You’ve got ~170k possible words and a pure higher/lower signal, so with perfect play it’s just binary search. Number the words 1 to 170k, guess the middle, then keep halving the range. In binary terms, each guess is basically telling you whether the next bit is 0 or 1.
Since log₂(170,000) ≈ 17.4, you need at most 18 guesses. On average it’s a bit less: about half the words take 18 guesses, a quarter take 17, an eighth take 16, etc. So the expected number of guesses works out to 17.
All of that assumes you know the exact ordering of the dictionary, of course. Once you don’t, it stops being optimal and starts being human. That’s where the difficulty actually comes from.
As a crossword lover, I’ve toyed with the idea of making a digital-first word game that combines clues to find hidden answers with linked letters.
This take allows for other features not present in traditional crosswords to be introduced, for example, different levels of difficulty (i.e. more letters paired = easier and viceversa) or having more flexibility when it comes to clue-making.
I have a (malfunctioning) beep but it doesn't work on mobile right now, I have to look into it. If you tried on desktop and it didn't work for you could you share what browser you used?
Thanks for letting me know (and so happy that you'll be back)! I'll do more responsiveness fixes tomorrow as I based my media queries based on responsive testing in the chrome console and it definitely needs some work
Thanks! I had a couple of things implemented to avoid this but they haven't worked in mobile (in desktop it behaves as expected AFAIK, not turning off the screen while in the routine). Do you mind sharing your OS and browser?