Show HN: I've built a words game based on binary search

Post by ludovicianul » Fri, Jul 17, 2026, 10:40 AM UTC

asalahli wrote: post #60

ludovicianul wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the feedback. I've taken all the 7 letter words from the dictionary and filtered based on different criteria. I'm still thinking what's the easiest automated way to have all valid words, while avoiding offensive, inappropriate ones.

I'm genuinely curious, what's the reason for filtering out words based on offensive-ness? I'd imagine it'd be easier to screen the chosen word every day for your criteria and, beyond that, let people type whatever they want as long as what they type is in the dictionary

Post by ludovicianul » Fri, Jul 17, 2026, 2:01 PM UTC

4chandaily wrote: post #9

I loaded the puzzle and was presented with an empty 7 character prompt. I tried typing in three different seven-letter words, and each time I hit "GO", I was told the word was "Not in the word list". With no further guidance given, I closed the tab.

Post by pimlottc » Fri, Jul 17, 2026, 8:04 PM UTC

ludovicianul wrote: post #55

pimlottc wrote: post #31

The "up/down" arrows are a bit confusing, I don't think it's self-evident whether "later in the alphabet" would be considered "higher" or "lower". "left" or "right" might be clearer, at least for English, and it would map directly to the range bar visualizations beneath each letter.

Higher = right = after, Lower = left = before. Once you play some games, it will become more natural. At least this was the feedback from friends playing the game.

Post by ludovicianul » Fri, Jul 17, 2026, 8:33 PM UTC

snarf21 wrote: post #20

The high/lo feels unintuitive to me .. Down on a P makes me thing R-Z not A-O. I actually think left/right is a more clear visual and mental model. I like the game and it is quite difficult sometimes to come up with a legal word that gives you an improved anchor point for the binary search.

Post by HikesALot » Fri, Jul 17, 2026, 9:15 PM UTC

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #10

I think a practice mode, or letting people play the older games would be good. I can think of a few older people who would love this, but would definitely need a few tries to get the hang of it.