Boot up the puzzle pc

Published on 3rd August 2022, Last Call BBS was to become the last game published by the Zachtronics which served as a fitting finale for the company which had made name for themselves by publishing puzzle games. And in that sense, Last Call BBS is no different as it delivers eight minigames full of content that will twist one’s brain.

Masked up to visage of nostalgia, the game starts up with booting of a personal computer from the fictional Sawayama company and taking the player back to yee olde 90’s. The virtual machine mimics style of the old personal computers but, thankfully the nostalgia is mostly just to show and there isn’t need to wait ages for connection, or risk of losing it all because someone in the other room picked up the phone.

A screenshot from the game, featuring a background of the virtual desktop with the icons on the left side and the words "Sawayma" on the right corner. At the center is the "Netronics connect!" box where an old style land line phone is connecting to a server via old fashioned dialing system.

The unholy dial-tone.

With the help of a digital advisor HandyMate, the player is instructed to connect to titular website, from which they can download and then play various minigames. Here one might say that the nostalgic realism might have taken a step too far as not only “downloading” each game takes a minute or two, but there is also a “daily download quota” which restricts downloading only one game at the time with a notable delay between each download. Then again if you think this is harsh, ask any nineties kid about their download times during the era and the few minutes of waiting seem like a breeze.

And if nothing else, the pc has a Sawayama solitaire, so if you don’t want to spend waiting time on cellphone, you can always play some cards the real old-fashioned way.

At this point it is an excellent time to speak about sound design. Following the style of old-school personal computers, the game’s main menu is mostly silent. There is only dial-tone when you connect to servers, quiet pings when download is finished and of course the eerie sound of pc booting off when you close the game.

A screenshot from the game, featuring a dark green background with red tendrils rising upwards, reaching for a massive eye in the sky.

Cut scenes of the XBPGH: The Forbidden Path are visually stunning but eerie.

This however, same cant be said about the mini-games. Each game comes with their own little and neat retro styled tunes ranging from chippy sounds of the 20th Century Food Court to the eerie voices of X’BPGH: The Forbidden Path. While the sound design isn’t anything groundbreaking, each game has something of their own to offer, which shows that modern design is still taken into account even in retro style games.

Of course, just the fake pc and music doesn’t make the game but for anyone who enjoys some good puzzles, Last Call BBS doesn’t fail. Counting with the default Sawayama Solitaire, there are eight minigames in total, each with their own little tips and tricks. I’ll give you a little peek at my favorites.

A screenshot from the game, featuring the desktop with the file manager of the Drive 0 open. On the file manager, eight icons show all downloadable minigames and the means to download them. Starting from left upper corner and going clockwise from top to bottom.First is the "NETronics Connect!" which is a icon featuring an old phone handle with neon green lighting striking from it into a small icon depicting the planet earth. "KabuFuda Solitaire" is second in the row, featuring an Japanese styled clouds in red and golden grey fitted into a box with few asian icons. "Dungeons & Diagrams" is next with the icon of a dark grey dungeon floor with a armed green humanoid on the top and skeletal remains on the bottom. Last on the top row is "ChipWizardtm Professional" which is depicted as a large microchip with a wizard character standing beside it, waving their wand to cast a spell. "XBPGH: The Forbitten Path" is first on the bottom row, starting from the bottom right. It's icon is a strange black monolith with a red eye rising from the top. Continuing left there is "Juicebox Arcade" which features an aracnid like robot with red eye staring towards the screen. Next is "20th Century Food Court" featuring a hamburger on a yellow and neon green triangles. And last on the bottom left is the "Steed Force Hobby Studio" depicted with a green cutting mat and red and yellow paint bottles standing on it.

You wont run out of minigames.

Kabufuda Solitaire is a seemingly Asian variation of the Solitaire with the theme reminiscent of Japanese iconography and the HandyMate telling their tales of working in Japan as you play the game. It is good to note that the HandyMate serves also as a narrator during the process revealing tidbits of information about the Sawayama company and fictional history around the minigames. But back to the Solitaire. The rules on Kabufuda are also similar to Solitaire but rather than matching the cards by land and value, the player must match matching cards into stacks of four until all cards are stacked. Seems simple enough but it is actually entertainingly difficult.

A screenshot from the desktop,featuring a Kabufuda Solitaire game. On the center, the red and golden gray game box is open with its background featuring asian styled clouds and letters. On the top row, three of the four red boxes away for cards, while one is already stacked full. On the gaming area below seven stacks of black, white and red cards wait to be sorted while one slot remains open for use.

It is hardern than it looks.

Dungeons & Diagrams is both a funny callback to the world’s most popular roleplaying game, Dungeons and Dragons, but also surprisingly trickly block puzzle. Following the calming but slightly eerie tunes, the player must build a dungeon around monsters and treasure by placing blocks upon horizontal and vertical rows. Each row has set number of tiles that can be placed and there are other rules to follow, like not walling monsters into rooms, making this seemingly simple game a real brain twister.

A screenshot from the game, featuring a greyish box for the Dungeons and Diagrams game. At the top "The Fetid Sewers" stands in golden letters against a rocky background, giving a fitting name for the puzzle. Below is a crossed box, featuring rows of numbers on the top and left side, while the box itself is partially filled with a green slimes and stone blocks. Some of the numbers are still red, giving away that this puzzle is yet to be completed.

Slimes and other classic monsters give dutiful charm to the difficult game.

JUICebox Arcade is in turn little more rapid-spaced puzzle action. Following simple instructions in style of an old arcade game, the player must swap and place blocks with matching colors and thus prevent the ever-descending column to reach their dutiful bot below. This minigame requires a good eye and strategy and lacks more leisure spacing of other minigames. With this minigame, the developers went further on with the fictional immersion by leaving some of the text in game as Japanese. After all, this is “illegal” copy you just downloaded onto your old pc.

A screenshot from the game, featuring a desktop with the Juicebox Arcade open in its own little box. The game has a light grey sides and in the center a darker, more technological background. On the left side "P1 Score" in bright pink letters with a matching number counter bellow ranks at 0 points. Beneath is the "HI score" with a darker background with the counter's bright pink numbers stating 11550. On the right side, the top is reserved for a boxed energy counter, with an pixel art anime-styled character with blue hair and strange red glasses smirking above another yellow counter. This side also features a large "L1" text below. At the bottom center, a arcahnid robot walks from side to side, trying to hold the tide of multicolored boxes decending from above.

Retro and fun, just wish my reflexes were as they once was.

All in all the Last Call BBS is a gem in a sea of puzzle games. There game variety is solid and fun and the atmosphere and visual design is both alluring but cozy. While it isn’t anything groundbreaking in the world of puzzle games, Last Call BBS works much like a good crossword puzzle or sudoku. You start with a few

clicks and lines and soon the whole afternoon has passed in cozy fun.

Basic information

Publisher: Zachtronics

Developer: Zachtronics

Platforms: Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Steam Deck

Release Date: 3.8.2022

Genres: Puzzle and Retro-game

PEGI: 12

Photos: Screenshots from the Last Call BBS, taken by the author.

Post Views: 160

Samuli Siira

I am a Media Research Bachelor student working my way into the academic world and the gaming journalism. While I've dabbled with various forms of gaming, the tabletop roleplaying games are my life and forte.

#retro ##puzzlegame ##gamereview