Hi! I built GridPaw — a free, browser-based Japanese logic puzzle site with a cat theme: Shikaku (rectangle division), Akari (Light Up) and Pictomino. New grids daily, step-by-step hints if you get stuck, no signup needed. Feedback very welcome — and if you play, drop your streak in the comments!
This shikaku implementation has bad UX. Drawing a rectangle breaking the rules (no or multiple numbers inside, wrong area or overlapping) should be considered an unintentionally missed drag, not result in a loss of one of 3 lives. Also, the rectangles obscure numbers underneath, which is difficult for the more complex puzzles where undo is useful.
I failed the 14*14 daily because I couldn’t see how many fields I marked under my big fingers. Feels bad
Imagine if Sudoku on the DS triggered a game-over for not recognizing your handwriting one too many times
Thank you @ChaoticNeutralCzech and @bneu for the detailed feedback — this is exactly the kind of report that makes the game better, and I’m sorry the lost run felt unfair. All three issues are now fixed and live (just refresh):
🐾 Drag feedback on touch: the selection now shows a solid highlight plus a live “2×3 = 6” size badge below the board, so you always know how many cells you’ve marked — no more counting under your thumb.
🐾 Numbers stay visible: cat ears no longer poke out of placed blocks, and shadows are softer, so numbers in neighbouring cells stay readable on complex boards.
🐾 Fairer lives: a drag that doesn’t frame any number is now treated as a slip — no life lost. Only drags that actually frame a number but break the rules count as a mistake.
Also, if you only tried the daily so far: Classic mode has hand-graded levels from tiny 3×1 warm-ups up to dense expert grids, with a hint system (3 per level) and undo. Would love to hear how it holds up — keep the feedback coming, it really does get patched fast. 🐱
Quick follow-up since you both took the time to report: the selection feedback got another pass today. The size badge (e.g. 2×2 = 4) now follows your selection and flips to whichever side your finger isn’t covering, so you can read the dimensions mid-drag without lifting a finger. Live on gridpaw.com now; the hosted builds on other portals will pick it up with their next update.
bneu’s 14×14 case is exactly what this is for — if it still feels off on a phone, tell me.
