Your beard has been stolen! You and your loyal dog Leo must investigate the people and places of Beardsville to solve the crime. Uncover conspiracies, find new beards, and don’t forget to pick up the groceries in this charming town of bearded intrigue.

Launching on August 2nd, Who Stole My Beard is a brand new detective video game packed with puzzles and inspired by the retro point-and-click adventure games of the 80s and 90s.

Set in the town of Beardsville, this lighthearted puzzle adventure follows you and your dog, Leo as you awake one morning to find your beard stolen! This wouldn’t normally be a problem, except that this is a town where going beardless is very illegal. Your task is to explore the town, look for clues, uncover conspiracies, and crack the case of who stole your beard.

The puzzles you solve will grant you fake beards (to help dodge the authorities) and unlock new areas and characters to explore. At the game’s core, it’s a story of social conformity told through dad joke style humour – which makes sense: The game’s creator is a solo indie game developer, Neil Collier, who explained that he was inspired by his young daughter who used to endlessly laugh at his “I want my beard back” jokes. Add a dash of heartwarming homage to their family pet Leo, and you’ve got the beginnings of this wacky detective adventure story.

An Online Bitcoin Treasure Hunt

Unlike most self-contained detective stories, Where is my Beard has a major twist: there’s a real life bitcoin treasure hunt hidden in the game!

In a recent post on Reddit, Neil explained,

“I got converted to Bitcoin about a year ago and love it. So, in the game you can find 12 scraps of paper each of which has 1 word on it…which together comprise the seed phrase to an Electrum Wallet with real Bitcoin in it for the lucky first person to open it.”

As if the Steam tag of “escape room” weren’t already exciting enough, players can take part in the meta bitcoin hunt and win a real life monetary prize themselves. Each new clue to the treasure hunt will be released weekly in the game and provide some guidance as to the order. It’s a challenge, within a challenge – and one that sounds extremely intriguing for escape roomers and bitcoin enthusiasts alike!

So, whether you’re playing for the puzzles or just here to support an interesting new game… One thing for sure is that this is a curious hidden gem worth checking out.

Oh… Did we mention it’s got time travel in it too?

Who Stole My Beard can be purchased on Steam for 10% off during it’s launch sale from the 2nd of August.