Border Shifter

Puzzle game about teleporting across borders to solve spatial challenges.

About

Border Shifter is a strategic puzzle game about crossing and dismantling the borders that divide Africa.

You play as a cross-border courier with a device that can help to teleport between nations. Deliver critical resources to countries that need them, plan efficient routes across several African countries, and solve increasingly complex logistics challenges. Complete every delivery, and the borders collapse, opening up the continent.

Built for the Pan-African Game Jam 2026 under the theme Play Without Borders,  a theme that isn't just reflected in the story, but is the literal win condition of every level.

Features

• Teleport-based traversal across African country maps
  
• Pick up and deliver resources to target regions
• Plan efficient delivery routes
• Level-based progression with increasing complexity
• Sound effects and music
• Solve increasingly complex logistics puzzles
• Break borders by completing all delivery objectives
• Minimal, readable strategy design

Controls

PC: 

• WASD to Move
• Space to toggle teleportation on and off
• Mouse click (LMB) over area to teleport
• R to restart level (once out of teleports)

Objective

Each level gives you a set of resource demands across different countries.

Deliver everything correctly, once completed, the borders break and vanish, opening up the world.

Features

1. Teleport-based traversal system
2. Logistics + puzzle hybrid gameplay
3. Level-based progression with increasing complexity
4. “Border destruction” completion mechanic
5. Minimal, readable strategy design

Future Plans

• More African country maps and resource types
  
• Level designs reflecting real continental trade routes
  
• Difficulty curve and improved progression
  
• Mobile port
  
• Pixel art visual upgrad
  

Cultural Grounding

The game is built around real African geography (see of you can identify the countries in each level 😉). Each level is set across countries on the continent, with resource delivery routes that mirror real cross-border trade relationships. Expanding this further, with more countries, resources, and authentic economic relationships is central to our roadmap.

Who It's For

Puzzle and strategy fans aged 16–35 across Africa and the diaspora who want games that reflect their world. Border Shifter is intentionally built for PC first as a stable, scalable foundation, with a mobile port planned next.

Developers

Built by:

• DiamondMind (Oluwaseun Rabiu) - Programming & Technical Support
• Retzonel (Nwocha Godswill) - Game Design, Art

Border Shifter is our take on the theme “Play Without Borders.” You teleport across borders and divided areas to solve puzzles, move resources, and slowly break the barriers separating the world. The whole game is built around crossing spaces you normally shouldn’t be able to cross

About the Team

This game was built by two developers from Nigeria; a Computer Science student and a professional game developer (as part of Creotly, a friend-founded indie studio currently developing IKENOBI, an action roguelike inspired by Hades.)

This jam was made under real constraints: one member participated with a broken keyboard held together with tape, working through power challenges that are a daily reality for developers in Nigeria.

Winning this jam would directly fund the studio, better equipment, inverters for power, and the tools needed to keep building. The visibility at Lagos Games Week matters too; Creotly hopes to showcase IKENOBI there, and recognition from this jam would open doors that are otherwise hard to reach from where we're starting.

We're not building games despite our circumstances. We're building because of them.