Hello Hubski, we've been working since February to make an app. It took way longer than expected (partly because we kept adding features), but it's finally released.
This is a mobile version of our A-Puzzle-A-Day calendar puzzle, which has been doing very well. We've been contacted several times by people wanting to program an app for us but weren't impressed, until we heard from a 17-year old programmer in the Netherlands who seemed like a great guy and had written a app that looked good. We decided to give him a chance, and it was a good choice. He solved some tough problems, my wife and I did the design work, and I made all of the art. We've got something we're really happy with.
How it works: Try to place the 8 pieces in the calendar frame to leave just today's date showing. Every date is possible with the same 8 pieces. In the app you can score for up to 3 solutions a day and win DragonCoins. Use the coins to buy custom pieces (31 different themed set), hint tickets or time machine passes. There's a solution bank and a lot of cool features -- don't be afraid to click all the buttons and explore!
Here's a direct link to app:
iPhone iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/a-puzzle-a-day/id1633017175
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.DragonFjord.APuzzleADay
We hope you'll give it a try, and would love to hear feedback. If you like it, please share it around.
Here's a video with dramatic music that shows it in action. (Please hit the fullscreen button before playing to see it better):
Thanks!
I downloaded this December 1 and have gotten at least three solutions every day since.
I'm giving the physical version to my mom for Christmas. She likes mind puzzles like this, and I hope it will help her keep her mind active at 75 years old.
The app is great, very polished and fun to play, thanks mike! The calendar scorecard promotes the urge to solve them all – I hope the new year will not be a clean slate so I can continue trying to complete the full year.
Some suggestions to keep Sven busy:
• The rotation arrows appear bidirectional but always turn the same direction (top arrows rotate down, bottom arrows rotate up).
• There are only two rotations, how about showing only two one-way arrows on the top corners?
• Flipping the rectangle never helps, consider omitting arrows to flip the rectangle (or flip the U-shape on the long axis).
• If I quit and restart the iOS app, light/dark and vibration settings are lost.
• One time I had an apparent solution but it wasn’t counted. The L-shape was very slightly out of position, and moving it slightly locked it in and the solution was recognized. I haven’t been able to reproduce the problem, however. Snap into position works very well and gives satisfying feedback.
• Wordle took off by enabling users to share their solution without spoilers. Perhaps APAD could generate a scorecard with streak information and data about time/moves used to find solutions.
• I lost my streak because I forgot to play Monday. Perhaps an optional reminder would be a nice enhancement.
Thanks wasoxygen!
• Yes, we should change the arrows. I drag them in the direction I want, tapping them was a later addition because we found some people preferred that, but it can be confusing
• For consistency, I think we'll keep the flipping the rectangle option. I kind of like it!
• We're aware of vibration resetting. It will be fixed in an update going up today!
• We occasionally find an irreproducible error and it drives us insane!
• version 2 coming early next year will have social sharing that shows what frame you used without showing the solution ... it will be a little tricky to pull this off!
• version 2 will also have the ability to connect with friends and compete in weekly competitions, with a leaderboard and everything. Excited about this!
• we'll add notifications soon, too! Like, at 8 pm if you haven't solved for today it will send you a reminder.
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Sven just sent a new build, so updates will be happening today or tomorrow! They usually take a day or two to get approved. Updates include:
• the solution bank will show the puzzles with the custom set you solved with!
• time machine when active will show "Yesterday" with "tap to reset" under it, to make it more obvious that you've got time machine going.
• some font and text size fixes
• saving light/dark and vibration settings
Not a very important bug, but with some fiddling you can get it so that one of the pieces is hovering over the board but not placed into a slot, and when you hit the green return all pieces button that one doesn't get returned.
Great app btw! Such a fun lil puzzle :)
Thank you! But now I've been trying for 5 minutes to get a piece to float over the board and not settle into place and can't do it. I'm sssuming it's got to have its corners exactly centered in the middle of the squares. (If you're pranking me, well done! I'll be here all evening if I have to! Otherwise... challenge accepted! A puzzle within a puzzle...)
Fiddled with it more, seems to only happen on the bottom right part, and not consistently. Here's a screenshot, you can't see but I've pressed the green button a few times and nothing happened.
Legit tho, this is like the nitpickiest of nitpicks. The app works great and is so lovely <3