detective
Games
wikipedia puzzle game
SHOW HN2025
318points
43comments
#162of 3,837 in 2025
Top 5%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
17 positive, 7 neutral or asking, 6 mixed, 8 critical, out of 38 comments about the project. Thread score +0.24.
Execution: 1 for, 7 againstDesign: 4 for, 1 againstIdea: 3 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Beautiful design, animations and sounds
From 5 comments
This is beautifully designed and engaging and potentially a fun way to learn things! Amazing work. Some things you could add to make it stickier: 1. Have a natural end where you…
alex-moon on HNWhat a wonderful game. Great animations and simple interactions. Could you share something about how you've built this @jasonsmiles? I'm guessing it scrapes Wikipedia for a topic…
marapuru on HNWhat a beautiful idea! Really nice job for the UI
acetofenone on HNthe sounds are nice and satisfying too
stOneskull on HNWhat a great design! How did you design that awesome background!?
higgins on HN
Fun and a good way to learn things from Wikipedia
From 3 comments
This is beautifully designed and engaging and potentially a fun way to learn things! Amazing work. Some things you could add to make it stickier: 1. Have a natural end where you…
alex-moon on HNI played the Map mode and got the same page several times, and then the game ended with half my "life" left. It was really fun but I passed a lot of rounds just on memory
was_a_dev on HNIf I had children I would force them to sit and play this for an hour every day. Bravo pal.
AfterHIA on HN
Objections
Repeated articles and same pictures recur in map mode
From 6 comments
Cool game, but when I was doing the map game it gave me the same article about 5 times. It's also not clear if there's a goal in each game. So far as I can tell it goes on…
chrysoprace on HNI also played the map game, and in addition to getting the same article several times I got two articles that had some of the same photos but whose locations were ~100 miles…
CrazyStat on HNSame here! I got the Parthenon five or so times. On the bright side, I know very well now that the Parthenon is not actually in Athens!
jakeydus on HNAs the other commenters, I liked the concept. I did the map, and got quite a few repeated answers. I then did the ransom one, but I did quite well until I got definitely bored…
ajot on HNGood bit of work. I certainly enjoyed ten minutes with it. Like other comments here, I'll say that a lot of the same things kept coming up. I got Athens and Iraq multiple times.…
petercooper on HNVery cool idea. A few bugs I found. I was doing locations. I got something that looked like the parthenon. Like an idiot, I clicked Rome. Wrong. Chalkida, Greece. Next location:…
nonethewiser on HN
No clear goal or natural end; games run indefinitely
From 3 comments
Cool game, but when I was doing the map game it gave me the same article about 5 times. It's also not clear if there's a goal in each game. So far as I can tell it goes on…
chrysoprace on HNI've played one game of ransom. This is fun but I have some comments/suggestions. 1. Letters are sometimes barely shuffled 2. Sometimes same clue with different redacted words…
EvgeniyZh on HNThis is beautifully designed and engaging and potentially a fun way to learn things! Amazing work. Some things you could add to make it stickier: 1. Have a natural end where you…
alex-moon on HN
Confusing UI and bugs such as error messages and flashing screen
From 3 comments
The answer and next buttons could be clearly separate from the other UI, and they could also be the same button. After my first answer, I just got ”Something went wrong…”
cluckindan on HNI can't play the game because the whole screen flashes in rectangles
missingdays on HNThis is really cool but the execution is a bit cludgy at the moment (it looks great but the games themselves are confusing / too easily messed up). if polished up I could see it…
ajkjk on HN
Answers guessable from anagram letters or redaction leaks
From 2 comments
Was able to get a lot of the guess-the-word one just based on it being an anagram. Might want to throw in a few decoy letters?
113 on HNI've played one game of ransom. This is fun but I have some comments/suggestions. 1. Letters are sometimes barely shuffled 2. Sometimes same clue with different redacted words…
EvgeniyZh on HN
Requests
Show facts or article context after a correct answer
From 2 comments
This is beautifully designed and engaging and potentially a fun way to learn things! Amazing work. Some things you could add to make it stickier: 1. Have a natural end where you…
alex-moon on HNThis is sick! I love the idea. Two pain points: - No "reward" after guessing it even completing. If based on Wikipedia, give me some facts about the places! (Even if wrong imo) -…
jaymartmedia on HN
Prevent repeated locations and curate article sets
From 2 comments
This is sick! I love the idea. Two pain points: - No "reward" after guessing it even completing. If based on Wikipedia, give me some facts about the places! (Even if wrong imo) -…
jaymartmedia on HNGood bit of work. I certainly enjoyed ten minutes with it. Like other comments here, I'll say that a lot of the same things kept coming up. I got Athens and Iraq multiple times.…
petercooper on HN
Add progression with harder tasks
From 1 comment
I've played one game of ransom. This is fun but I have some comments/suggestions. 1. Letters are sometimes barely shuffled 2. Sometimes same clue with different redacted words…
EvgeniyZh on HN
Questions
How was the game built and how does it pick articles?
From 1 comment
What a wonderful game. Great animations and simple interactions. Could you share something about how you've built this @jasonsmiles? I'm guessing it scrapes Wikipedia for a topic…
marapuru on HN
What is the goal of each game mode?
From 2 comments
Design is super cool. Still dont understand what the goal is, at least for the map i was guessing the location every single time because most of the pictures are of the location.…
khernandezrt on HNCool game, but when I was doing the map game it gave me the same article about 5 times. It's also not clear if there's a goal in each game. So far as I can tell it goes on…
chrysoprace on HN
Alternatives named
Metazooa
From 1 comment
This is beautifully designed and engaging and potentially a fun way to learn things! Amazing work. Some things you could add to make it stickier: 1. Have a natural end where you…
alex-moon on HN
Wordle and other NYT games
From 1 comment
This is beautifully designed and engaging and potentially a fun way to learn things! Amazing work. Some things you could add to make it stickier: 1. Have a natural end where you…
alex-moon on HN