Video games are a time sink. Not all of us can hop from one massive open-world RPG to the next without losing touch with reality. Spend too long in Final Fantasy‘s Ivalice or Red Dead Redemption’s swamps, and you start forgetting what your own neighborhood looks like.
The games industry doesn’t exactly thrive on endless Baldur’s Gate 3‘s either. Studio closures have shown that not everything can be a 100-hour epic. Sometimes, a game just needs to be tight, smart, and satisfyingly weird. Sometimes, it just needs to be about… seating arrangements.
That’s Is This Seat Taken?, a terribly engaging, crunchy, mind-bending puzzle game that makes you care way more about where people sit than you ever thought possible.
Key Details
- Developer: Poti Poti Studio
- Publisher: Wholesome Games Presents
- Platforms: Mobile, PC, Nintendo Switch
- Release date: August 7, 2025
- Price: $9.99
- Review Code Provided: No
A deceptively simple setup
I’ve never cared where I sit. Yet here I am, staring at a screen where my only job is to drag and drop shapes into the right seats.
But simplifying it like that would be doing the devs’ (and, screw it, my) effort a disservice. It isn’t simple at all.
Each shape comes with preferences and quirks: some want to be alone, some demand company, some love music, some hate it.
A bus passenger might need a window seat next to their buddy Avery, who, unfortunately, “forgot to shower.” That means no one who dislikes strong smells (yes, even perfume) can sit nearby.
Suddenly, my puzzle is a delicate social crisis because Avery couldn’t grab a bar of soap! And no, I can’t deal with your “but I want to sit next to my parent” request right now, kid.
Variables pile up fast. Each level has four escalating stages, and the conditions are so carefully crafted you can’t just brute force your way through. The only way forward is to really think.
Tight, fair puzzle design
The difficulty curve is spot-on. Levels are challenging but never unfair, and even when you’re stumped, the payoff of cracking the solution is huge.
Scenarios range from cinemas and offices to stadiums, diners, buses, and ferries. Yes, some locations repeat, but they come with fresh mechanics.
The bus level later introduces air conditioning, creating a new split between those who want the breeze and those who hate it.
Requests keep stacking: “I can’t see from far away,” “I want to steal popcorn,” “I have a crush on them so I can’t sit nearby or I’ll get distracted.” These shapes are so picky you’d think they’re unionizing.
Across five cities, each with four to five levels, you can clear the game in one or two sittings if you’re determined. But perfectionists will find extra bite: get all thumbs-up ratings in a city, and you’ll unlock a secret level.
These are the toughest (and most absurd) puzzles, including arranging wedding seating or museum exhibits. They’re a satisfying reward for mastering the main challenges.
Yes, there’s a story
Nobody plays a seating-arrangement puzzler for the plot, but Is This Seat Taken? actually sneaks one in.
Most shapes are just background filler, but Nat, a rhomboid who feels out of place among the squares and triangles, pops up repeatedly.
After certain levels, you’ll see short updates on Nat’s life, acting career, and personal growth. It’s small but surprisingly heartfelt, giving some meaning to the mechanical madness.
Satisfying to the last click
The presentation nails the details. Dragging and dropping shapes feels snappy, every thumbs-up is an audible pat on the back, and there are interactive props in each level, like clicking a cinema projector or a ferry lifejacket, to give your brain a micro-break.
The music is dangerously catchy but never grating, even after long sessions. This is a rare feat for puzzle games, which can ruin good tracks through repetition.
Final verdict: 9/10
Is This Seat Taken? is a brilliant little puzzle box that turns something mundane into a fiercely engaging mental workout.
It’s short enough to clear in a weekend, deep enough to scratch the itch for clever problem-solving, and charming enough to make you care about a rhomboid’s acting career.
If you love puzzle games that make you feel just a bit smarter when you finally solve them, take a seat. This one’s worth your time.
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