Show HN: Number Crunch – a simple daily number puzzle

[cshdllr]

I made a daily puzzle game with a simple mechanic. Click squares to increment their numbers (1→2→3...→9→1) and when 3+ adjacent squares match they pop. The goal is to clear the board in as few moves as possible.

It's quick to play (~1 minute) and the strategy gets surprisingly deep once you start thinking about cascades and efficient pathing.

Initially I started with a 12x12 grid, but after testing with some friends it felt way too overwhelming. It made it hard to feel like you could have a strategy. Once I simplified it to a 5x5 grid the game felt a lot more fun and approachable. You can also play more than once each day so you can keep trying to beat your score.

[spennino]

i like the game, one suggestion— would love if you could get a sense how you're doing as your playing. i like the distribution at the end but it wasn't until i finished that i had any idea how well i was tracking

[cshdllr]

That's fair. From what I've seen, people play multiple rounds. So the first round they don't quite know what a "top" score looks like and then they play again after seeing the distribution. Since the game is short enough, it kind of feels like that might be enough feedback.