This week, Nintendo’s most successful IP since Wii Sports gets a sequel and Level-5 takes puzzle-solving to a global level. From ice cream to strangers in hats, we take a look at how these two brands are getting creative with game promotions.

Splatoon 2: Splatfest

Which is better—ice cream or cake? To celebrate the world premiere of its Splatoon 2: Splatfest demo, Nintendo asked players to choose a side (Team Ice Cream or Team Cake) and duke it out in the ultimate Turf War online. The Splatfest event allowed players to try four different main weapons including the new Splat Dualies, the Tentatek Splattershot and remixed versions of the iconic Splat Roller and Splat Charger.

In the end, Team Ice Cream won the event, just in time for National Ice Cream Day on July 16. Even Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aimé got in on the fun by posing with an ice cream cone.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWf8xPeB_83/?taken-by=nintendo

Splatoon will soon get its own anime series, according to Japanese gaming news site Ga-M. The franchise already has its own manga in Japan that appears in CoroCoro magazine each month. An animated version will air exclusively on CoroCoro’s YouTube channel beginning in August.

Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle And The Millionaire’s Conspiracy

For the seventh official entry into its popular Layton puzzle game series, Level-5 wanted to get the world talking. A month prior to launch, dapper characters dressed in black began to appear at strategic locations around the globe—each holding a puzzle. Hints to their location were given on social media through photos, challenging players to track them down in person. Regardless of location, fans are invited to an official web portal where they can solve these and other puzzles, interact with other players and earn prizes that carry over into the finished game.

The very first puzzle was presented by Japanese comedian Daimaou Kosaka as his alter-ego Pikotaro, made famous for his song PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen).

https://youtu.be/tFd2agQF4LU

Layton’s Mystery Journey introduces new characters, the most puzzles in the series and a whole new platform—smartphones. While the game launches on Nintendo 3DS later this year, Layton’s Mystery Journey will debut on iOS and Android July 20.

For the series’ creator and Level-5 co-founder Akihiro Hino, embracing the mobile platform is a natural step forward.

“With Layton’s Mystery Journey on the smartphone, we’re getting that know-how—the knowledge of how to move it onto the smartphone platform,” Hino told GameSpot. “We are actually looking into trying to bring past projects onto smartphone, [or] maybe even a new console, like Switch.”