📝 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.

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