Among the finalists in 2BeeGames's latest indie gaming face-off is The Pretender from Launching Pad Games, a smooth-sippin' puzzle-platformer based on the manipulation of elements.

Your character, an amateur Victorian conjurer, accidentally teleports himself and his audience to a weird 2D fantasy realm during an over-ambitious performance.

Moving with the arrow keys, you must weasel out the ghostly forms of your spectators and lead them, one by one, to blue exit portals. Once all the phantoms in a level have been liberated, it's time for the next.

While the conjurer is pretty feeble at first, he can transform into more able "air" and "earth" forms by stepping on magical floor tiles.

As a walking tupperware set, you can bash through certain objects and roll boulders out of your path. As a creature of air, you can float on powerful updrafts and cruise around in mysterious aerial sailboats.

Most levels (there are 20) require some combination of the above to succeed. Try Weirdville or Tempus Terminus if this is too easy-going.

Play The Pretender