GIGGLEGEAR
Chapter One: Welcome Back
Twenty years ago your best friend Toby never came home from Family Fun Day.
Tonight, he left you a voicemail.
You've got mail
Danny is an engineer now, all grown up, with a stainless-steel electric pickup. But twenty years ago he was a Gigglegear kid, and his best friend Toby vanished from Gigglegear Kindergarten on Family Fun Day.
Tonight a small package arrives with no return address. Inside is Toby's old name badge and a note in crayon: "You never finished playtime."
Then his phone buzzes. One new voicemail.
Press play to listen.
So Danny gets in his truck and drives through the rain to a kindergarten that has been closed for twenty years. The sign is still lit.
Say hello to your old friends
They've been waiting twenty years for someone to play with. They are so happy you're back.
Your Host
A three-metre clockwork teddy bear in a top hat and bowtie, with one button eye, a zipper grin and a wind-up key in his back. He's the kindergarten's host. All you'll see of him is his statue in the lobby... until the very end.
"A promise is a promise. Now then... let's finish playtime."
The Racer
A living red toy car with headlight eyes and a grille full of teeth. He's a joker, he's fast, and he has been saving one joke for twenty whole years.
"Beep beep, slowpoke!"
The Nap-Time Nanny
A lavender octopus with button eyes and a stitched smile. She sings lullabies to children who aren't there anymore. When the song stops, her head turns all the way around.
"Hush-a-bye, little ones, close your eyes tight..."
The Hungry One
A giant frog in a propeller beanie who lives at the bottom of the ball pit. He sleeps a lot. He dreams about snacks. He is always hungry.
"Who's playing... in... MY PIT?! I SMELL A SNACK!"
A friendly engineer and a former Gigglegear kid. No weapons, just a flashlight and his wits. And some old friends who remember him very well.
A drivable RC truck with a chase cam and a headlight. It squeezes through tiny tunnels, presses buttons, races Revvy and honks to distract the monsters. (Click it. Honk honk.)
Revvy Roadster
"HONK HONK! Hey, you! I've been saving a joke for twenty years. Wanna hear it?"
Security footage · recovered
Real in-game screenshots from Chapter One. Click any photo to check the cameras.
Try it here
In the game, Nanny Noodles plays red-light, green-light. Try it here: hold the button (or the Space bar) to sneak to the door, but only while she sings. When the song stops, let go.
What's inside Chapter One
Gigglegear Kindergarten
| Subject | Grade | Teacher's comments |
|---|---|---|
| 🚙 Zoomer Driving | A+ | Drives the RC truck through the Tot Tunnel, presses buttons, races, and honks to lure monsters away. Switch between Danny and the Zoomer any time. |
| 🤫 Quiet Time | A | Nanny's red-light, green-light: her head spins 180°, she checks her line of sight (toy chests hide you), notices sprinting and investigates noises. |
| 🏃 Running in the Halls | !! | Big Gobbo sleeps, stirs at noise, bursts out of the ball pit and hops after you along your own trail. The chase is tough but fair. |
| 🧩 Puzzles | A | Breaker switches in Rainbow Song order, a race for a keycard, a combination lock, three switches around Tube Town, and a Golden Gear. |
| 📖 Reading | A | 119 voiced lines with subtitles. Notes, crayon drawings and chalkboards tell the story of Project Playmate and the Joy Juice. |
| 🎵 Music | A+ | An original soundtrack. The Gigglegear jingle comes back as a music box, a calliope, a lullaby, chase brass, elevator muzak and the credits theme. |
| 🎬 Show & Tell | A | An opening cutscene of a night drive in the rain, with windshield wipers and a voicemail, plus jumpscares, scrolling credits and a post-credits scene. |
| ⚙️ Behaviour | A | Automatic checkpoints, Scene Select after you finish, full gamepad support, and options for display, volume, sensitivity, FOV, brightness, quality and subtitles. |
Comments: Danny is a delight. We have missed him so very much. Please remind him that nobody leaves before pick-up time. — Mr. G
How to play
Keyboard and mouse or gamepad. Controls are the same in every chapter.
One chapter at a time
Chapter One is free. If enough of you want to go deeper, the next chapters will follow, sold one at a time.
Chapter 1
The lobby, the Roadway Playroom, the Nap Room, Gobbo's Gulp Pit, and a staff elevator going down.
FREE
DownloadChapter 2
Toby never left. He's been waiting downstairs. Just like you promised.
If you want it
Chapter 3
Nobody knows what's below the basement. Mr. Grinsley knows.
???
Bang on the staff elevator. Somebody downstairs might hear you.
Questions from parents
Yes. Chapter One: Welcome Back is completely free. Download it, play it, share it. If people want more, later chapters will be sold one at a time.
It's mascot horror: creepy toys, dark hallways, chases and a few jumpscares. There's no gore. It's spooky-fun more than grim.
About 35–60 minutes on a first play, depending on how much you explore and how often the mascots catch you.
Yes. Checkpoints save automatically, and Continue picks up where you left off. After you finish, Scene Select lets you replay any section.
Yes. Every action works on a gamepad. You can also change sensitivity, FOV, brightness, quality, render scale and subtitles.
Chapter One is out for Windows first. Other platforms may come later if people ask for them.
The download will be on itch.io very soon. The doors aren't quite open yet.
Chapter One: Welcome Back. Free, for Windows.
Download FREE Coming soon on itch.io
