Truncate
Games
word game
SHOW HN2024
188points
117comments
#428of 3,515 in 2024
Top 13%of 2024 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
15 positive, 20 neutral or asking, 12 mixed, 22 critical, out of 69 comments about the project. Thread score -0.07.
Design: 4 for, 11 againstExecution: 0 for, 8 againstDocs: 2 for, 3 againstIdea: 3 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Original, fun game design
From 3 comments
OK I'm going to go ahead and say this is an absolutely phenomenal game. Great, original idea. I could see myself playing this with friends, and it could even be a successful…
pcthrowaway on HNReally enjoyable. Disagree with some of the comments here about wanting to be warned if you're about to lose a battle - losing battles can be strategically advantageous to…
jameshart on HNCongrats, this looks awesome and I appreciate the thought and effort that go into defining a working game. That said, some comments: 1. Maybe (definitely maybe, not sure about…
gcanyon on HN
Dictionary is idiosyncratic and hard to use
From 3 comments
The dictionary isn't very good. * Doesn't include useful but rare short words, such as el * Does include obscure or slang words such as stere and jones * But doesn't include…
card_zero on HNI've spent a bunch of time playing this over the last couple of days. Overall I love it and I keep coming back to it. There's one thing I find really frustrating, though - the…
taneq on HNI enjoyed this and played for a few hours. The biggest problem for me is the dictionary - it seems very biased towards US English, so for instance I lost one game when my base…
ralferoo on HN
Objections
Battle rules are complex and hard to predict; no attack preview
From 3 comments
Congrats on both launching and on the unique game design. This desperately needs a attack result preview, or if that's too hard at least a "you're starting an attack you'll lose"…
jsnell on HNI went through the tutorial and it feels like a complicated game. The battle rules feel very complex and hard to remember.
Kwpolska on HNCongrats, this looks awesome and I appreciate the thought and effort that go into defining a working game. That said, some comments: 1. Maybe (definitely maybe, not sure about…
gcanyon on HN
Tutorial is long and hard to follow
From 3 comments
Kudos for creating the game. Reading upside down is difficult. In Scrabble you could turn the board around to face you when it was your turn. Why did my opponent place qxa to…
octopusRex on HNI went through the tutorial and it feels like a complicated game. The battle rules feel very complex and hard to remember.
Kwpolska on HNNo idea how to actually play. "You can only place tiles touching your dock or your existing tiles". When you first play, there's no other tiles to touch. Trying to place a tile…
mgkimsal on HN
Validity of words is not shown on the board
From 3 comments
I would love a small visual indicator of which words were valid/invalid on the board. Maybe something as simple as valid words having slightly green letters, and invalid words…
ncallaway on HNCongrats, this looks awesome and I appreciate the thought and effort that go into defining a working game. That said, some comments: 1. Maybe (definitely maybe, not sure about…
gcanyon on HNReally enjoyable. Disagree with some of the comments here about wanting to be warned if you're about to lose a battle - losing battles can be strategically advantageous to…
jameshart on HN
Requests
Highlight valid and invalid words on the board
From 3 comments
I would love a small visual indicator of which words were valid/invalid on the board. Maybe something as simple as valid words having slightly green letters, and invalid words…
ncallaway on HNCongrats, this looks awesome and I appreciate the thought and effort that go into defining a working game. That said, some comments: 1. Maybe (definitely maybe, not sure about…
gcanyon on HNI've spent a bunch of time playing this over the last couple of days. Overall I love it and I keep coming back to it. There's one thing I find really frustrating, though - the…
taneq on HN
Show attack result preview or warning
From 2 comments
Congrats on both launching and on the unique game design. This desperately needs a attack result preview, or if that's too hard at least a "you're starting an attack you'll lose"…
jsnell on HNReally enjoyable. Disagree with some of the comments here about wanting to be warned if you're about to lose a battle - losing battles can be strategically advantageous to…
jameshart on HN
Always-visible dictionary
From 2 comments
This is super cool. My main feedback at this point is about the dictionary. I'd have it be open on the side so I can see the board and use it at the same time. Or, as a…
yakkomajuri on HNReally enjoyable. Disagree with some of the comments here about wanting to be warned if you're about to lose a battle - losing battles can be strategically advantageous to…
jameshart on HN
Letter exchange / swap option
From 1 comment
Gameplay feedback: it feels like you have to win (or lose) quickly, else the middle board gets cramped and it bogs down to a long slog. Sometimes I dropped junk in protected…
pimlottc on HN
Questions
Why are battle rules counterintuitive and how do invalid words interact?
From 2 comments
Congrats, this looks awesome and I appreciate the thought and effort that go into defining a working game. That said, some comments: 1. Maybe (definitely maybe, not sure about…
gcanyon on HNRule question: In the tutorial, on the "Combatants" screen: > Only words touching another player's words are involved in a battle. This means you can win battles even though your…
xpe on HN
Does the AI ever use swaps?
From 1 comment
Really enjoyable. Disagree with some of the comments here about wanting to be warned if you're about to lose a battle - losing battles can be strategically advantageous to…
jameshart on HN
Alternatives named
Scrabble
From 2 comments
Kudos for creating the game. Reading upside down is difficult. In Scrabble you could turn the board around to face you when it was your turn. Why did my opponent place qxa to…
octopusRex on HNWarning: if you don't know Scrabble words you will be utterly destroyed. For example "REC" is valid: "An abbreviation for recreation". What the f-? HAHA
xpe on HN
Wordle
From 1 comment
Kudos for creating the game. Reading upside down is difficult. In Scrabble you could turn the board around to face you when it was your turn. Why did my opponent place qxa to…
octopusRex on HN