Common questions

How do clues work?

A clue always belongs to the cell where it appears.

The shape icon limits the rectangle family. The number is area, not side length.

When does the daily reset?

The daily puzzle resets for everyone at 00:00 UTC.

That keeps a single global puzzle and a stable shareable URL for the day.

Why sign in?

Sign-in turns daily play into a persistent profile. Your streak, badge history, premium access, and server-backed stats stay attached to your account instead of only to one browser.

Anonymous play is still available, but identity-driven features work best when you use the same Google account each time.

What are badges and shields?

Badges are permanent milestone rewards tied to streak length. Each milestone is one badge slot on your account, not a separate streak track.

Shields are a Gold-only protection layer. Gold starts with a one-time starter shield, then earns another shield every 7th consecutive daily clear, up to two banked shields total.

Each missed day spends 1 shield automatically. If you miss a day with no shield available, the run resets.

How do badge tiers and prestige work?

Badge milestones unlock at 3, 7, 14, 30, 60, and 100 consecutive daily completions.

There is only one active run at a time: your current streak. Prestige is the finish stamped onto a badge: Easy, Medium, Hard, or Extreme.

Each milestone keeps one permanent badge on your shelf. If that badge ever earns a stronger prestige later, the same badge upgrades instead of creating a second copy.

The rule is simple: a badge unlocks when you first hit its day mark, and it can still upgrade while that part of the run is still open. Most badges stay open until the next milestone. Atlas Crown at 100 days stays open for the rest of that unbroken run.

Example 1: days 1 and 2 on Easy, day 3 on Extreme. Spark Patch unlocks with Extreme prestige.

Example 2: Spark Patch unlocks on day 3 with Medium prestige. If the same streak reaches Extreme before day 7, Spark Patch upgrades to Extreme automatically.

Example 3: if you reach day 100 on Easy, Atlas Crown can still upgrade later in that same unbroken streak because there is no later milestone to lock it.

If a streak breaks, that run and its open upgrade windows are over. Your badges stay on the shelf and their best prestige does not go down.

A future run can still improve the same badge later. Example: if Spark Patch is sitting at Medium and your streak breaks, a new run can still upgrade Spark Patch to Extreme if that new run reaches day 3 with a stronger peak tier.

Only standard daily completions advance streak badges. Random boards and blindfolded runs do not move the daily streak forward.

What happens if I miss a day?

Shortly after the UTC day rolls over, the backend reconciles every active streak. You do not need to play a board just to make shield usage or a reset show up.

Each missed day spends 1 shield automatically if you have one. Example: a 7-day run with 1 shield that misses one day is still a 7-day run when you come back, with the shield already spent. Your next standard daily clear moves that run to 8.

If you keep missing days after your shields are gone, the active run breaks during that overnight reconciliation. Example: a 7-day run with 1 shield that misses two days comes back already reset, because the first missed day spent the shield and the second missed day had no shield left.

If my streak breaks, what do I actually lose?

You lose the active run, not your collection. Current streak progress resets, and the new run starts building from 1 the next time you clear a standard daily board.

Your unlocked badges stay on the shelf, their best prestige does not downgrade, and your longest streak record still stays recorded.

If you missed an upgrade window on the broken run, that specific window is gone. But the next run can still improve the same badge later by reaching that milestone again with a stronger tier.

Can Gold restore a streak I lost today?

If a free run broke today, upgrading to Gold before that same UTC day ends can restore the lost run when eligible. The recovery is only available on the UTC day of the reset.

Concrete example: if you carried an 8-day run, missed too many days, and today's clear restarted you at 1, same-day Gold can bring that run back to 8 by spending the one-time starter shield on the restore. It does not create a second badge line or erase your badge history.

What does Gold include?

Gold is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. It unlocks the full archive, unlimited random boards, shield protection, and the same-day streak-restore path when a free user lost a non-zero run today.

Shield protection means one starter shield when Gold first activates, then another shield every 7th consecutive daily clear up to two banked total. Each missed day spends 1 shield, and if none are left, the streak breaks.

Gold is tied to the Google account used for purchase and sign-in.

How do refunds work?

Refunds are handled manually by email rather than with a self-serve form. For billing, refunds, or access problems, contact [email protected].

Brazilian consumers can contact [email protected] to exercise applicable online withdrawal rights, including the 7-day right of regret where it applies. We also review duplicate charges, fraud, mistaken purchases before meaningful use, and serious technical access failures.

EU and EEA customers can contact [email protected] about statutory digital-content rights questions. United States customers should review the policy shown at checkout, in the Terms, and in this FAQ, and can still email [email protected] about billing mistakes or access failures.

What happens if I delete my account?

Account deletion permanently removes your profile-linked progress and ends premium access tied to that account.

If you think you need billing help first, contact [email protected] before deleting the account.