Do you love puzzle games? Do you hate paying for stuff when you don’t have to? Awesome, you’re in the right place, because I’ve lined up the 15 top-rated free puzzle games from Steam, so you save cash while solving some interesting puzzles.
Also, I uh… hope you like cats. It’s something of a theme, for some reason.
15. Cats and Seek: Osaka
I told you. Right off the bat, we’re starting with a cat-themed puzzle game. Cats and Seek: Osaka is a fun little game that reminds me a lot of those hidden object games we all used to enjoy some while back.
The premise is pretty simple. You have 100 cats hiding from you, and it’s your job to find them. You can customize the color scheme of the landscape, the cats, and the outlines of things. There’s also some pretty goofy yet weirdly calming music as you search for your cats. I managed to find 75 in a few minutes. How many can you find?
14. Cureocity
Cureocity is a narrative adventure game in which you lose your memory at the start. Luckily for you, the helpful Ethan is there to guide you through the dungeon you’re in. So where, exactly, does the puzzle aspect come in?
Well, Cureocity has a really interesting battle system. To win fights, you need to drag items to the right slots, use potions at the right time, and assign the right actions to your characters. It can get pretty challenging, too. Not bad at all for a completely free game.
13. Handshakes
This is actually a very traditional puzzle game and a great brain teaser to really get this list going. The idea is that you need to have your right hand shake with your left. You control your left hand with WASD and your right hand with the arrow keys.
From there, you need to solve puzzles by putting crates on buttons — that sort of thing. Unless you don’t have any crates, but you could always chop off one of your hands for that purpose. It’s a fun little puzzle game, and I can’t recommend it enough.
12. Illusion Carnival
Illusion Carnival is a supremely strange game, with visual effects that’ll either fire all the dopamine receptors in your brain or just plain make you feel dizzy. It’s kind of like a trip of some sort, if I’m being honest.
That said, the gameplay is fun enough. You walk around and interact with items and solve what could be considered puzzles. It’s lighter on the puzzle aspect and also more of a narrative adventure, but it’s pretty interesting if this is your kind of thing.
11. The Supper
The Supper is a short point-and-click puzzle game where you run a small tavern. You serve a few decidedly strange customers before discovering what your “secret sauce” is really made out of.
It’s a fun game, it’s easy, and it’s got quite a heartbreaking twist at the end. Definitely worth a play if you have a few moments to spare.
10. 100 Hidden Frogs
This is another game where all you get is a canvas, and it’s your job to find 100 frogs. The music is, again, calming. It’s weirdly fun, and you’ll enjoy the time it takes you to find all the frogs.
9. An Arcade Full of Cats
This is another fairly simple game in that you have to look for cats in pre-drawn levels. It feels a bit more substantial than the others on this list, however, as there are five stages to navigate, plus a hidden stage and some DLC that you can unlock for a few bucks.
Overall, it’s one of the best hidden object games on this list, so definitely give it a try if this is your thing.
8. 20 Small Mazes
20 Small Mazes presents you with… 20 small mazes. You can complete them in any order, but they are not your average mazes. You’ll need to figure out folding mazes, combination mazes, and a whole lot more.
Once you start the game, you’ll be met with all the mazes plopped on your screen. You can click different ones to change focus, and also drag them to the center of your screen. They are proper brain teasers, too, so prepare to be tested!
7. Cats Hidden in Paris
I warned you, didn’t I? There are a lot of cat games here. This is another hidden object — or hidden cat, rather — game where you have to find 100 cats in a huge city canvas. It’s relaxing, it’s fun, and it only takes a few minutes.
6. The Children of Clay
The Children of Clay is a fantastic little short horror puzzle game. It’s creepy, it has a solid atmosphere, and it’s not so difficult as to turn anyone away. You’ll use a combination of tools on the desk in front of you to investigate a creepy clay figurine.
The outcome, however, isn’t exactly what you might be expecting. Well worth a play.
5. Mizi NO!
This is an actual puzzle game. I mean, you’ll actually be building puzzles. The concept is that you have a cat (yup) — supposedly named Mizi. They break your stuff, and you have to put it back together.
It’s a funny concept, but the game itself isn’t half bad. Definitely worth a play if you’re in the mood to build some good old puzzles.
4. Please, Touch the Artwork 2
Please, Touch the Artwork 2 is another hidden object game, but with a satisfying twist. You’re a rather distinguished skeleton, and it’s your job to help out those in need within a range of paintings.
You can traverse these paintings while looking for objects and even playing a little spot the difference in between. It’s a fun, relaxing time.
3. Project Kat – Paper Lily Prologue
Project Kat is, as it says in the title, a prologue to the following game. After a rather creepy tutorial sequence, your job is to prepare for a ritual of some sort.
It plays similar to a point-and-click, but you’ll use your keyboard and put together items to solve puzzle after puzzle and complete the game. It’s fun and fairly easy, making for a pretty interesting experience.
2. Paper Lily Chapter 1
This is a direct follow-up to the previous game, so I highly recommend playing the prologue first. Both of these games are “cute,” with wonderfully designed pixel-art characters and environments. But also, they’re really well fleshed out for free games.
Again, you’ll need to collect items for a ritual and then navigate the dangers of the ritual itself. It’s a well-polished and satisfyingly creepy game that should really be worth at least a few dollars, but here it is, yours to enjoy for free.
1. Cats Hidden in Jingle Jam
Yep, the top-rated free puzzle game on Steam is about finding cats. Yet another hidden object game where you get to explore Jingle Jam for 100 hidden cats. This map is (obviously) Christmas-themed and a fair bit more interactive. I can see why fans of the series rated it so highly.
But that does it for the list. If you ask me, Paper Lily definitely deserves the top spot. It’s definitely the most “game” you’ll get on this list, but The Children of Clay and The Supper are also definitely worth experiencing.
And that’s it for 15 free puzzle games you can play right now. When I started this list, I wasn’t expecting much quality, but some of these titles really blew me away.
Published: Apr 3, 2025 3:44 PM UTC