Ars Technica (Sam Machkovech, 18 Apr 2022). "While this game is a pain to explain, it's a pleasure to sink into… And it's a serious flex of Playdate's crank."
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/04/all-24-of-playdates-included-games-reviewed/Games / Season One / Omaze
OverviewSeason One
Omaze
PuzzleCrank: yes (precision)Season One (included)
1 · official Catalog screenshot
2 · official Catalog screenshot1 · official Catalog screenshot2 · official Catalog screenshotOverview. Not yet reviewed. No score. Checked 12 Oct 2026. Built from official and press sources.
What it is
Omaze calls itself "a circular puzzle platformer. An ode to circles." You're a small dot travelling around the edges of larger circles, moved with the crank, and you jump from circle to circle where they touch to reach the goal on each single-screen level. Some circles spin by themselves, some turn as you crank, and later levels bring in dashing, lasers, rolling enemy circles and circles that change size. It's minimal by design, and the whole game is just 50.5 KB.
It's by Gregory Kogos, who later made the Catalog game oom, and it began as a Playdate version of his alt.ctrl.GDC LED game RotoRing, according to Playdate Unofficial. It unlocked in Week 6 of Season One alongside Demon Quest '85, free with the console, and was still being updated as late as November 2024.
Who made it
What others are saying
Gabriel Toschi (blog, undated). "One of my favorites from all the Season One… The 'adventure' is really abstract, but I had a lot of fun with this one."
https://www.gabtoschi.com/blog/playdate-full-review/Playdate: The Unofficial Website (Nick Simberg). "It's very minimalist, perfect for the sharp contrasts of the 1-bit screen." He wishes the crank direction could be reversed.
https://www.playdateunofficial.com/the-games/omazeCallout (?): No review yet. We haven't reviewed Omaze yet. This page is an overview built from official and press sources.
Sources
Checked 12 Oct 2026.
- Official Catalog page (description, credits, size, dates, content/AI/accessibility notes). https://play.date/games/omaze/
- Season One page. https://play.date/games/season-one/
- Ars Technica, Sam Machkovech, 18 Apr 2022. https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/04/all-24-of-playdates-included-games-reviewed/
- Gabriel Toschi (undated). https://www.gabtoschi.com/blog/playdate-full-review/
- Playdate: The Unofficial Website. https://www.playdateunofficial.com/the-games/omaze
- Playdate Podcast transcript: research/gamepages/sources/omaze/podcast.txt.
OverviewNo score
Overview
Not yet reviewed.
No score. This page is built from official and press sources.
On the card
An ode to circles. Crank a tiny dot around rotating rings, hop between them, and reach the goal on each single-screen maze.
From the sources
