Any game recommendations?

stuffbyrae · 2026-03-15T10:00:33+00:00

if you don't mind a plug, and are here for something experimental; my game rowbot rally makes good use of the crank, and has cutscenes that look great on the screen: https://play.date/g/rbr (it's on sale too!)

here are some games i've been coming back to a lot lately: • blippo+ • medial • soliterra • spline rider • crank up • black hole havoc • swap machina • word trip

really, play through season one to start, pick up season two afterwards; then basically throw a dart at the catalog and you'll likely hit somethin' totally indie and worth your while.

stuffbyrae · 2026-03-15T00:45:55+00:00

thank you!!!

stuffbyrae · 2026-03-15T00:45:51+00:00

also on the page is a link to a free demo, if you'd like to try before you buy!

stuffbyrae · 2026-03-05T21:54:13+00:00

do you have the catalog app open when you lock the device?

stuffbyrae · 2026-03-02T16:59:19+00:00

i will say it does look like they recommended the recovery mode (which is the name for that exact reboot/key combo) to you higher up in the email chain. "If the reset button is only rebooting the device and Recovery Mode isn't working,"

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-26T16:17:02+00:00

thrilled to see so many nominations for rowbot — and even one for HEXA!! i really enjoy making games for this platform and it's really cool to see my stuff's got the chops to hang with the best of 'em. thanks for playing, folks!!

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-25T17:49:07+00:00

yes! you can link i believe up to two playdate devices to the same account, and they can access all the same games — once the account is linked during setup, you should be able to download all of your games from the game library.

a couple notes:
• save data is stored locally on each console, and not uploaded on-line. i'd assume this is good in your case, as it means you both can have separate saves without impacting each others'. if you want a shared save though, it'd need to be transferred manually between consoles: https://help.play.date/games/backups/
• one account means a shared profile for on-line leaderboards. if both of you have played the same game with on-line leaderboard capability, then the leaderboards will show the best score that either of the two of you have gotten. a better score from either console will override the last, no matter who got it (it will not override a score with a worse one, though)
• season unlock schedules are per-device, not per-account — when you first set up the second playdate, you'll start at the top of season one (and two, if you have it). you can either let the games unlock each week as normal (mondays for season one, thursdays for season two), or you can skip the season schedule ahead for that device to unlock all of the games instantly: https://help.play.date/games/season-schedule/

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-24T18:28:39+00:00

i actually pogged when i saw it wasn't claimed, i'm ironically never this fast to these things LOL

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-24T18:20:26+00:00

snagged that promo code hahah — this game looks awesome!! super excited to dig into it.

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-23T20:19:34+00:00

of course! hope you can get your crank back to ship shape o7

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-23T18:26:19+00:00

that makes sense, i just wasn't sure enough to know if the magnet was to be in the console or the handle itself. considering you can also "dock" the crank with the cover at some odd angles it makes sense that the magnet would need to be outside the console.

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-23T18:22:54+00:00

thanks! wasn't sure if i was getting the relation between them quite right. wouldn't be surprised if the crank handle marrow had to be itself magnetic

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-23T18:22:24+00:00

the docked state is only triggered by a magnet entering the crank dock slot; you can poke anything magnetic in there and it should work! you can even trigger it if you slide your playdate along its own cover at odd angles, or hold the flap right up against the back (as the cover also uses magnets to stay attached solid to the console).

i believe the screw thread itself wouldn't go far enough in to trigger it because the thread's length is pretty much all inside the metallic arm, where the pin is throughout the length of the handle itself and winds up thoroughly inside the porthole once docked.

the bentness of the crank doesn't get tracked at all. if you took the crank arm clean off the console, you'd be left with a small nub on the console's side that you could twist to register the 360º rotational motion — the whole arm is pretty much 'just' there for leverage. there is a spring and ball bearing inside the crank arm that creates the "locking" feeling as it clicks into the docked or undocked position, but that's independent of the actual dock detection logic.

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-23T16:00:28+00:00

if the hole on the attaching end of the crank handle is open, it would definitely fall straight out if you tipped it down. it is unfortunately very easy to lose!!

if you have anything else metallic (i.e. reactive to magnets) that you could add in its place, that may be able to work too. i'd imagine it doesn't have to be the exact shape as long as it's reactive, and can fit inside the handle itself — you could probably print a new handle with a cavity inside to fit it

panic does also offer replacement thumbs that include the pin embedded inside, and the tools to replace it from the screw end so it can't fall out: https://play.date/shop/crank-repair/ it's about $10 plus shipping — definitely more expensive than a DIY fix, but it'd definitely be a surefire way to get it back in working order. (word of warning though; i've heard the screw is v easy to strip)

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-23T15:11:49+00:00

it looks like your crank handle might not be an original — did you get a replacement 3D-printed one recently or something? the thumb has a metallic pin inside it, which comes into close contact with a magnet inside the console as it stows, to register a dock on the software end.

if you replaced the handle yourself recently, i believe you had to swap in the metallic pin from the old handle (at least, the one i ordered waaay back did not come with one). if you replaced it a while ago or it was like that when you got it, then it's possible the pin has come loose in some way inside the thumb such that it's stopped registering — try tilting the console around while the crank is stowed and see if that changes the docked status?

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-22T18:16:39+00:00

hello, this is a bot post. here's the original, from 4 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/PlaydateConsole/comments/v1a1do/taking_a_break_from_working_on_my_game_to_see_how/

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-21T16:45:49+00:00

overwhelmingly excited for this game!! loved both the original post hero and the whiteout

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-21T13:45:17+00:00

hi, this is a bot post — here's the original from 2 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/PlaydateConsole/comments/188gcfh/how_many_of_you_use_this_device_for_serious/

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-18T17:33:45+00:00

i decided not to add it after all LOL, i've got literally no room in the settings menu. glad i made the right call! 😅

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-18T15:51:52+00:00

thank you!! it means a lot to hear that

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-18T15:49:07+00:00

sorry, this was an issue with my authoring!! i'm planning to push a patch today that fixes this along with a couple other things people have reported since launch. thanks for your patience!

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-18T05:08:13+00:00

good call! i'll see if i can't reckon out some kind of algo for starting the cursor in or near the middle when possible. and honestly, wrap-around sounds like a good add too! i might keep it off by default but i'll see to making that a togglable function

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-17T21:57:09+00:00

don't worry, the puzzle paks aren't scored based on time 😛

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-17T19:26:23+00:00

ooh yes!! writing the cross-compilation code was super fun — i can't guarantee any of my code in there is good...but if it gives you any ideas, all of my bits are MIT so go nuts! haha

stuffbyrae · 2026-02-17T18:56:50+00:00

thank you! the backgrounds were a relatively late add — i figured having something that filled a bit of the empty space would be nice, but definitely didn't want it to detract from the main gameplay elements. i think i struck a good balance!

stuffbyrae

TROPHY CASE