Untangle: One Knot at a Time

Untangle is a quiet rope puzzle. Every rope is tied into two holes on a board, and the ropes cross each other. Move one end into an empty hole, then another, until no two ropes cross. That is the whole rule. There is nothing else to learn, no timer counting down, and no way to lose. WHAT IS TANGLED The path opens with one question: what is tangled right now. Work, the people around me, money, my body, myself. Choosing one shapes the boards and the lines that follow for the next stretch, then another area can be chosen when that one is done. Nothing is locked in for good. HOW IT PLAYS Take hold of a rope end and drag it to an empty hole. A rope that is moved is lifted over the others and laid down on top, so the order things are moved in is the puzzle. The board says how many crossings are left, and every crossing is marked, so the goal is always visible rather than something to work out. Boards start with three ropes and nine holes. Ropes are added slowly: the fourth arrives at level thirteen, and the eighth well past level a hundred. Meeting a new rope should be an occasion, so it is not made into a routine. THE LONG BOARDS Every twenty fifth level from fifty onward is a different animal: a dozen ropes to start, growing a little more each time one comes round, on the way to a hundred ropes across more than two hundred holes. Too big to hold in the head at once, and meant to be taken a section at a time over a sitting rather than a bus stop. Pinch to zoom in on a corner and work there. EVERY BOARD CAN BE SOLVED Each board is built in its solved state first and only then scrambled, so a solution is known to exist before the board is ever handed over. A hint will point at one rope and one hole when the board stops making sense. Par is the fewest moves the board can actually be cleared in, worked out by searching, not estimated. Clearing a board earns a card marked clean, under par, or both, and every card carries one short line that only appears because of how that particular board went, not a generic line handed to everyone. TODAY'S KNOT One board a day, the same for every player, sitting outside the path entirely. It never touches the path's own levels or progress. Clear it and there is a small tile to keep or share: a day number and a row of marks against par, never a raw score. QUIET BY DESIGN No advertisements. No account. No sign in. Settings has one optional reminder, off unless turned on, for today's knot; nothing else ever asks. The release build ships without permission to use the internet at all, so nothing can be sent anywhere even by accident. Progress, points and the streak are kept on the phone and nowhere else. Uninstalling takes them with it. The streak rests for a day before it resets, so missing one day does not erase it. Sound is a pentatonic scale, so no two notes can clash and nothing a player does can sound like a mistake. The note rises as the board comes clear, so solving a board composes a phrase. It can be played in silence and lose nothing. A CARD FOR EACH BOARD Clearing a board earns a card. The cards collect in a deck that is never taken away and never expires.