Arcade · Editor's Choice
The Daily Jester
A juggling arcade game of uncommon charm: keep the morning's editions in the air while the town watches. Simple to learn, sneakily deep in its rhythm. Full review.
Front Page · The Week in Motley
Five Jester Games Worth Your Tram Ride: Our Critics File Their Verdicts
From a juggling arcade romp to a crossword with a fool lounging across the grid, this edition rounds up the joker-themed casual games our desk kept returning to — every one of them free to play and reviewed at full length inside.
There is a peculiar joy in a game that refuses to take itself seriously. The five titles reviewed in this edition all wear the cap and bells openly: they are puzzles, word games and gentle arcade climbs built around the figure of the jester, and none of them asks anything of the player beyond attention and good humour. No purchases, no timers that nag, no ladders to grind — just play for its own sake, which is the only kind this journal covers.
Our reviewing desk in Grenfell Street spent the past month with each title on trams, in tea breaks and across too many quiet Sunday afternoons. The verdicts inside range from a rare Editor's Choice stamp for The Daily Jester to a respectful but firm shrug at Broadsheet Bluff's longer sessions.
As ever, The Motley Post reviews only games that can be enjoyed completely free. We do not cover real-stakes products of any kind, we do not review games aimed at children without noting it plainly, and our critics play every title for at least ten hours before filing. Readers who disagree with a verdict are warmly invited to the Letters page, where the editor answers every note personally.
In This Edition
Cards · Recommended
Broadsheet Bluff
A trick-taking card game against witty computer opponents who telegraph their bluffs just enough. Best in short sittings, as our critic explains. Full review.
Puzzle · Recommended
Column of Fools
Stack jester caps into an ever-taller, ever-sillier tower. A physics puzzle that understands comedy is all in the timing of the wobble. Full review.
Opinion · From the Editor's Chair
"The jester survives in our games because he is the one figure allowed to fail joyfully. Every wobbling tower and dropped juggling club in this edition is a small reminder that play, at its best, laughs with us and never at our wallets."
Classifieds — Suggest a Game for Review
Found a jester-themed casual game our critics have missed? Place a notice below. We review only titles that are fully playable free of charge.
Subscribe — The Friday Round-Up
One email each Friday with the week's verdicts. No advertising circulars, ever. Unsubscribe with a single click.
The Motley Post
Level 2, 25 Grenfell Street
Adelaide SA 5000, Australia
[email protected]