Tents and Trees [Review]
Puzzler with shades of Picross is a great headscratcher.
Credit: Frozax Games
French indie studio Frozax Games’ Tents and Trees is a grid-based logic puzzle with a camping theme. I love puzzles that let me focus in and tune out. Tents and Trees was perfect for that, a great meditative experience that had me engaged for hours.
You’re presented with a grid that has trees placed in some of the spaces. Your task is to place one tent next to each tree, with the caveat that tents can’t touch eachother and each tree links to a single tent. Like Picross, rows and columns are labeled with numbers that hint at how many tents are in each. You can place grass on squares that you know don’t hold a tent.
Credit: Frozax Games
Every puzzle is unique. Puzzles get increasingly difficult, starting off from from a 5x5 grid and growing up to 20x20. Harder puzzles also include rows or columns that don’t display a number indicating the number of tents. There are hundreds of levels included as well as daily puzzles.
Tents and Trees allows you to undo moves in sequence. It’s convenient to be able to rewind back to a point that I know is logically sound. There’s also a well-designed hint system, where the game won’t just give you a correct next step in the puzzle’s solution, it’ll also explain why that’s a step you should take. Rather than just serving as a crutch, it teaches players the methodology to find the solutions themselves in the future.
Credit: Frozax Games
The game’s presentation is very clean, minimalist, and pleasant. There’s a variety of themes to unlock, thankfully including a dark mode, because the default is a little harsh on the eyes if you’re playing in a dark room.
Tents and Trees is a cozy, well-presented logic game that is a satisfyingly puzzling experience. If you like Picross, this is a great game to add to your library.
Tents and Trees is available now on PC (Steam / Epic) and Nintendo Switch.
Overall Score: 8/10
Played on: Steam Deck
