📝 the blog

Notes from the corner.

Mostly about why playing games with people you like is harder than it should be, and what we did about it.

How to win a word battle: what 260 real fights show

We counted 260 real word fights on a shared 4×4 grid. More words beat longer words, most rounds end on the clock, and four letters is the sweet spot.

2 November 2026 · 6 min read

How well do you know me? Best friend quiz questions that work

Pure guessing gets 1 or 2 of 5 right. What a real score looks like, why yes-or-no questions make the quiz too easy, and 14 questions to start with.

24 October 2026 · 6 min read

Long-distance game night: when to play across time zones

In 61% of real games between players 5+ hours apart, one was up between 11 pm and 7 am. Every gap has a window that costs nobody sleep. Here's yours.

24 October 2026 · 6 min read

Competitive games for couples: who really wins?

We looked at 78 regular rivalries. The stronger player won a median 61% of games, and in six pairs in ten the lead changed hands. How to keep it fun.

24 October 2026 · 6 min read

1v1 games with friends: what 3,198 real games tell us

We counted 3,198 real 1v1 games between friends. Three sittings in four go past one game, but only one pair in five comes back another day. Here's why.

24 October 2026 · 6 min read

Anagram tips: how to find more words in seven letters

An average seven-letter rack hides 89 words. We listed every word in 405 racks to show where the points are, and how to find them in 60 seconds.

21 October 2026 · 6 min read

How to win at mancala: the opening, free turns and captures

Mancala looks like luck but is almost pure counting. Simulated games show the opening that wins, the one that loses, and why free turns come first.

21 October 2026 · 6 min read

Does going first give you an advantage? What 579 real games say

We counted 579 real two-player games across five games. Going first won 50.3% overall, but four in a row shows an edge, and skill makes it far bigger.

21 October 2026 · 6 min read

Party games for exactly two people: what works when there's no crowd

Bluffing, voting and charades all need a room. For two, the pressure has to come from the rules: a fuse, a hidden minefield, sudden death — and rounds under a minute.

16 October 2026 · 6 min read

How to find words faster in a word search race

Reading a word search line by line is the slowest method there is. Anchor on rare letters, follow crossings, and in a race take the obvious words first.

9 October 2026 · 5 min read

The best starting word for a five-letter word game, by the numbers

We tested all 6,422 five-letter words as openers against 893 common answers. ORATE, IRATE and ARISE lead; ADIEU is twice as bad.

9 October 2026 · 5 min read

Sea battle strategy: where to fire first, and why probability beats luck

We simulated 20,000 hidden-ship games. Random firing costs 48 misses; five habits cut it to 14. Where to fire first, and why the corners are cold.

9 October 2026 · 6 min read

How to solve a queens puzzle without guessing

One queen per row, column and colour, none touching. Mark crosses, not queens, and four techniques solve any fair grid with no guessing.

30 September 2026 · 6 min read

How to win at dots and boxes: give boxes away to take the rest

Never draw the third side, open the smallest chain, and take all but two of every long chain. The strategy that wins dots and boxes, on one page.

30 September 2026 · 6 min read

How to solve Sudoku without guessing: the three techniques that cover almost every grid

Every Sudoku falls to logic alone. Pencil in candidates, then run three techniques in order — only candidate, only place, lock a line. No guessing.

15 September 2026 · 6 min read

Which puzzles work as two-player games, and which fall apart

Any puzzle can be raced. Only some can be shared, and few become a real duel. Three tests tell you which shape a puzzle wants — and which fail all three.

12 September 2026 · 6 min read

Why you lose at word games, and why it isn't your vocabulary

People who win word games don't know more words. They search differently — and search is a habit you can change in an afternoon.

8 August 2026 · 6 min read

How to win at four in a row (it's a solved game, and that helps you)

The first player wins with perfect play, and it starts in the centre column. Here's why, plus the double-threat pattern that actually ends games.

8 August 2026 · 6 min read

How to solve a cryptic crossword clue, starting from zero

Every cryptic clue is two clues welded together. Once you can find the seam between them, the whole thing stops being intimidating and starts being solvable.

8 August 2026 · 9 min read

Games to play with a long-distance partner that outlast week two

Video calls run out of things to say. A game you're both mid-way through gives you a reason to message that isn't 'how was your day'.

8 August 2026 · 7 min read

Elo vs Glicko-2: why your rating jumps around at first, then settles

Elo knows how good it thinks you are. Glicko-2 also knows how sure it is — and that second number is why modern rating systems feel fair when Elo doesn't.

16 July 2026 · 7 min read

Can you play Sudoku with a friend? Yes — two ways, and they're very different

Racing two copies of a grid and sharing one grid are opposite experiences. One is a competition, one is a conversation. Here's how co-op Sudoku actually works.

16 July 2026 · 5 min read

Games to play with a friend who's never online when you are

Live multiplayer needs two free people at the same moment — which is why most games-with-friends die by week two. The fix is turn-based play that waits.

16 July 2026 · 6 min read