The Wish Bureau

What you do

The Wish Bureau is a cozy card puzzle set in a snug village office. Each wish arrives on a slip with a little story and a catch: what the invention needs to be, what it must not be, and what the villager would love. You get six charm cards, each with two traits, and you combine up to three of them into an invention. Meet every need for a grant, keep clear of the must-nots, and add the villager's favorite for the gold seal, but mind the muddles: an invention that is warm and cool at once loses points. A shift is five wishes, from a simple opener to two tricky closers, and every deal has at least one gold seal hidden in it. Everyone gets the same shift each day, and practice shifts are always open.

• 64 handwritten wishes from 17 villagers, from Pip the mouse and a cheese on the top shelf to Grandpa Shellby's wobbly sunset chair.
• 48 illustrated charm cards with 21 traits, combined into inventions like the Lullaby Wagon and the Frosty Umbrella Wagon.
• A daily shift that is the same for everyone, plus endless practice shifts.
• Every deal is checked to hold at least one gold seal, so every wish can be granted perfectly.
• Describe your own invention in words while the typing option is on: an AI reader picks its traits from the game's list, and the same rules score it.

How to play

1. Press Today's shift or Practice shift on the title card. A shift is five wishes, and each wish arrives on a slip from the brass chute.
2. Read the slip: Needs lists the traits the invention must have, Must not be lists traits it must avoid, and Loves is the villager's favorite.
3. Pick one to three of the six charm cards. Each card has two traits, and your invention has every trait of the cards you pick. The bar shows its name and traits.
4. Press Assemble and Bramble stamps it. Each need met is worth 3 points, the favorite 2, each must-not trait costs 3, and a muddle (two opposite traits, like quiet and noisy) costs 2.
5. Every need and no must-not grants the wish for 2 stars. Add the favorite with no muddle for 3 stars and the gold seal. You get one invention per wish, and Bramble shows a 3 star pick if you missed it.
6. After five wishes the shift report adds up your points. Your best shift and today's score are saved on this device.
7. While the typing option is on, Describe your own lets you write an invention in words instead of picking cards. An AI reader picks its traits from the same list, and the rules score it like a card pick. A visit allows 15 typed ideas.

Controls

• Touch or mouse: tap cards to pick them (tap again to put one back), then tap Assemble. Next wish moves on.
• Keyboard: number keys 1 to 6 pick cards, Enter assembles and moves to the next wish, and Escape or Backspace puts the cards back. Tab reaches every card and button.
• Toolbar: pause, help, restart (starts the shift over), optional sound and fullscreen.

Tips worth knowing

• Start from the needs, then check each card you add against the Must not be list.
• Two cards with the same trait add nothing extra. Use the third card for the favorite.
• Watch for opposites: warm and cool, dry and splashy, quiet and noisy, bright and shady, tiny and roomy.

Accessibility

• Everything can be played with a keyboard: number keys pick cards, Enter assembles, and every card and button is reachable with Tab.
• Traits are written as words beside their badges, and must-not traits are struck through, so color is never the only cue.
• Each wish, each pick and each verdict, with its points, is announced to screen readers.
• There is no timer. Reduced motion turns off the bounces and falling slips, and sound is optional.

Guides and roundups

• Cozy AI Games: Type a Wish, a Spell or a Question