The arrival of fall is to me what the full moon is to werewolves. I transform into a blanket-seeking, pumpkin-flavor-obsessed monster whose only goal is the pursuit of coziness in all things, especially video games. For some strange reason, I associate nonogram puzzles with both fall and comfort. But with the arrival of this fall, rather than fire up Mario’s Super Picross for the umpteenth time, I decided to try a new game—Squeakross: Home Squeak Home, and I am going to die.

In Squeakross, (well-named because I can avoid pissing off John Walker with my insistence that it’s pronounced pie-cross, etymology be damned) you play as a mouse who just bought a new house that is woefully devoid of furniture. Rather than sign your life away to a Value City Furniture credit card, you can complete nonogram puzzles in the shape of whatever piece of furniture you want. The puzzles, even in the beginning of the game, are quite varied, with odd dimensions to match the shapes of the pieces of furniture you’re creating. The game has visual indicators for when a line has been completed or when you’ve made an error and a night mode that will darken the puzzle field, and you can even ask your little mouse avatar for help if you get stuck.

You’re solving not only for beds, tables, and chairs, but for decorations, too, that you can arrange, Animal Crossing -style, in your mouse house. Better yet, you can customize your mouse with accessories as well.

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