Kill Screen (15 Jan 2016, on the original browser version). "There are no opponents. Just the setting sun quickly diminishing the light of the day and a trusty shovel as your tool."
https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/dig-into-the-brilliant-quiet-death-of-dyg/Games / Catalog / DYG
OverviewCatalog
DYG
ActionCrank: crank only (precision)$3
1 · official Catalog GIF (1-bit still: screen-1-still.webp)
2 · official Catalog GIF (1-bit still: screen-2-still.webp)
3 · official Catalog GIF (1-bit still: screen-3-still.webp)1 · official Catalog GIF (1-bit still: screen-1-still.webp)2 · official Catalog GIF (1-bit still: screen-2-still.webp)3 · official Catalog GIF (1-bit still: screen-3-still.webp)Overview. Not yet reviewed. No score. Checked 12 Oct 2026. Built from official and press sources.
What it is
"Labor in the field." That's the whole store description of DYG, a short crank-only game first made as a browser game around 2016 and released on the Catalog as "the definitive version". A faceless figure stands in a field with a shovel. You crank to dig, and a mistimed stroke hits hard ground with a clang. Meanwhile the sun sets, and when darkness comes the run ends. How deep you've dug decides how you're remembered: as Kill Screen explains, the title stands for "Dig Your Grave". It needs "a fair amount of quick precision" with the crank, and it has online scoreboards.
It's by Burgess Voshell. It was nominated at the 2016 A MAZE. / Berlin Awards (per the store page), came to the Catalog in July 2023 for $3, and is in Panic's "Crank Wonders" collection. The content note says it "contains mature themes".
Who made it
What others are saying
Kill Screen, as quoted on the store page. "Masterful game-essay about life and death."
Callout (?): No review yet. We haven't reviewed DYG yet. This page is an overview built from official and press sources.
Sources
Checked 12 Oct 2026.
- Official Catalog page (description, credits, size, dates, content/AI/accessibility notes). https://play.date/games/dyg/
- Kill Screen, "Dig into the brilliant, quiet death of DYG", 15 Jan 2016. https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/dig-into-the-brilliant-quiet-death-of-dyg/
- GameFAQs user review (negative; not quoted). https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/playdate/413412-dyg/reviews/175298
OverviewNo score
Overview
Not yet reviewed.
No score. This page is built from official and press sources.
On the card
A faceless figure, a shovel and a setting sun. Crank in rhythm to dig, because every missed stroke hastens the dark.
From the sources
