Show HN: FuseCells – 2,500 handcrafted levels logic puzzle game with leaderboard(igodia.dev)
igodia.dev
Show HN: FuseCells – 2,500 handcrafted levels logic puzzle game with leaderboard
https://igodia.dev/fusecells
3 comments
Technical notes on Daily Challenge + Leaderboards (Game Center):
Daily Challenge is a deterministic puzzle-of-the-day: I rotate a fixed daily level (or seed → level index) on a UTC-day boundary, so everyone plays the same puzzle worldwide.
For leaderboards I’m using Apple Game Center (GKLeaderboard). Score is based on a simple, transparent metric (e.g. moves/steps/time) and the puzzle rules are deterministic (no RNG), so runs are comparable.
Implementation details: - A compact level encoding (grid size + constraints) → fast load + consistent replay - Local validation of moves + completion (no “guessing” solutions) - A lightweight caching layer so the daily puzzle loads instantly and works well even with spotty connectivity - If you’re curious, I can share how I estimate difficulty using a solver step-count and how I prevent daily challenge “desync” across time zones/devices.
Happy to answer any questions about Game Center setup / leaderboard scoring / daily rotation strategy.
For leaderboards I’m using Apple Game Center (GKLeaderboard). Score is based on a simple, transparent metric (e.g. moves/steps/time) and the puzzle rules are deterministic (no RNG), so runs are comparable.
Implementation details: - A compact level encoding (grid size + constraints) → fast load + consistent replay - Local validation of moves + completion (no “guessing” solutions) - A lightweight caching layer so the daily puzzle loads instantly and works well even with spotty connectivity - If you’re curious, I can share how I estimate difficulty using a solver step-count and how I prevent daily challenge “desync” across time zones/devices.
Happy to answer any questions about Game Center setup / leaderboard scoring / daily rotation strategy.
Is this the correct app?
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fusecells-logic-grid-puzzle/id...
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fusecells-logic-grid-puzzle/id...
Yes! absolutly
What’s unique: - 2,500 handcrafted levels across multiple grid sizes - Deterministic logic, no guessing required - A rule system inspired by constraint-solving and path-finding concepts - Daily Challenge + leaderboards (I added these to give the game a “reason to come back” without turning it into a grind) - Built end-to-end as a solo dev project
A small data point: after adding Daily Challenge + leaderboards, the game quickly reached ~400 active players (depending on how you define active), and I’m trying to understand what makes them return: competition, habit, or simply puzzle pacing.
Technical notes (if you’re curious): - My internal tools validate solvability using a custom constraint solver - Difficulty is approximated via solver step count - Optimized to run smoothly on low-end devices - Designed for iOS, fully adapted for iPad
I’d love feedback from puzzle lovers, game designers, and anyone into handcrafted logic design - especially on difficulty curve, onboarding clarity, and whether daily + leaderboards add value or feel distracting.