jezzamon.itch.io

Jez Swanson's itch.io page is a collection of small, experimental games and toys, mostly built for game jams, spanning platformers, puzzles, a programming tutorial, and a satirical pretend MMO. Most titles are playable in the browser, so you can sample them without installing anything. The main exception is his early Flash work, which he notes is currently inaccessible.

The overall character of the page

Swanson describes himself as someone who enjoys "making small, silly games." Many were created for jams like Ludum Dare and Global Game Jam, which explains the short playtimes (often 5–15 minutes) and single-idea designs. He flags that a lot of his early games, including VUEL (the Ludum Dare 37 winner), were made in Flash and are "inaccessible at the moment," with hopes of porting them later.

Games by type

Platformers

• I Have Put The Creature Into My Gun — "a lil' platformer about lil' guys."
• Dogs++ — a platformer built around stacking dogs on your head.
• Cable Connectors LLC (including an LD version) — listed as a platformer, playable in the browser.

Puzzle games

• The Teeniest Seed — a "puzzle platformer storybook about a fragile seed."
• 10 Second Wordle — a new Wordle-style puzzle every 10 seconds.
• Echoes of Players Past — puzzle levels where you team up with previous players of the game.

Games with a twist or message

• Mission: Programmable — a game that teaches you programming.
• PhishScape — a pretend MMO about stealing people's passwords.
• Shovelware Knight — you create and upload awful games to beat shovelware titles at their own game (5–10 mins).
• Phone Tree of Despair — the frustration of an automated phone system turned into a game; the original used a real phone number, but a web version now exists (30–40 mins).

Toys and experiments

• gaarden — a no-objective toy where you grow a peaceful forest with little people and one big egg (5–15 mins).

Swanson's own recommendations

His page highlights a few picks he says are "all still good":

Is this page for you?

If you like quick, quirky jam games with a humorous or experimental bent, the page offers plenty to try in short sittings. If you're looking for long, polished commercial titles, only Adventure Boy Cheapskate (and its DX version) comes close, at 30–60 minutes. Browser play is the default for most listed games, though the page does not state pricing or login requirements for individual titles.

Yes — most of the games listed on Jez Swanson's itch.io page can be played directly in the browser. Each game card that shows a "Play in browser" label is a web-playable title, so you don't need to download anything to try the ones marked that way. The main exception is his early Flash-era work, which he says is currently inaccessible.

What "Play in browser" means on this page

On itch.io, the "Play in browser" label appears on a game's card when the creator has published a web build. On Jez Swanson's page, that label appears across a wide range of his titles, including:

• GA GAME ME — a recursive game built around the theme "deeper and deeper" (10–15 minutes)
• gaarden — a no-objective toy where you grow a peaceful forest (5–15 minutes)
• Shovelware Knight — create and upload awful games to beat shovelware titles at their own game (5–10 minutes)
• Phone Tree of Despair — an automated phone system turned into a game (30–40 minutes)
• Adventure Boy Cheapskate — a longer game made with a friend over 8 years (30–60 minutes)
• Cable Connectors LLC (including the LD Version) — listed as a platformer
• PhishScape — a pretend MMO about stealing passwords
• I Have Put The Creature Into My Gun — a small platformer
• Echoes of Players Past — team up with previous players to complete puzzle levels
• Mission: Programmable — a game that teaches programming
• The Teeniest Seed — a puzzle platformer storybook
• 10 Second Wordle — a new Wordle game every 10 seconds
• Kitastrophe — an online co-op game about protecting a mouse village from a kitten
• Dogs++ — a platformer about dogs on your head

If a card shows that label, the game runs in your browser; if it doesn't, treat it as not currently playable there.

The Flash exception

Swanson notes that many of his early games were made in Flash, including VUEL, which won Ludum Dare 37. Those titles are not accessible at the moment. He says he intends to port them eventually, but until that happens, the Flash games are the ones you can't play in the browser.

Two games with extra context

• Phone Tree of Despair originally required calling a real phone number. A web version now exists, so the browser version is the one to play — no phone call needed.
• Kitastrophe is described as an online co-op game, so playing it in the browser may involve playing with others rather than solo.

Quick way to decide what to open

Start with any card carrying the "Play in browser" label — that's your signal the game is ready to run without a download.

Many of them are, but not all. On his itch.io page, Jez Swanson says he enjoys "making small, silly games" and that "a lot of them are created for game jams, such as Ludum Dare and Global Game Jam." The page mixes jam entries with personal experiments and at least one long-term collaboration, so the jam label fits part of the catalog rather than the whole of it.

Which games are confirmed jam entries

The page itself ties these titles to jams or jam results:

Two other titles are presented as jam-adjacent without a named event. Cable Connectors LLC - LD Version carries the "LD" (Ludum Dare) label in its title, and Adventure Boy Cheapskate is described as a game made with a friend "over the course of 8 years" — clearly not a weekend jam project, though a separate Adventure Boy Cheapskate DX listing also appears.

What the jam background means for a player

Jam games are built under tight time limits, so expect short playtimes and a single strong idea rather than polish. The page gives rough playtimes for its recommendations:

• GA GAME ME — 10–15 minutes, a recursive game built around the theme "deeper and deeper"
• gaarden — 5–15 minutes, a toy with no objective where you grow a peaceful forest
• Shovelware Knight — 5–10 minutes, about creating and uploading awful games
• Phone Tree of Despair — 30–40 minutes, an automated phone system turned into a game
• Adventure Boy Cheapskate — 30–60 minutes if you want something longer

The page also notes that many early games, including VUEL, were made in Flash and are "inaccessible at the moment," with the hope that they will be ported one day. So a jam win on the page does not guarantee you can play the winning game today.

How to tell a jam game from the rest

The page does not tag every title by origin, so use these signals:

1. Named jam in the description or title — the clearest indicator (Ludum Dare, Global Game Jam, "LD Version").
2. Stated placement — rankings like "2nd for theme" only appear for judged jam entries.
3. Playtime and scope — 5–15 minute experiments are typically jam-sized; multi-year projects are not.
4. Browser-playable status — most current listings say "Play in browser," which matters because the Flash-era entries do not.

If your goal is to play something finished and working, start with the recommended titles above rather than the earliest Flash games. If your interest is in how jam constraints shape design, compare GA GAME ME's theme-driven recursion with the open-ended toy quality of gaarden.

Jez Swanson's itch.io page recommends five games that are "all still good," each with a stated playtime: GA GAME ME (10–15 min), gaarden (5–15 min), Shovelware Knight (5–10 min), Phone Tree of Despair (30–40 min), and Adventure Boy Cheapskate (30–60 min). Pick by the time you have and whether you want a puzzle, a toy, or a story.

The five recommendations at a glance

How to choose

If you have under 15 minutes: start with gaarden for something relaxing, or GA GAME ME if you'd rather solve something. Both fit in a coffee break.

If you want the most polished short experience: GA GAME ME placed 2nd for theme and 13th overall in Ludum Dare 48, according to the page.

If you want a laugh: Shovelware Knight is the quickest joke, and Phone Tree of Despair stretches the same kind of humor over a longer session. The page notes the original version of Phone Tree involved calling a real phone number, but a web version now exists. It also earned 1st for innovation and audio, and 2nd overall and for humor, in Ludum Dare 47.

If you have an hour: Adventure Boy Cheapskate is the one to open. It was made with a friend over the course of 8 years, so expect a more complete game rather than a jam-sized experiment.

What else is on the page

Beyond the recommendations, the page lists other playable browser games, including Cable Connectors LLC, PhishScape, I Have Put The Creature Into My Gun, Echoes of Players Past, Mission: Programmable, The Teeniest Seed, 10 Second Wordle, Kitastrophe, and Dogs++. These are worth browsing if none of the five recommendations fit, but the page doesn't give playtimes for them.

One caveat from the page itself: many of Jez's early games were made in Flash, including VUEL, the winner of Ludum Dare 37, so they aren't playable at the moment. The page says they may be ported eventually, but there's no date. If you go looking for older titles, expect some dead links.

Practical notes

• All the listed games are marked "Play in browser," so no download is needed.
• The page doesn't state prices or login requirements for these games; check each game's page before assuming anything about cost or accounts.
• Playtimes are the creator's own estimates, so treat them as a rough guide.

Jez Swanson's itch.io page is the profile of indie game maker Jez Swanson, and it hosts a collection of his small, often game-jam-created games that visitors can browse and play directly in the browser. It's the right place to look if you want short, experimental games you can try without installing anything; it's not a studio storefront or a source for his older Flash work, which the page says is currently inaccessible.

What you'll find on the page

The profile introduces Jez as someone who enjoys "making small, silly games," many created for game jams such as Ludum Dare and Global Game Jam. The page mixes a short recommendation list with a catalog of playable titles.

The wider catalog includes Cable Connectors LLC, PhishScape, I Have Put The Creature Into My Gun, Echoes of Players Past, Mission: Programmable, The Teeniest Seed, 10 Second Wordle, Kitastrophe, Dogs++, and Adventure Boy Cheapskate DX. Several are tagged as platformers or puzzle games and marked "Play in browser."

How to use it

1. Open the profile and scan the recommendation list first if you want a known-good starting point.
2. Pick a title and select "Play in browser" where that option appears — the page presents these as directly playable.
3. Check the stated playtime before starting; most recommendations run 5–40 minutes, with Adventure Boy Cheapskate at 30–60.
4. If a game doesn't load, it may be one of the older Flash titles — see below.

The Flash caveat

The page states that many early games are in Flash, including VUEL, the winner of Ludum Dare 37, so "they're inaccessible at the moment." Jez adds that they may be ported one day. In practice, if a title won't run, this is the likely reason rather than a problem on your end.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, if you want quick, browser-based experiments from a jam-oriented developer and are comfortable with uneven polish — the page itself frames the games as "small, silly," and the recommendation list is explicitly limited to ones that are "all still good." Skip it if you're looking for finished commercial releases or his archived Flash catalog.