It’s Black Friday, the indie-friendly platform itch.io is having a Creator Day sale, and if you want to find family-friendly indie games, let me recommend some to you!
Here are five games you can get today:
Toytles: Leaf Raking
Yes, this is my own game. Inspired by games such as Lemonade Stand and The Oregon Trail, Toytles: Leaf Raking puts you in the role of a young turtle who wants to earn enough money to get The Ultimate Item(tm).
You’ll run your own leaf-raking business, and during the 90 days before winter, you’ll:
- Seek out neighbors who need your services and turn them into paying clients.
- Make key purchasing decisions, such as which types of rakes to buy and how many yard bags to keep in your inventory.
- Balance your energy and your time as you seek to keep your clients happy without overextending yourself.
- Visit the kitchen to ask your parents for their advice and wisdom.
- Learn about personal responsibility and the importance of keeping your promises.
It features NO ADS, NO IN-APP PURCHASES, AND NO VIOLENCE, so you can have peace of mind with an ad-free, safe game.
Get it at https://gbgamesllc.itch.io/toytles-leaf-raking.
Hidden Folks
If you’re familiar with the Where’s Waldo? series of books, this is a much richer, interactive experience in the same vein.
Search for hidden folks in hand-drawn, interactive, miniature landscapes. Unfurl tent flaps, cut through bushes, slam doors, and poke some crocodiles! Rooooaaaarrrr!!!!!
A strip of targets shows you what to look for. Click on a target for a hint, and find enough to unlock the next area.
It features:
– 32 hand-drawn areas.
– 300+ targets to find.
– 2000+ mouth-originated sound effects.
– 500+ unique interactions.
– 3 color modes: normal, sepia, and night mode.
– 22 languages (translated by the community).
– supports mouse and keyboard, controller, and touch input.
Get it at https://adriaan.itch.io/hidden-folks.
Round Ogre
If you like puzzle games, Round Ogre is here for you. It has simple controls, yet fiendishly challenging puzzles to solve.
500 puzzles across 31 worlds will entertain you for hours!
Start of a new world? A brand new mechanic to explore! This makes the game easy to learn, yet varied and challenging.
Solving a complete world grants you an optional bonus world, with the toughest testing puzzles.
Guide her to the cave exit to reunite her with Square Ogre. But to do so, you’ll have to think creatively and always see all the possibilities …
Get it at https://pandaqi.itch.io/round-ogre.
Toy Factory Fixer
The toy factory had an accident after one of the worker elves tried to automate the assembly of toys.
Now all of the toys are put together wrong, and you need to put the toys together correctly in time for the delivery deadline!
This is another of my own games. For this Black Friday sale, you can pay what you want, name your own price, and get this toy factory worker management game for yourself or a loved one.
Features:
- 4 levels, each with an easy work shift and a challenging work shift, for 8 total levels.
- The option to set a hard deadline for an added challenge
- 3 worker types, each with unique abilities, requiring you to think strategically to make the most of them
- 2 toy types in 2 sizes, Small and Large, that can come down the conveyor belt in multiple potentially large production runs and require your good judgment to handle them
- Turn-based game play, allowing for more thinking and not quick-reflexes, including Stop and Go buttons that allow you to play at your own speed
Plus:
- In-game how-to that describes how to play the game in case you need help or some tips
- The ability to toggle music and sound effects on or off, allowing you flexibility to listen to your own music or podcast or just enjoy the silence
Get it at https://gbgamesllc.itch.io/toy-factory-fixer.
Mountain
This calm and surreal simulation puts you in the role of a mountain floating in space.
You don’t really seem to have any agency, but there is something soothing about the music, the visuals, and the periodic messages that seem to be meditative in nature.
Time passes, and things crash into you from space. Many of these things are bizarre.
It’s quite the experience.
Get it at https://davidoreilly.itch.io/mountain.
Do any of these games catch your eye? What game are you looking forward to playing? Or who do you plan on gifting a game to this holiday season? Let me know by commenting below.