Blue Prince Shines as an Exciting Esport at Summer Games Done Quick

Okay, so, picture this: when someone says “competitive esports,” my brain jumps straight to those super-fast shooters or those crazy complex MOBAs. I mean, that’s what most folks would think, right? But, get this, I was totally off. We’re talking about a single-player puzzle game here. Yeah, I know, sounds weird, but trust me on this one. Speedrunners, those guys are wizards. They’ve turned this puzzle game, Blue Prince, into a full-on nail-biting spectacle. It’s wild how they do it. Really had my eyes glued to the screen during the Summer Games Done Quick this year.

Here’s the thing—late on a Monday night, smack in the middle of the Games Done Quick event, which is this fantastic gig raising funds for Doctors Without Borders (love that), Blue Prince had its grand debut. Now, normally you’d think they’d speed through to Room 46, right? Nope. Wrong again. What went down was a “B Quest Bingo” race between these speedrunners, Randringtail and BobbyBurm. I swear, it’s like a game within a game. Confused? Yeah, same here at first.

So, they started with this bingo board thing, shaped like the Blue Prince’s floorplan. Each square had a different task, like unlocking this gate or upgrading rooms. They had 90 minutes to, you know, do their thing. And the goal? Get a line from the entrance to the antechamber. Simple, yet not. Who would’ve thought bingo could be so intense?

And yo, the energy was electric. The crowd at SGDQ? Cheering like it was a horse race. (And Gelly on commentary? Chef’s kiss, seriously). Blue Prince is already tough, loaded with all these layers—drafting, secret tricks, resource handling, you name it. And with the luck element? Forget it. These runners gotta make split-second decisions, adapting at warp speed. Watching them was like seeing chess grandmasters play during a hurricane. Just mind-blowing.

If you haven’t yet, go watch the run on the Games Done Quick YouTube channel. Heads up, though—spoilers galore. I stumbled upon secrets even after sinking 100 hours into Blue Prince myself. Seriously, some stuff blew my mind (wait, you can do that in the entrance hall??). Anyway, it’s a crazy reminder of how deep and endless this puzzle roguelike really is.