I’ll be honest: I never thought the words “wedding seating chart” and “addictive video game” would share space in my brain. I even groaned when I first booted up Is This Seat Taken? on my Nintendo Switch, expecting busywork disguised as puzzles. But three hours in-with my partner peering over my shoulder, shouting, “No, Michel can’t sit next to Céline!”-I realized I was weirdly hooked. If you’ve ever been forced to organize a real-life event, the core premise is both hilarious and cathartic-except here, you get to wreak far more havoc without actually ruining anyone’s evening.
My very first level was deceptively simple: seat a handful of characters at a wedding table, with preferences gently hinted—Bernard wants to be near Céline, but not next to her. No problem, I thought, as I gleefully dragged their avatars across the table. Ten minutes later, I was still swapping seats, frowning at a little bubble over someone’s head—guess Céline isn’t a fan of Bernard’s cologne. The UI is crystal clear here: little icons and expressive faces instantly tell you if you’ve created a dinner party disaster or happy harmony.
It’s only after about a dozen puzzles that Is This Seat Taken? really sinks its teeth in. At first I played lazily, experimenting, but once the game started tossing in new constraints—like making sure the violinist is close enough to the open bar, or separating the smartphone junkies from cinema purists—suddenly I had to really think. And somehow, each time I cracked a tricky seating arrangement, it gave me that same little dopamine blast I usually get from clearing a tough puzzle in Picross or Baba Is You.
This game gets away with more than I expected. I had my favorite moment in the middle of a bus level: I accidentally plunked the football hooligan next to the grandma with noise sensitivity. The resulting on-screen grumbling (with a little cartoon puff of angry smoke) left both me and my partner in stitches. This is where Is This Seat Taken? really shines—its humor is totally on point, with each unique character quirk creating a believable, sometimes absurd, social disaster if you aren’t careful. The game quickly pivots from weddings to cinema screenings, taxi rides, riverside picnics—in each, the personalities feel tailored and, terrifyingly, familiar.
Some of the gags even reflect real-life annoyances. The “guy blasting music out loud” challenge in the bus level had me cackling and cursing as I tried to isolate him from all the nappers. There’s a mean-spirited little delight in putting the phone-scroller right in front of the film snob during the cinema levels, just to see the digital sparks fly. (No actual points for being a troll, but it’s tempting.)
Yet the charm isn’t just in chaos; it’s in how clever the combinations can get. Sometimes a character is unhappy unless they’re sat next to a particular snack. Other times, a level introduces a random suitcase or item that ends up being key to unpicking the whole mess. The puzzles stay fresh by rearranging the rules just when you start to feel in control—sometimes toying with my confidence, sometimes giving me a break.
I play a lot of indie puzzle games—Unpacking, Sokobond, Wilmot’s Warehouse—and if there’s one thing I crave, it’s clarity tied to warmth. Is This Seat Taken? nails this harder than I expected. Everything is minimalist and readable: clean pastel colors, chunky icons, and expressive little avatars. I played mostly in handheld mode on Switch, propped up on my knees on the couch, and never felt visually fatigued. The slightly wobbly hand-drawn lines give every scene a gentle, playful vibe, and the subtle sound effects (the disgruntled “hmpf!”s, the clinking glasses, even angry phone vibrations) make the world feel alive, bite-sized, and fun.
The soundtrack stays in the background—a little jazzy, a little cozy. It’s the kind of music that never got on my nerves (even after my third attempt at a particularly fiddly Brussels café stage), but it won’t be ringing in my ears after I put the game down. The whole presentation is in service of the puzzles and the humor rather than showing off.
The first hour breezed by, but the later half took work. By the time you start exploring new cities—London, Brussels, and beyond—the puzzle complexity steps up. More than once, I finished a level with the smug satisfaction of a wedding planner, only to realize I’d missed a subtle clue or overlooked a personality’s secret feud. Most stages let you experiment endlessly; even the failures are kind of fun in their own right. There’s no timer or pressure, and resets are instant (I mashed the button dozens of times, especially after my first attempt to seat a diva right between two perfume-phobic guests—oops).
That said, there are some road bumps. A handful of late puzzles got fiddly—I’d end up running through permutations instead of feeling clever, bumping against invisible “rules” that weren’t clearly flagged at first glance. If you’re hoping for an entirely freeform sandbox, that’s not what this is. But the game always added some new wrinkle before I burned out.
I was genuinely surprised there’s a loose storyline here—wrapped around a protagonist (a rising star, no less) trying to, you guessed it, find their place in showbiz. The metaphor’s almost too perfect, but the occasional dialogue and text interludes break up the puzzles, injecting a little personality and wit. Don’t expect a Baba Is You-level mind-bender or deep emotional stakes like Unpacking, but I found myself smiling at the running gags and nods to real-life table-planning hell. By the last city, I actually started looking forward to the goofy narrative threads almost as much as the next puzzle.
Let’s talk strengths. For under €10, you get about four-ish hours of clever, feel-good puzzle design, a perfect palate cleanser between big “serious” games. The ever-shifting scenarios and consistently funny character quirks kept me engaged longer than most small puzzle games I’ve played recently. The lack of pressure, the ability to endlessly tinker, and the laugh-out-loud character interactions make this totally approachable—perfect for shorter bursts, or passing off to a friend or partner for “wait, see if you can do better!” moments.
If I had to gripe, it’s this: As I neared hour four, the formula started wearing thin. The cleverest twists had already landed; some later levels felt more like Sudoku by brute force (move everyone until the final piece clicks). While the writing and city changes try to keep things lively, I sometimes caught myself blazing through just to see the next joke rather than savoring the solution. And if you crave a technical challenge or ultra-satisfying, open-ended sandboxes, this might feel more like a pleasant detour than a main course.
I played entirely in handheld mode on Switch, so I can’t speak for the PC experience, but everything ran smoothly. Dragging and rearranging seats worked well with touch controls and Joy-Cons alike—no accidental swaps, no laggy movements, no confusing menus. My only recurring wish: a tips menu or optional “hint” button for the stubbornest puzzles (I hate using guides, but got close once or twice). Undo is easy, restarts are snappy. Honestly, it’s clear Poti Poti Studio was serious about “no fuss”, and I felt it in every interaction.
Replay value exists if you’re a perfectionist or want to wring every possible solution from each setup, but the real joy is in that first spin through each distinct scenario. There aren’t collectables, hidden challenges, or speedruns baked in—though, honestly, I’m fine with that. This is a game about having a dumb grin on your face, not sweating leaderboards.
If you’ve ever cursed a seating chart, love Unpacking-style puzzle comfort, or just want a few hours of good-natured chaos, Is This Seat Taken? is basically the best €10 you’ll laugh away this summer. It’s not endlessly replayable, and it won’t take over your evenings for weeks, but it packs a cheerful, unique punch I didn’t know I needed. And yes, my partner is now officially the “seating czar” for family events—I blame Michel and Céline.
Rating: 8/10 – A light, clever, joy-fueled package. Not flawless, but absolutely worth the place at your table.
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