Pip runs across Spool Island with his friends, toward a tower wrapped in tangled thread.

Pip's Tangle Trouble

Beta v0.13.1

Help Pip untangle Spool Island, one layer at a time.

Windows (64-bit)Mac (Apple Silicon)

Pip is a cuddly blue maker bear. When Baron Spaghetti tangles up the Great Printer and wraps Pip's friends in sticky tangle cocoons, Pip sets off to rescue them. Run, jump and stomp through 10 worlds and a secret one, with his best friend Widget along for two-player fun.

The story

  1. Making Day: Pip and his friends gather around the Great Printer in Maker Village, printing toys and treats together

    On sunny Spool Island, Pip and friends spend their days making wonderful things with the Great Printer.

  2. The Big Tangle: Baron Spaghetti tangles up the Great Printer, and purple filament wraps around Pip's friends

    Then the grumpy Baron Spaghetti tangled up the Great Printer and wrapped Pip's friends in sticky tangle cocoons!

  3. Off You Go, Pip!: the Nozzle Gnome waves Pip off from a grassy cliff, with the tangled tower far away in the sunrise

    "Off you go, Pip!" says the Nozzle Gnome. "Free your friends and untangle the island, one layer at a time!"

What's in the game

  • Spool Island seen from above: meadows, a farm, beaches, crystal caves, a big printer workshop in the middle and a dark tangled tower and factory on the right

    Ten worlds and a secret one

    Run through meadows, a farm, a beach, crystal mines, a giant workshop, the Baron's tower, frosty peaks, a neon city, a jungle and the Baron's Tangle Factory. That's 45 levels, including three on the hidden Cloud Shelf for players who find the secret exits.

  • Illustration made from game art: Widget cheers while standing on Pip's head in a sunny meadow

    Play together as Pip and Widget

    A second player can hold Start on another controller, or Right Ctrl on a shared keyboard, to drop in as Widget at any time. Stand on each other's heads, pick each other up and throw!

  • Rescue eight friends

    Rescue eight friends

    Pip's friends are stuck in tangle cocoons at the end of each fort. Once rescued, they come home to Maker Village with a gift for Pip. Rescue all eight and they throw him a big party.

  • Golden spools and secret exits

    Golden spools and secret exits

    Every level hides three golden spools, 135 in all. Collect them to unlock new fur colours for Pip. Nine levels also hide a key and a secret door that open new paths on the map.

  • Hard hats, glue and glider wings

    Hard hats, glue and glider wings

    Smash bricks with the Hard Hat, throw hot glue in the Spark Costume, float across gaps with Glider Wings, and bowl over enemies with a Shield Spool. Print extra power-ups in the Printer Workshop found in every world.

  • Gentle mode for new players

    Gentle mode for new players

    Gentle mode starts you with 9 lives instead of 5. If you're wearing a power-up, falling into a pit or molten plastic only costs the power-up, and you can switch modes any time from the map menu.

Pip and Widget

Pip, a cuddly blue bear in a cream T-shirt with a printer logo

Player 1

Pip

A cuddly blue maker bear from Spool Island who loves building things with the Great Printer.

Widget, a sage-green raccoon with orange goggles and a tool belt

Player 2

Widget

Pip's best friend: a sage-green raccoon inventor with maker goggles and a pouch full of parts that may or may not belong to anything. Motto: "What if we tried...?"

Friends to rescue

Meet everyone

Maker Village

Maker Village opens on the World 1 map after Gear Gremlin's Fort. Rescued friends come home here, and each gives Pip a one-time gift. Rescue all eight and they throw Pip a big party.

Maker Village map icon: cosy cottages under a spool windmill
  • Nozzle Gnome's Shop

    Nozzle Gnome's Shop

    Trade beads for a Hard Hat (15), Spark Costume (30), Glider Wings (30), Shield Spool (50) or an extra life (50). Hints cost 10 beads and point to secret exits and golden spools you missed in levels you've already cleared. The shop is in the village and in the Nozzle Gnome's huts.

  • Wardrobe

    Wardrobe

    New fur colours for Pip: Mint, Bubblegum, Sunshine, Grape and Coral unlock at 10, 20, 35, 50 and 65 golden spools. Rescue every friend for Rainbow Pip, and beat the Golden Loom for Golden Pip.

  • Art Gallery

    Art Gallery

    Opens once you've found 30 golden spools.

  • The Golden Loom, level G-1, a bonus level in a workshop full of spools

    The Golden Loom

    A bonus level that wakes up when you've found all 135 golden spools.

Screenshots

  • Sunny Start: Pip leaps over green hills dotted with giant spools of filament, with blue beads floating nearby and a Blobbit on the left
    World 1 Sunny Start
  • Maze Craze: wooden ledges lined with beads above two little doors on Bramble Farm
    World 2 Maze Craze
  • Shelly's Sea Fort: Captain Clamp, a crab captain in a pirate hat, on the beach, with Shelly's tangle cocoon on a stone ledge
    World 3 Shelly's Sea Fort
  • Glimmer Tunnels: Pip explores a dark cave of glowing purple and blue crystals with a hanging lantern
    World 4 Glimmer Tunnels
  • Press Gang: two heavy print-head Presses wait near a conveyor belt on the workshop floor
    World 5 Press Gang
  • Baron's Print Tower: Baron Spaghetti floats above Pip in a moonlit tower full of rainbow filament tubes
    World 6 Baron's Print Tower
  • Snowdrift Stroll: snowy pines, giant snow-capped spools and a row of ice blocks under the northern lights
    World 7 Snowdrift Stroll
  • Conveyor Chaos: a conveyor belt and an arc of beads above a glowing neon skyline
    World 8 Conveyor Chaos
  • Moss's Fort: the Bulldozer Beetle charges across a jungle arena, with Moss's tangle cocoon on a stone ledge
    World 9 Moss's Fort
  • Factory Floor: purple pipes, glowing vats and a giant press inside the Tangle Factory
    World 10 Factory Floor
  • Rainbow Run: Pip on a cloud ledge in the sunset sky, with a row of beads high above
    Secret world Rainbow Run

See all screenshots

Widget cheering with both arms upPip cheering with both arms up

Ready to play?

Download the beta for Windows (64-bit) or Mac (Apple Silicon).

  • Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit · 187 MB
  • macOS 12 Monterey or newer · Apple Silicon · 177 MB

Download the beta

System requirements · Questions?