Blue Prince at Summer Games Done Quick became an awesome esport

When I think about what makes a good competitive esports game, my mind immediately goes to fast-paced shooters and complex MOBAs. The last thing I’d expect to function as a spectator sport is a brainy, single-player puzzle game, but my hunch was wrong. As showcased during this year’s Summer Games Done Quick, speedrunners have found a way to convincingly transform Blue Prince into a nail-biting competition that’s a thrill to watch.

The segment went down late Monday night during Games Done Quick’s annual summer event, which is raising money for Doctors Without Borders all week. Considering how the event usually works, you might expect that Blue Prince’s GDQ debut would have showcased how quickly a player could get to Room 46. Instead, speedrunners Randringtail and BobbyBurm competed in a “B Quest Bingo” race. What exactly does that mean? It’s a little complicated.

Before starting, both runners were given a bingo board modeled after Blue Prince’s standard floorplan grid. Each square featured a different objective, from unlocking the eastern gate to getting five room upgrades. The competitors had 90 minutes in which they could set out on as many runs as needed to check off objectives. The win condition? The first runner to successfully fill in a path between the entrance hall and the antechamber spaces would be crowned winner.

The result was an enthralling battle of the brains that had the live crowd at SGDQ hooting and hollering from start to finish (thanks in no small part to some horse derby-caliber commentating from Gelly). Blue Prince is already a complex game in its normal form, forcing players to learn and remember hundreds of drafting nuances, room gimmicks, and secrets. Then there’s a whole resource juggling act on top of that. All of that is made more difficult thanks to a layer of random chance. Now imagine making all of the careful calculations that go into a run at lightning speed to hit specific objectives. It’s a feat that’s not just about knowing Blue Prince inside and out, but being able to adapt to anything it throws at you. It’s like watching two grandmasters play a round of speed chess in a tornado.

You can watch the run on Games Done Quick’s YouTube channel, though be warned that it contains a fair share of spoilers. In fact, I learned some secrets that I had yet to find within my 100 hours of Blue Prince (you can do what in the entrance hall!?). If nothing else, you’ll be reminded of just how deep the seemingly bottomless puzzle roguelike goes.