzzle experience.
Review copy provided by developer. Out on Steam and Switch.
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