Show HN: I made a math puzzle game. Hope you like it

35 madmonk 18 4/11/2025, 6:26:24 PM madmonk13.github.io ↗
I've been playing with this for quite some time and I think it's finally ready for public consumption. All feedback welcome.

Comments (18)

wes1350 · 16d ago
I'd prefer the rows, columns and diagonals to have their current sums visible next to the desired totals. Right now, it's tedious to have to add all the numbers up for each one.
prawn · 16d ago
Tried a couple and didn't mind the concept, but agree that summing things gets tedious enough that I wouldn't continue, return or recommend it.

If the interface doesn't present an obvious way to add the current totals, it could be colour-coded in a way that experienced players possibly learn how far off they are. Use cool colours for under, and warm colours for over?

voisin · 16d ago
This, 100%. I enjoyed it but as soon as I moved up to more challenging levels and found myself just repeating addition I got frustrated by the tedium.
koiueo · 16d ago
To me that was the point of the puzzle.

Your suggestion would kill the challenge, turning the game into a casual dopamine inducer.

madmonk · 16d ago
Good suggestion!
wes1350 · 16d ago
A nice feature would be "locking" black squares, or otherwise marking them somehow, to distinguish them from squares you may still switch in the future.
snarf21 · 16d ago
Agreed. The black squares should turn white once a row AND column are correct. Otherwise, you just spend you time scanning right and down checking if that row/col is right again. It is tedium and not enjoyable.
ajjenkins · 16d ago
Yeah, you should be able to manually lock or they should lock automatically once it’s guaranteed a tile is in the right place. Like if there’s only one black tile in a row and that row is correct.
poopsmithe · 16d ago
It's frustrating how sometimes my clicks on the black tiles go unhandled.
ajjenkins · 16d ago
Yeah, it feels like there’s a slight delay when you tap on a tile. I’m playing on an iPhone.
chabska · 16d ago
The HTML structure is very problematic. You use a <table>, even though semantically the game grid is not a table of data. I would have used a <div> with display:grid , though this is not a big deal. The active cell is a <div> with onclick, which means the cursor doesn't show it as clickable and I can't even tab to it so keyboard play is impossible. There are ways to make a <div> look clickable, but it's easiest to just use <button> .
madmonk · 16d ago
Good point.
koiueo · 16d ago
I liked the game as it is in terms of hints and assistance.

The only thing I at one point missed was the undo action. I accidentally fat-fingered two correctly placed squares, and although it was frustrating at first, in the end I appreciated the additional challenge.

throwaway675309 · 16d ago
It's a fun little game - the minimalistic UI/UX suits it well. I'd consider lowering the volume on the music. It doesn't really feel like it suits a casual puzzle game either.
geuis · 16d ago
The audio stops my audio that's already playing.
anenefan · 18d ago
Nice educational puzzle - I think possibly good for kids teaching them to add up in their own head.
galuggus · 16d ago
Great music. Did you make it?
madmonk · 16d ago
Thanks! Yes, I made it with Auxy.