You're not just solving word puzzles in Lok Digital, you're advancing civilization for these adorable inky little worm dudes

Congratulations, you've discovered a new life form! They're adorable inky little worm-like creatures called Loks. But what's this? Why are these cute little Loks miserable and huddled around crude campfire fire for warmth? Time to help them out by growing their world into a golden age of prosperity and technology.

But first you've got to learn their language. In puzzle game Lok Digital, shown today on the PC Gaming Show, spelling words in the Lok language will cause Loks to multiply to cover more of their world and expand into new eras. The challenge is in learning the language that summons more Loks, figuring out what each word does, and turning every tile in each puzzle from white to black.

The word LOK, for instance, summons a single Lok that can blacken a single square. The word TLAK, on the other hand, summons two Loks who can blacken two adjacent squares. The world TA? Well honestly, Lok Digital isn't here to hold your hand and explain how it all works. Experiment with the puzzles and find out how everything works for yourself, like I did. It's much more enjoyable that way.

If any of this looks or sounds familiar, it's because it's based on the puzzle book LOK by Blaž Urban Gracar (there's a digital version of the book, too). It's about as perfect a translation from paper to digital as you could ask for, deftly taking the mind-bending, world-building puzzles and bringing them to your desktop. 

Plus, once you've completed a series of puzzles you unlock a new world for the Loks, and you get to see them enjoying their next technological step forward. My little Loks have gone from the sad days of huddling around a campfire to riding a high-speed passenger train to… well, to whatever jobs inky little worms have in this universe. There's a demo of Lok Digital out now that's both chill and challenging, and it'll definitely leave you ready for more.