Cluno

Cluno fits on a single page and revolves around one question, posed exactly as the game puts it: how many Clunos do you need? The word of the day is always a physical object, the first clue is displayed beneath the date, a response field sits just below, and a badge shows the points still at stake. Each mistake adds a Cluno and chips away at that total. Nothing else appears on the screen, except a trophies icon, a statistics icon and a moon icon.

1. Read the CLUNO 1 displayed under today's date.
2. Type an answer in the "Enter your guess" field and submit with the arrow.
3. If wrong, an additional Cluno is added and the points counter decreases accordingly.
4. Continue until the correct word, the goal being to consume as few as possible.

Cluno is a guessing game stripped to the bone: a sentence, a field, a points counter that ticks down. This paring makes the decision very clear, since there is no way to buy a hint other than being wrong, and the final score doesn't say whether you found it but rather how economically you did so. The rule that the word is always a physical object is a clear help to the player and a real headache for the author, who must describe an ordinary object in a sentence that never names it.

The only feedback is arithmetic: the points badge shown at the top of the page. It is not a success score but an economy score, since the rules specify that each additional Cluno costs points.

Core play

A single daily puzzle: the day's Cluno (always a physical object), is shown with the first clue beneath the date, a response field to enter a guess, and a points badge indicating the points still at stake. Submitting a wrong answer adds another Cluno and reduces the points; the player continues submitting guesses until the correct word is found. There are no alternate gameplay modes, hint buttons, or purchasing options (the screen otherwise only shows icons for trophies, statistics and a theme toggle), and the daily puzzle is playable without signing in.

• The constraint announced by the game, a physical object, immediately rules out concepts, verbs and feelings. That's already half the sorting work.
• There is no hint button: the only way to get the next Cluno is to be wrong. A blind guess is therefore never neutral.