Add a share button! a la wordle :) and a way to hide the timer would be nice, as others have said it can be stressful
Show HN: 18 Words
321–330 of 384 posts
Re: Show HN: 18 Words
#322Really enjoyed playing this! It's such a compact and fun little game. It might be quite a challenge for non-native English speakers, but that's all part of the fun.
Re: Show HN: 18 Words
#323The timer makes it not enjoyable for me. It seems necessary to the game design and I’m not being negatively critical. Just sharing an additional perspective. I’ve been playing Zanagrams and the ability to hide the clock really improved my enjoyment of that game. If I could magically get a feature by request, it would be to give me infinite time even if that meant my score came with an asterisk. Maybe just call it Rel…
I like the core of the game and similar ones like Boggle. But agree for this the timer and having only one game per day makes this not enjoyable.
Not enough reward in the mechanics, I played about 50% of the archive games and each was the same. A feeling a frantic pressure and an inability to hit the 18 words every time (i.e. I lost)
Maybe I'm just too slow, but I feel like a good game should cater for players of mixed ability. This one seems stuck in pro / turbo mode and left me feeling frustrated - which is the only thing really thats stopped me bookmarking it or sharing with my family.
Edit to add - Boggle also has a timer and puts you pressure. But there's multiple paths through the grid which means your less likely to hit a brick wall and also allows for small side wins that help you along (e.g oh there's another three letter word when I am really looking for a 5 or 6).
Re: Show HN: 18 Words
#324https://wordnerd.co/23words/ is similar (but 23 words instead of 18). Possibly the biggest difference is that 23 Words continues with the next word if you fail to get a word within 30 seconds. When you have attempted all 23 words it will present you with results like this. You found 21/23 words Top 7% of players today.
Was also posted to hn a while back: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40634042 I'm pretty sure it didn't used to continue after getting one wrong. I played it and the other word nerd games every day for a few months, but eventually they get repetitive, which I suppose any generated game will.
> I'm pretty sure it didn't used to continue after getting one wrong.
You're right, it changed a few months ago. I find it more enjoyable now that you can continue to the end.
Re: Show HN: 18 Words
#325Love it!
Re: Show HN: 18 Words
#326I’ve been playing Zanagrams every day, love it and love this new one too, keep em coming!
Re: Show HN: 18 Words
#327Thanks everyone for the feedback! Two questions 1. For a version without the timer what would you like to happen if you are just completely stuck on a word? Hints to reveal letters or skip the word? 2. For those who like the timed version would you prefer to continue when you miss a word and then get a final score out of 18?
Really Fun Game 1. for the version without a timer, i would suggest hints not a skip. Maybe a letter placed in the right order in the blocks to guide the player 2. Get a final score but not out of 18. Make it out of 100 and adjust the weighting of the scores by the length and difficulty of the word
To optimize for player reward and increased time spent on the game, I would score it out of 72, 4 pts per word as follows:
-1pt for timer running out.
-1pt for 1 letter hint.
-1pt for 2 letter hint.
-1pt for skip (only available after the above).
That should let players aim for top points, but still feel like they get some reward for figuring it out, and keeps players in the game even if they can't figure one word out.
Re: Show HN: 18 Words
#328Thanks everyone for the feedback! Two questions 1. For a version without the timer what would you like to happen if you are just completely stuck on a word? Hints to reveal letters or skip the word? 2. For those who like the timed version would you prefer to continue when you miss a word and then get a final score out of 18?
Nice! It felt fun and frictionless.
I'd keep the timer but make it an hour. I like its simplicity; I'd keep it without hints.
Re: Show HN: 18 Words
#329just got 2/18, not a native english speaker, hard for me.
Re: Show HN: 18 Words
#330Update:
The game amazingly had 132,411 players yesterday and received tons of player feedback. After a long night talking with players and play testing I’ve shipped the following changes:
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1. I’ve kept the 30 second timer but you now continue through the whole 18 words to get a final score of x/18.
2. I’ve added a new share feature to better show your result in a similar Wordle style.
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Thanks again for all the feedback and for checking out the game!