The NYT Connections game requires an account and an internet connection. I wanted a version I could play offline on my phone, built with puzzles I actually curated myself. This is that version, deployed as a sideloaded APK.
The Problem
Word grouping games (Connections, Semantle) are good. The ad friction, account requirements, and internet dependency are not. There’s no ad-free, offline-capable version with puzzles you trust because you wrote them yourself.
What It Is
A 4x4 semantic grouping game with 40+ static curated puzzles. One daily puzzle resets at midnight. Free play mode available for all puzzles in the vault. Deployed as a local Android APK via Capacitor. No Play Store, no account, no tracking.
The premium dark aesthetic uses glassmorphism and Framer Motion animations. This one is my “am I actually a designer?” test. The mechanic is simple enough that the entire quality of the game lives in how it looks and how the puzzles are written. Nowhere to hide.
Features
- 4x4 grid with 4 semantic categories to find
- 40+ static puzzle vault, hand-curated
- Daily mode with streak persistence
- Error counter tracks wrong guesses per session
- Shake animation on error, pop animation on correct group
- Offline-capable, no server dependency
Stack
| Tool | Role |
|---|---|
| React + TypeScript | Game UI and state |
| Tailwind | Styling with glassmorphism |
| Framer Motion | Animations |
| Capacitor | Android APK wrapper |
| localStorage | Streak and progress persistence |