Like many children of the ’90s, I grew up playing stylized adventure games like Carmen Sandiego. These games combined slow-paced puzzle solving with colorful, stylish art, creating a simultaneously goofy and shadowy backdrop for brainteasing exercises.

I thought of Carmen Sandiego when I first encountered Puzzle Spy International. Developed primarily by the Oakland-based husband-and-wife duo of Mike and Talia Dashow (and due to be released by November or December of this year), the game threads tricky puzzles in the fizzy frame of a ’60s-styled spy caper, recalling films like James Bond or The Pink Panther. Its sharp and well-defined visual aesthetic is what initially caught my eye, but when I tried out its playable demo, I was struck by its artfully designed puzzles; on a recent weekday

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