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Winken

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Winken: The rhythm piano game where you read real music notes on real sheet music! 🎮🎶 trailerWatch trailer on Steam ↗

Winken

PlaySmart · Published by PlaySmart

Positive — 90% positive (10 reviews)

Last updated 27 Sept 2026

Winken: The rhythmic piano game where you read real sheet music, on a real score! 🎮🎶Ready to rethink your definition of piano game and rhythm game? Beginner or Expert, get ready to discover something new with Winken: a game where you really play music.

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£7.49

Lowest price we've ever recorded

View on Steam

Prices can lag the live Steam store — always confirm before buying.

Price history

3 Sept 2026Lowest: £7.49 · Highest: £7.498 Oct 2026

Indie, Casual · 2025 · More £5 - £15 games

Dive into Winken, a unique blend of casual and indie gameplay from PlaySmart. In this 2025 release, you'll explore the rhythmic challenge of playing actual sheet music on a virtual piano, redefining what it means to play a rhythm game.

About this game

Winken: The rhythm piano game where you read real music notes on real sheet music! 🎮🎶

Ready to redefine your idea of a piano game and a rhythm game? Whether you're a beginner or an expert, get ready to discover something new with Winken, a game where you truly play music.

Why is Winken different?

  • 🎵 Real sheet music, real notes, real piano sounds—but always fun! A true intermediary between arcade and piano simulation, tap on your computer keyboard or connect a MIDI controller (piano, guitar, violin...): it’s really you playing!

  • 📂 Play your own songs: Upload your favorite scores or your compositions, play them directly, or let the game generate levels automatically to help you progress step by step.

  • 🌟 500+ progressive levels: Master increasingly complex sheet music, rise from D rank to Ultimate rank, and show that you have what it takes to become a master of sight-reading!

  • 🏆 Quarterly leaderboard: Compete with the community for the top spot! Who will be the sight-reading champion?

  • ⚡ For all levels: Start with 7 notes in easy levels, and increase the intensity with 12 notes, sharps, and flats in advanced levels.

  • 🎮 Master at your own pace: Replay the parts you want, adjust the tempo, and become the best sight-reader with the Loop mode.

  • 🏋️ Customized training: Train yourself to read music in Treble, Bass, or C clefs, mixed or not, with the notes, ledger lines, rhythms, and speed you want!

  • 🚀 A constantly evolving game: We are listening to your feedback! Let’s build together the first community of sight-reading players!

  • 🍬 Bonus: You’ll see, tomorrow, you’ll be able to read real sheet music without even realizing it!

A game for music lovers! Beginner or expert, between arcade and simulation, play music for real! 🔥

⚠ Important Notice ⚠

MIDI controller support is only available on Windows. It does not work on macOS for now.

System Requirements

Will my PC run this? →

Minimum

Minimum:
  • OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
  • Processor: Intel Core i3 or AMD equivalent
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 or better (DirectX 11 support required)
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 6 GB available space

Supported Languages

English

Latest news

  • AnnouncementsOfficial

    Behind The Scenes #3 — Discord, Languages & A Fresh UI Refresh

    Hey Winkers,After MIDI management and the gameplay overhaul, today I want to focus on what makes Winken feel more connected, more accessible, and visually fresher.What's Coming NextA quick reminder of what the next update will cover:The MIDI Files management and reworking of the audio system. ✅The game will now support MIDI Controllers on MAC systems. ✅The reworked gameplay flow — Play / Levels split, new scoring, leaderboard from the main menu, XP and rank system, Titles. ✅The UI/UX refresh: Menus, Score, XP, Game Modes... redesigned to be simpler, smoother, and to give you more freedom in how you play. 🎯 (today)Multi-language support: 12 languages will be supported. 🎯 (today)The new community features — Discord integration, score sharing. 🎯 (today)Community & DiscordWinken has always been about the community as much as the game. This update brings us closer.Discord ↔ Winken LinkingYou can now link your Discord account to Winken directly from the game. Why bother?You earn an exclusive community badge on your profile. 🎖️It opens the door to future community features I'm cooking up.A Discord button now sits in the main menu — one click to the server.→ Link your Discord account in secondsShare Your ScoreFinished a great run? You can now share your score directly to Discord when a song ends. Brag a little. You earned it. 😏→ Share your score to Discord12 LanguagesA huge request from many of you, especially non-English speakers — Winken now speaks 12 languages. Pick yours in the settings, and the whole game adapts.You can also choose whether or not to display your country flag on the leaderboard. Show your colors, or stay anonymous — your call.UI / UX RefreshAlmost every menu in the game has been redesigned to feel cleaner, smoother, and more pleasant to use:Settings Menu — Complete visual and functional redesign.Ending Menu — Redesigned with new animations and detailed performance info.Profile — New profile header + an openable profile management window.Steam Portrait —...
    Read full article on Community Announcements (Ludwig Wu)
  • AnnouncementsOfficial

    Behind The Scenes #2 — A New Way to Play, Compete & Progress

    Hey Winkers,The next big Winken update is getting closer. A public beta test will open very soon, and I'm sharing dev updates here every week to walk you through what's changing.If you missed the first one, it was about the MIDI files management. Today, I want to focus on something just as important: how you play and progress in Winken.🚀 What's Coming NextA quick reminder of what the next update will cover:The MIDI Files management and reworking of the audio system. ✅ (covered last week)The game will now support MIDI Controllers on MAC systems.The UI/UX refresh: Menus, Score, XP, Game Modes... has been redesigned to be simpler, smoother, and to give you more freedom in how you play.The reworked gameplay flow — Play / Levels split, new scoring with multipliers, leaderboard from the main menu, XP and rank system, Titles... 🎯 (today's focus)Multi-language support: 12 languages will be supported.The new community features — Discord integration, score sharing.🎮 Today's Focus: Gameplay & ProgressionThe old 3 buttons (Levels / Casual / Ranked) are gone. The new flow is simple, clear, and gives you more freedom.A Clearer Way to PlayPlay — Ranked mode for the leaderboard, with optional 12k mode (default is 7k) and Note Names. Your choices influence your score.Levels — Training mode, available in 7k (default) and 12k, each with its own separate progression.Two clear paths: one to learn, one to compete. Before, you had to finish Levels to access the full song ranking. I wanted to stop forcing you to choose between "I want to learn" and "I want to compete." Now both have their own space.→ The new Play / Levels menu in actionA Smarter Scoring SystemThe whole scoring logic has been refactored. The big change: your choices now matter for your score.Playing in 12k mode? Multiplier applies.Playing without Note Names? Multiplier applies.Combining both? Even bigger multiplier.Multipliers go from 1x → 1.4/1.6x → 2x depending on your setup. The harder the configuration, the higher your ...
    Read full article on Community Announcements (Ludwig Wu)
  • Patch NotesOfficial

    Behind The Scenes — A Big Update Coming Soon

    Hey Winkers,I've been working hard these past months to bring Winken to the next level. The update is almost ready, and a public beta test will open very soon.Before that, I wanted to take you behind the scenes. This is the first of a few dev updates I'll be sharing here over the coming weeks.🚀 What's Coming NextThe next update will be big and cover:The MIDI Files management and reworking of the audio system.The game will now support MIDI Controllers on MAC systems.The UI/UX refresh: Menus, Score, XP, Game Modes... has been redesigned to be simpler, smoother, and to give you more freedom in how you play.The reworked gameplay flow — Play / Levels split, new scoring with multipliers, leaderboard from the main menu, XP and rank system, Titles...Multi-language support: 12 languages will be supported.The new community features — Discord integration, score sharing.Today's Focus: MIDI Files ManagementUntil now, playing a custom song in Winken required two files: a musicxml for the notes, and an MP3 for the sound. Both had to be perfectly synced. It worked, but preparing your own song was painful.I wanted Winken to feel as natural as opening a score on your piano. What's ChangedDirect .mid import — Drop a MIDI file in, the game plays it. No MP3 needed.MusicXML support extended — .musicxml was already supported. Now .mxl works too (the default format from MuseScore).Improved audio engine — The game interprets MIDI data directly into sound. Lighter and smoother.MP3 still optional — You can still add an audio file alongside your MIDI if you want. It's just no longer required.The game will now support MIDI Controllers on MAC systems.→ Direct .mid import in action📌 A Few Technical NotesFor now, Winken reads one voice at a time (no multiple voices or chords yet). The extraction picks the first note found in the track you select.Further down the road, I'd love to add a PRO mode with double staff, chords, multi-voice, and proper musical symbol handling. But that's a story for anoth...
    Read full article on Community Announcements (Ludwig Wu)
  • Patch NotesOfficial

    Hotfix

    Quick hotfix for players encountering an error when : - Selecting character - Midi device not recognized on first time tutorial
    Read full article on Community Announcements (Ludwig Wu)
  • Patch NotesOfficial

    Performance & Stability Update - Better, Faster, Smoother!

    Hello everyone! I've just pushed a new update to Steam for both Windows and Mac. This patch focuses on fixing technical hurdles and making the game as smooth as possible for you. Here is what I've improved: - Optimization Pass: I've optimized the game so that even in extreme levels with a high number of notes, you should not notice any stutters. - Loading times: You’ll notice significantly faster loading times when entering the game or switching menus. - Some players had troubles playing with the midi keyboard: I fixed the issues. Please join the discord to give feedbacks, bugs, or to participate to the community: https://discord.gg/q4M8nNwwuh Thank you for being part of this journey. Your support means the world to a solo developer!
    Read full article on Community Announcements (Ludwig Wu)

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