Ahead of the Game - Is This Seat Taken? is a true test of your seating arrangement skills and people-pleasing prowess
Your wish is my command
- Match one picky person to another
- Watch out for bad smells and loud noises
- You really can please everyone
Hello and welcome to Ahead of the Game, a series where we tell you all about an upcoming game that, despite not being out yet, is available for you to play at the time of publishing. Through this series, you can grab a chance to play games well ahead of their release date, be that through Soft Launch, Open Beta, Demos, or more.
Being a people person in the business of serving picky human beings isn't for everyone, especially when said humans are as demanding as they are finicky. In Is This Seat Taken?, you'll have to manage everyone's expectations when it comes to particular seating arrangements, whether that's carpooling to your friend's gig or choosing the best seats at the cinema.
Now, what makes the human race gorgeously diverse is our personal tastes, and while it's wonderful to celebrate our colourful personalities in real life, this cosy puzzler might just make you lose faith in humanity.
Thankfully, the lovely visuals and the lack of a timer make things chill and low-key to keep frustrations at bay - after all, people aren't always limited to a single preference when they're dancing the night away at a club.
For instance, someone might want to bust a move on the dance floor, but they're not too keen on having the music blasting right in their ear from the overhead speakers. Or, someone might be Ms. Chatty Cathy on the bus, so you can't seat her next to someone who's looking forward to their bus ride as the one moment of peace they have during their gruelling nine-to-five.
All these blend together into a charming puzzler that's all about wanting to please everyone, because if you don't, they won't give you the stars that you need to unlock a secret level.
I'm personally not the most confrontational person in the world - have someone assert their demands in public around me and you'll likely find me retreating to a corner and, like Taylor Swift, very much wanting "to be excluded from this narrative".
Introvert nature aside, I'm always looking to please people mainly because I want to avoid confrontation at all costs, so suffice it to say that something like this is right up my alley.
It also helps that the "people" here are personified in various shapes, including a specific rhombus with big dreams and an even bigger smile. There's an underlying narrative here too that I'm pretty sure is full of humour and heart - something I'm eager to discover once the full release is out.
So, how do you play Is This Seat Taken?
This people-pleasing puzzler now has a public demo on Steam, and while there's no official launch date on iOS and Android just yet, it does seem like a perfect fit for mobile given its intuitive tap controls. You can give it a go yourself - it won't take more than about half an hour to clear all five levels - and see if you have what it takes to bend to other people's wishes without any regard for your own.