Merry Andrew

Merry Andrew is probably the most unhinged Bop It-like I’ve ever played, and it uses basically every input method that the Playdate has to offer. Instead of just pull it, twist it, and bop it, Merry Andrew has you controlling a little carnival monkey and responding to NINE separate commands issued by your barker. Only a few of them make sense: wash it “down,” drink “up,” and “crank” the bell match what you’d expect, but poke the belly, tickle the toes, toot the horn, feed the mouth… these are the inputs you’ll need to memorize to do well at the game. It will continue yelling commands at you until you take too long to hit one or (more likely) you push the wrong button. You have less time to nail your response as you get further into your performance.

Shake, crank, blow into the microphone, and one action for each of the other four directions on the d-pad plus the A/B buttons — these are the things you will memorize if you want to reach the top of the global leaderboards. After one miss, your run is over and you get to enter your initials and even attempt to draw a signature with the crank like it’s an Etch A Sketch. The initials are for the local leaderboard only, so name yourself whatever you want (it won’t save your initials between runs, though, which feels like a small oversight, even if it’s meant to be played hotseat-style).

Is it fun? If you like Bop It but wish it had many more inputs and was on the Playdate with a weird carnival aesthetic, you’ll like Merry Andrew. If you think Bop-It is the dumbest thing in the world (why would I do what the robot says?), then the slightly off vibes of this one won’t change your mind. But if you’re good at memorizing weird input mechanics and like being rewarded with a cymbal-clapping monkey, then ohhhh buddy have you come to the right place.

(Released June 9, 2026, on Catalog. Copy provided by developer. Generative AI was used for coding.)