Elf Backpack — Play Free Online

Elf Backpack is a small, casual brain game built around an elf's pack of loot. Swords, shields and magical trinkets turn up after the adventure, and your job is to make sensible choices about the items so the elf is better equipped for the next fight. It is a game of looking at what you have, thinking for a moment, and committing.

It was made by Panda Pasha Games and is listed on Poki, which tells you what to expect: short sessions, a cartoon look, and a loop you can understand within a minute. Nothing here asks for fast reflexes. It is a calm change of pace for anyone who came to Doodle Jump for the quick-restart rhythm but would like to think rather than jump.

It runs in the browser with nothing to install, so you can open it, play a few rounds and close the tab.

How to play

The input is simple: click with the mouse, or tap on a phone or tablet, to make your choice. The listed arrow-key and WASD controls are generic catalogue text, and the game itself is built around pointing and selecting. If a key does nothing, switch to the mouse.

Each round, look at the items on offer and what the elf currently carries, then pick the option that improves the setup. Similar or identical items tend to be worth keeping together, so plan a step ahead instead of grabbing the first thing that looks shiny.

Tips

• Read each choice before clicking. Since a click commits you, a second of thought costs nothing and a wrong tap can.
• Play the first few rounds without hurrying to see how the items relate to one another.
• On a phone, tap squarely in the middle of what you want to choose, to avoid hitting a neighbour.

Similar games on Doodle Jump

If you want something that stays in the puzzle mood, Fireboy and Watergirl asks you to work out routes through temple rooms, and Bloons Tower Defense 2 is a thinking game about placing towers. If you want a faster pace, Helix Jump and Bird Jumper bring the bouncing and timing the site is known for, and Doodle Jump itself remains the headline arcade climb.

Elf Backpack suits short breaks, one-handed play on a phone and anyone who prefers deliberate choices to quick reactions.