Syllabits becomes multi-platform

Syllabits is now multi-platform and free to play in itch.io 😃

What’s new

Syllabits was originally released in 2019 for iOS only. At the time, it was featured by Apple under “New games we like”. Because I made the game natively for iOS, using Apple’s SpriteKit, it was difficult to port to other platforms.

Last year I remade the game entirely in Godot, and released it for Android. The main reason to stick to Android and iOS only was the leaderboards. I think being able to see your friends score adds some spice to the game.

But it was about time to release it for other platforms. It is now available on macOS (the iOS version is also playable on Macs with ARM CPUs), Windows, and the browser (if your browser supports WebGL). Unfortunately, I had to get rid of the Leaderboards on those platforms because I couldn’t find any alternative to Google Play (Android) or Game Center (iOS).

History

Syllabits is based on a Japanese game called Mojipittan (もじぴったん). Japanese has a writing system called “hiragana” where every symbol is basically a syllable. Because there aren’t many sounds in Japanese, it’s easy to combine any two symbols and form a word. The game lets you put a piece on the board only if you make a new word with it. That’s the main rule.

I had to take some liberties in English because if I split words in proper syllables, it would be too hard to apply that placing rule. So I split them in blocks of 1, 2, or 3 letters, which I call “syllabits”. For instance, if there is a block in the stage with NG, you can place SI up or left to it for form the word SING. But you could also place RI to make RING.

If you want to know more about the history of Syllabits, check this video: Syllabits: History & Introduction

Wordle boom

Last year was the boom of Wordle. I thought it would be fun to combine Wordle with Syllabits, and that’s what I did.

So Syllabits now has a Daily Riddle mode where you have to guess the daily word. In this mode, you can place a syllabit anywhere, even if it doesn’t form a word. But to complete a row, it needs to be a valid word.

It is more challenging that Wordle because the options are limited. I give you a selection of syllabits or pieces, and you have to use those to form words. Also, unlike Wordle, you don’t have to try to guess it right in the fewest attempts, because finding new words is fun 😃 So I motivate you to find as many words as you can by giving you a higher score the more words you find.

But you can’t risk too much, because after 6 attempts the game ends and if you didn’t find the word, the game ends. So you have to think a bit more strategically than in Wordle.

Here are more details: Syllabits: Daily Riddle

The Desktop and browser versions of Syllabits include a Practice Mode where you can play the word-guessing game as many times as you like. It includes a 6-block word challenge that it’s not included in the daily riddles (words range from 3 to 5 blocks in the daily riddle).

Have fun!