A small original game on one page, made for a friend, a class or a team to play from a link.
The games that get played from a link are small: one rule, half a minute a go, and a reason to try again. One Crooked Kite is that size. Every kite on the board flies at the same tilt except one, and you find it ten times against the clock. Play it, then borrow its shape for an idea of your own.
Who it's for
Anyone who wants to give a group five minutes of fun: a friend on their birthday, a class that has earned a break, a team on a slow Friday. You make it in a Claude conversation, send the link, and people play on whatever they're holding.
A page keeps score only on the screen it's open on. So it's the wrong tool for accounts, a shared leaderboard or two players on different phones. If your idea is somebody's famous game with new colors, pick another. The name and the look belong to them.
What a good one contains
- One rule you can say in a sentence. "Find the kite that's tilted differently." If the rules need a second paragraph, the game is too big for a group chat.
- A start that is part of the game. The sample opens on a warm-up board, and the first correct tap starts the clock.
- Rounds that tighten. Nine kites and a 90-degree tilt to begin, 25 kites and 10 degrees by round ten. Round one teaches. Round ten costs you time.
- A price for guessing. A wrong tap adds three seconds. Without that, the fastest way to play is to hit every tile.
- A clear end. After round ten the board gives way to one big number, your time, with the misses counted and a Play again button.
- A reason for a second go. Your best time stays on screen. So does the sender's: Wes did it in 24.6 seconds.
- Touch and keyboard. Twenty-five tiles fit a phone screen, each big enough for a thumb. On a laptop, arrow keys and Enter work.
Tune it by playing
A first version is always too easy or too hard, and only playing tells you which. Run it ten times. If you never miss, shrink the tilt or add a round. If round seven feels unfair, ease it. Then say what you felt in the conversation: the last three rounds are too alike, make round ten nastier.
Put your own time on the page last. A real person's score to beat does more than a leaderboard would. Times live on each player's screen and vanish on reload, so the bragging happens in the chat, by screenshot.
How to send it
As an open link. A game is meant to be passed on, and this one holds nothing private. Whoever the link reaches can start playing straight away.
Every page you publish gets one link that opens in any browser. You choose who can open it: anyone with the link, anyone with the password, or only the people and company domains you name, who sign in with Google or Microsoft. Change the page later and the link stays the same.
