itch.io

I put 30 of my matchstick puzzles on itch as a free browser game. Each one is an equation that's wrong, like 5 + 7 = 5, and you move exactly one match to make it true.

Most matchstick puzzles online never say what counts as a legal move, so I wrote the rules down. Digits look like a digital clock, the plus and minus signs are matches too, and the result has to be a real equation. A program tried every possible move on every puzzle, so each one has a single answer. If you find a different true equation, the board accepts it anyway.

The hint comes in three steps. First it tells you which number or sign the match comes from, then which match, then where it goes. Most of the time the first step is enough.

Play it here: https://manextapps.itch.io/matchstick-puzzles

I'd like to hear which puzzle took you the longest. The later ones get mean.

I made a free browser version of my Queens puzzle. The rules: place one queen in every row, every column and every colored region, and no two queens may touch, not even at a corner.

Every board comes from the same engine as my Android app. It checks that each board has exactly one solution and that you can reach it with logic alone, with no guessing. Boards go from 6x6 to 9x9.

The part I'm happiest with is the hint. It doesn't just place a queen for you. It names the technique behind the next step, like last cell or a region that fits in one line, highlights the cells involved, and only makes the move if you tap again.

Play it here: https://manextapps.itch.io/queens-puzzle

If a board ever feels like it needs a guess, I'd really like to know which one.