Week Ending 2026-08-30

2026-08-24 to 2026-08-30 Updated 2026-08-31T13:08:11.155714Z

Planning

high

By the next review around 2026-09-16, get at least four different candidate games into fresh Poki playtests, starting with Breakfast Cooking Time, Fruits Inc 3, Matchy Cat, and Mine Quest, while allowing fast substitution if implementation uncertainty makes a candidate a poor use of limited travel-week time.

Success Signals

At least four different candidate games have fresh Poki playtests submitted or running by the next review around 2026-09-16.
Primary candidates are Breakfast Cooking Time, Fruits Inc 3, Matchy Cat, and Mine Quest; Pin-Ups vs Scientists and Space Shooter are explicit backup candidates.
If either new-game candidate proves too uncertain, blocked, asset-heavy, or risky for limited travel-week time, swap quickly to Pin-Ups vs Scientists or Space Shooter.
Matchy Cat restarts from matchy-build011-nopatiencemeter as the baseline, with reverse-requirement goal mechanics first and match-3 progression/variation second if scope allows.
Mine Quest dialogue/onboarding work improves first-gameplay reach while preserving required tutorial comprehension.
Each fresh Poki result receives a clear posture decision: continue, reframe, park, or promote.

Not This Week

Do not treat Breakfast Cooking Time and Fruits Inc 3 as fixed commitments if implementation uncertainty makes them poor uses of limited travel-week time.
Do not include Merge Jetpack Zombies in this sprint plan while the Poki configuration issue blocks new build submission.
Do not spend this sprint creating a replacement Poki entry for Merge Jetpack Zombies unless priorities explicitly change.
Do not continue Peggy's Party iteration without new evidence changing its weak current trajectory.
Do not broaden Mine Quest beyond the dialogue/onboarding friction pass.
Do not base new Matchy Cat work on build013/build014; use build011 no-patience as the baseline.

Recommended Actions

Set up Breakfast Cooking Time and Fruits Inc 3 as primary new-game baseline candidates, but treat them as high-uncertainty candidates rather than mandatory commitments.
Use Pin-Ups vs Scientists and Space Shooter as the first backup plans if either new-game candidate becomes too expensive or unclear during implementation.
Revert Matchy Cat to the no-patience build011 baseline and build the reverse-requirement mechanic from there.
After the reverse-requirement Matchy Cat experiment is ready, prepare a second Matchy Cat experiment around match-3 progression and variations if time allows.
Improve Mine Quest's dialogue system/onboarding friction enough to support a fresh comparison Poki playtest.
Carry the review correction forward: week ending 2026-08-30 sent five games to Poki Player Fit tests: Matchy Cat, Peggy's Party, Mine Quest, My Pet Shop, and Money Tree.
Keep Merge Jetpack Zombies out of this sprint plan while the Poki configuration issue blocks new build submission.

Edit Planning