Librarian: Tidy Up the Arcane Library

Do you want to put away over 3000 books that have been knocked off the library bookshelves and scattered around the entire room? Of course you do. I do as well. Each book has to be put back into its proper section and in the right position on the shelf. Over 3000 of them. You are going to be there for a while.

Find it on Steam.

Why is it that doing repetitive tasks in-game that mimic a real job is somehow more interesting and palatable than doing actual work? Maybe one of the books in the Psychology section can answer that. Though you can’t actually read any of the books. Still, the books all have some fun or interesting titles that make you ponder.

Since this is an arcane library, expect a lot of books on magic or related to magic. Books usually come in volumes one to ten, so they need to be shelved in order. The game does help you know if a book is in the right section by giving it a dull bronze glow. If it is also in the correct position based on volume, then the book will glow gold. Also, books tend to have thematic looks, for example, books on holy magic have white covers with gold letters. Other sections tend to have similar looks or some kind of title theming to help you know where they go.

The books don’t have physics, which is actually a good thing. I can’t imagine the performance of the game if all those books had physics. And you won’t be messing things up just by walking around. Though that means books will remain floating if you pick up things underneath them, but that’s find. The only time books have physics is when you drop them. Once they land, they are locked in place.

And that is the game. You pick up books, up to 10 at a time, and then put them back on the shelf. You are a wizard, and you have magic to help you. As you complete rows, you’ll gain more magic. Some will help you find other books of the same series, others will put books back onto the shelves for you. And if you have keen eyes, you can find other upgrades as well.

This is a game that I would call oddly addictive. You put away books for a while and when you look up, an hour has passed. The concept is simple, easy to get, easy to get into, and you kind of just want to do more. The first time you step into the library, it will look like a gigantic mess that you won’t ever finish. Bit by bit, you will accomplish your goal.

Find it on Steam.