Solves and Shares
Hey folks. We're about to hit 500 solves on Crossee. Still small, still 15 a day on average, but let's go 100!
For the past month or so, I have been improving the backend and the UI/UX, and enriching the wordlists. Now I think we are at a place where Crossee can go out to a wider audience, while I focus on keeping the core app stable and the daily grid coming.
One vehicle for Crossee to travel is the share card. In an ideal world, I would love for it to blow up like Wordle's shares did - but that was a different app in a different time, so no point harbouring delusions I guess :D.
However what I can still do is have some fun with the share card. When I was designing it, I had a rough idea of what I wanted - it needed to have the solve time, and it needed to look good. Pretty simple actually. But when I got down to making it, I figured it was too sparse to be shareable. So after a few iterations, it is what you see today.
Here's a quick overview of all the data on the card - the card anatomy in board-gamer parlance:
- The solve time and the date.
- The first and last words completed - shown by the steaming and empty cups, respectively.
- The fastest and slowest clue - shown by the bolt and the turtle.
- The device - we have solvers on laptops and phones. The card shows what the solve was on.
- The check symbols - Grid checkmarks on each individual letter or word that was checked; the checkmark in a circle under the grid with a count of how many times it was used, for the full grid check.
- The colour-coded grid - this is the part that started off as an attempt to make the grid look good, and I figured that the best path to it is to just use solve data. Here's how it works:
- During each solve, several datapoints are logged - right from when the clock starts ticking to when you land your last answer that solves the grid. This includes the sequence of your solve, time spent on each word, did you tap on the word or did the grid bring you there and so on. There are allowances for time needed to read a clue, and others that make sure the numbers don't get skewed because of how we behave as humans.
- Checks, whether full grid, word or letter, are also logged.
- At the end of the solve, each square is timed based on the slowest word through that square.
- Finally, we do the colour mapping, which is essentially a coffee-coloured heat map. The answers you typed instantly get the lightest gold color, while the one you thought about longest sets the dark end. All others are relative to that. The bolt and turtle sit separately - white paper and dark espresso respectively.
The slowest words are the darkest - a reminder to get your shot of strong coffee. Or whichever your favourite beverage is, the colour analogy should still hold. ;)
I am quite kicked seeing so many of you enjoying the puzzles. If you know someone who will enjoy Crossee, bring them over. If you have any suggestions or feedback, drop a note or join the conversation on the WhatsApp group.
Sharing the links for both below.
See you there, and happy solving!
Email: crossee@peaberry.in WhatsApp: Join
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