Empty: The Free Puzzle Game is Like Interior Design Tetris

Cleaning up a room might seem like an unlikely theme for a game, but indie game Empty makes it work. Created by Ukraine-based creative studio Dustyroom, Empty is a crisply designed puzzle game that you can download for free.

As the developers put it, this game is “a simple zen-like puzzle that has no clock and no score.” Empty has a straightforward premise: The player is shown a colorful room in a house and asked to clear out all the furniture to advance to the next room. Tables, chairs, and lamps are removed by rotating the room and matching each item to an area (the walls, another object) that’s the same color. A brown table disappears against a brown wall. An orange lamp fades away into the orange ceiling. Color matching makes furniture disappear, and this must be repeated until all objects in the room are gone.

Sounds almost too easy, but as the game ominously warns you: “Pay attention to what objects you match. Not all outcomes lead to winning.”

As more and more pieces of multi-hued furniture appear, the rooms become harder and harder to clear out. It’s surprisingly addictive. The charming mid-century modern vibe of the rooms keep things interesting, and the ambient soundtrack adds to the calming vibe (think Trentemøller meets the soundtrack from The Sims). The developers are hoping to make Empty available on iOS and Android soon.

Find out more about Empty here.