Show HN: A difficult game to test your logic

(rvlabs.ca)

109 points | by CodeCrusader 7 days ago

26 comments

  • vunderba 3 days ago
    Nice implementation. I've seen this puzzle before, does anyone know if it actually has an official name? Kind of reminds me of a variation on the tower of Hanoi.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Hanoi

    • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
      Thanks! I’m not sure if there’s an official name for it — I originally saw the game a decade ago at my university and just recently decided to build my own take on it. It definitely has some Tower of Hanoi vibes. Let me know if you find an official name for it!
  • kazinator 3 days ago
    Not being able to repeat a successfully solved level sucks.

    It would benefit from that model that is popular nowadays whereby higher levels are unlocked by solving lower levels, and you can choose to play any unlocked level whatsoever.

    • nvader 3 days ago
      At first I thought you meant roguelite, but that isn't it.

      But now I think a roguelite version of this game could be quite addicting.

  • AndrewStephens 3 days ago
    Very cool implementation of a classic puzzle (with a surprise on the last level that I haven't seen before.)

    Years ago I wrote some example Python to solve the same puzzle in another game (with spoilers for level 3):

    https://sheep.horse/2011/11/jumping_frogs_-_using_python_to_...

    • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
      Glad you liked it! That last level twist was a fun addition — I wanted to keep things interesting. Your Python solver looks awesome, I’ll definitely check it out. Always cool to see different approaches to the same puzzle!
  • fractallyte 3 days ago
    In some UK schools, this was the basis for a mathematics investigation for 11 year olds. Do the task for various numbers of frogs, records the results, and try to find a rule - then make a prediction for a certain number, and test it!

    A great introduction to the Scientific Method, and a fun activity too.

    Here's an example: https://spiremaths.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Frogs.pdf

    • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
      Oh that's cool - I had no idea it was used in UK schools, thanks for sharing this!
  • gortok 3 days ago
    As someone who is colorblind (Deuteranopia), the first level asks to swap the green and brown frog. With the hues used, I can’t tell the difference between the two frogs.
    • Jtsummers 3 days ago
      The frogs only move in the direction they face. Move them so that all the frogs facing right are on the right, and facing left are on the left.
      • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
        Good call! The facing direction was meant to help, but I can see how the colors could still be tricky. I’ll look into making it clearer — appreciate the feedback!
  • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
    Hey everyone, I’m the author—really appreciate all the feedback here. If you want to follow along with what I’m working on, I’m over on Twitter: https://x.com/rv_labs. Thanks again!
    • 0cf8612b2e1e 3 days ago
      Well, I burst out laughing when I jumped on the transformer lily pad. I assumed there was a trick, but not that.

      Quite cute diversion.

  • stanac 3 days ago
    Really fun. Third level was harder than fourth.
    • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
      Ha, you're not the first to say that about level 3! I think I accidentally made the difficulty curve a bit wonky there. Glad you had fun with it!
      • thaumasiotes 3 days ago
        I'm curious about the difficulty curve. As long as the puzzles take the form "group of left-facing frogs - empty pad - group of right-facing frogs", they'll all have exactly the same solution. If you can do level 2, you can do level 2222 without needing to come up with any new ideas.

        This kind of blocks the notion of a "difficulty curve" - it's just a flat line.

        Level 4 is different, but I'm guessing the reason people say it's easier is that the frogs on the left never need to interact in any way with the frogs on the right. You can just march your left-frogs onto the transformer, see them turn around, and march them back to their ultimate destination, then repeat the process on the right.

        I don't think there's any solution that would allow a frog to jump over the transformer, so you're essentially required to do this - all frogs must make their way to the transformer, transform, and go back home - although you can make it look more or less complex. This essentially gives you two copies of the "level 3 and below" puzzle, one on the left of the transformer and the other on the right.

  • jcjmcclean 3 days ago
    Really enjoyed that! I was surprised by how fun it was considering how simple it seems. Definitely would love it to last longer.
    • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
      Thanks! Might play with more levels if people keep enjoying it.
  • KPGv2 3 days ago
    Really fun game. I was happy when I thought I screwed up the final level only to realize my screwup was the solution.
  • owjofwjeofm 1 day ago
    I would like being able to press z to undo a move
  • lozzo 3 days ago
    I am so pleased I stumbled on this little game by chance. Really lovely. Well done. Keep it up
    • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
      Thanks! Really made my day to hear you found it by chance and enjoyed it.
  • necovek 3 days ago
    On the last level, getting all the frogs converted to one colour and lined up on one side did not recognize the level as complete.

    Did I mess the direction or is this by design or is it an omission?

  • fl1pper 3 days ago
    Liked it. Especially level 4 with frog mutation ;) Definitely bookmarking it. Will there be any updates to add new levels?
  • camcil 3 days ago
    Claude Sonnet 3.7 has a hell of a time with this.
    • Jtsummers 3 days ago
      How so? This is an old puzzle with lots of versions online, I'm surprised it'd be struggling with it (except for the twist that I'll leave out for one of the levels).
      • parliament32 3 days ago
        Why does it surprise you that a text generator isn't competent at spatial reasoning?
        • Jtsummers 3 days ago
          It depends on how it's explained. The puzzle, depending on phrasing, is not too dissimilar from other movement puzzles like river crossing puzzles. What I'm curious about is how it was explained to the LLM and how an answer was expected in response. You can probably even find text descriptions of solutions online so if you use the right keywords it would likely give a correct solution even if your puzzle description was wonky.
    • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
      Hah! Makes me feel better about struggling with level 3.
  • Sontho 2 days ago
    Loved it, it's so simple and difficult at the same time. Good job.
  • Y_Y 3 days ago
    Fun, but only lasts about two minutes. Could be interesting in 2d or with some other gimmicks added.
    • freehorse 3 days ago
      I think it lasting 2 minutes is actually an asset. Even though a 2d version etc would be quite interesting, it is great to try such little nice things and then move on to one's day, not everything in the internet has to take that long. And unless one wants to show ads or sth, there is no incentive to actually make it longer anyway.
    • sse 3 days ago
      In 2D, it would become sokoban, wouldn't it?
      • thaumasiotes 3 days ago
        No? Sokoban involves a single agent pushing blocks around a grid. No block can ever move without being pushed, and nothing can ever cross anything else.

        In this puzzle, the only way for anything to move is independently, and everything is free to cross anything else.

    • singleshot_ 3 days ago
      If this was two dimensional, it would be the game Hi-Q, more or less.
      • thaumasiotes 3 days ago
        Solitaire removes the pegs that are jumped over. If this was two-dimensional, it would be Chinese Checkers.
  • dez11de 3 days ago
    Stuck on level 8. Any pointers?
    • themjt 3 days ago
      You had me for a second there lol
  • H3X_K1TT3N 3 days ago
    I clicked the frogs, but nothing happened. Am I doing it wrong or is it broken?
    • H3X_K1TT3N 3 days ago
      wait, I reopened the link in a new tab and it's suddenly working; not sure what's up with that.
      • H3X_K1TT3N 3 days ago
        welp, that was short, but neat
        • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
          Short and sweet was the goal. Cheers for giving it a go.
  • Fredkin 3 days ago
    I get SSL_ERROR_RX_RECORD_TOO_LONG when trying to visit this site.
  • johnthescott 3 days ago
    cool. an interactive version of the knights and knaves book by ray Smullyan would be cool, as well. nice work.
  • dgellow 3 days ago
    That was a very cute puzzle, well done
    • CodeCrusader 3 days ago
      Glad you found it cute. Was aiming for that mix of simple looks but tricky solution.
  • thenthenthen 3 days ago
    I possess no logic
  • kater006 3 days ago
    Moar
  • frostirosti 3 days ago
    paging 2000s Bethesda puzzles
  • hopelake2015 3 days ago
    [dead]
  • gus_massa 6 days ago
    I don't see any frog.
    • CodeCrusader 6 days ago
      My bad, I messed up with WebP images optimization, should be working now, thanks for letting me know!
      • gus_massa 6 days ago
        It's fixed now. Nice twist at the 4th level.