Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game • Hacker News Board

Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game

#1

Post by babel16 » Tue, Aug 05, 2025, 5:39 PM UTC

Whittle is a small word game I've been working on. Each phrase must be whittled down by one letter (or space) each turn. The remaining phrase must still consist of valid words. That's it! There's a daily puzzle, as well as an archive of old puzzles.

The idea for the game came to me in a dream (really) and I built the puzzle generator with my partner, who's also a software engineer. It's a labor of love! Any feedback or suggestions are welcome. Thanks for playing!

Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game
playwhittle.com

Re: Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game

#2

Post by dylanhouli » Tue, Aug 05, 2025, 5:53 PM UTC

Good game! Nice little touches on the website too like the tray at the bottom and the header click easter egg.

Re: Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game

#3

Post by duncancarroll » Tue, Aug 05, 2025, 6:17 PM UTC

Fun! I was a bit confused at the end because there's no "victory" state or indication. I think I was expecting it to give me a new word pair once I got to the end, or tell me "come back tomorrow for another round"

Re: Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game

#4

Post by fao_ » Tue, Aug 05, 2025, 6:25 PM UTC

Hey! I absolutely love it! I wanted to share the results with my partner but it looks like the share button doesn't work on the PC? (Firefox 141.0, Linux)

Re: Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game

#5

Post by frankdenbow » Tue, Aug 05, 2025, 6:28 PM UTC

duncancarroll wrote: post #3

Fun! I was a bit confused at the end because there's no "victory" state or indication. I think I was expecting it to give me a new word pair once I got to the end, or tell me "come back tomorrow for another round"

Came here to say it needs a victory state or a score to know if I got to the best possible solution.

Re: Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game

#6

Post by teach » Tue, Aug 05, 2025, 6:36 PM UTC

Is it always possible to go all the way down to a single letter? I'm working on August 4, and it's proving challenging

Re: Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game

#7

Post by Hammershaft » Tue, Aug 05, 2025, 6:39 PM UTC

duncancarroll wrote: post #3

Fun! I was a bit confused at the end because there's no "victory" state or indication. I think I was expecting it to give me a new word pair once I got to the end, or tell me "come back tomorrow for another round"

You can always get it down to zero letters! The game should remind you how many letters you have left before you can win to make it clear .

Re: Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game

#8

Post by spadros » Tue, Aug 05, 2025, 6:44 PM UTC

teach wrote: post #6

Is it always possible to go all the way down to a single letter? I'm working on August 4, and it's proving challenging

I’m stuck on that one too! Got 100% of all possible words but cannot figure out how to reduce to zero. A “show hint” feature would be nice when you’re stuck.

Re: Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game

#9

Post by kipukun » Tue, Aug 05, 2025, 6:44 PM UTC

This game is awesome. I have no other feedback other than I had a lot of fun.

Re: Show HN: Whittle – A shrinking word game

#10

Post by spadros » Tue, Aug 05, 2025, 6:49 PM UTC

Really fun! Could use a hint function though. I got %100 of all words on Aug 4 but still have not found a way to get it down to zero letters. If anyone has figured it out please let me know!