I have finished the demo and found it very fun and challenging! Some of the levels require quite a bit of thought, so it's very rewarding to figure them out. Excellently done!
I'm a big fan of Nikoli-style pencil logic puzzles and I think you've got a hit here. Slowly working my way up the difficulty ladder.
I'm interested to learn whether you can characterize the difficulty of a random level and generate endless levels. But for now I'm enjoying the design and curation.
Lovely gameplay, sweet difficulty curve so far. Puzzles are complex enough to test the brain but not to overstress it, which I'm finding a beautiful thing right now. Actual sense of accomplishment on working out the puzzles, which can sometimes be lacking in other games!
I love how I can play the game right in my browser window. The puzzles are so much fun to solve! The concept is so simple and elegant and walking through the more complex levels is so rewarding when the solution falls into place. Highly recommended and completely worth its low price.
This is a really fun puzzle game, I can imagine classmates playing it during lessons on their phone. Simple concept and very well-executed, every level is neither too simple nor too difficult!
Hey, thanks for the feedback! Sadly I won't be able to tackle this for a while due to lots of other work. But I will definitely consider implementing different input options in a future release.
Very fun! An option to be able to play it without mouse, or with less mouse, would be great. Having to drag the squares with my mouse made my wrist sore after a few levels. I thought perhaps you could move by the arrow keys, but that doesn't seem to currently be the case.
I pressed play and only now I realized that I have been playing your game for 1 hour genuinely enjoying it, I loved it!! Everything works nice! The sounds, the difficulty levels, the mechanics!
The puzzle is very interesting and the style looks really good, but I wish there was a way to disable the flashing that happens after you solve a puzzle. It is slightly nauseating for me.
Love the game! A hint button or online walk through would be nice for less skilled players, but definitely not a needed addition by any means. The only real critique that I have is that I wish there was a sound for each block as you dragged a line through, but it's only when you press, so the majority of the game is silent.
Hello there, glad you're having fun! That option is already available by default, it's just a little hidden away. Depending on your OS there are different ways to achieve this:
On Windows, press ALT + ENTER to toggle between fullscreen and windowed modes
On macOS, press CMD + F to toggle between fullscreen and windowed modes
On Linux, pass the argument "-show-screen-selector" to the command line to show the screen configuration dialog
Very interesting core mechanic, really simple, perfect little mobile game :)
On level design, I understand the care for being the most accessible possible by providing a succession of reaaaaaaly easy levels, but I felt like it was too much, and it can lead some players to be bored soon
First it was time to understand the mechanics, in level 3 I got it, a little more understanding about the use of numbers came only in level 12 (13rd is a good one too for this) but most of the levels inbetween are too similar and don't add anything more to the understanding of the game
So the challenge I met was only at level 24 ! And there I said to myself ("Oh, this game looks interesting") level 32 was a good one too !
I stop playing the demo for tonight, but I'm curious of playing the full game soon !
This is a neat game. Is there any chance the PC version will get more control options? I find it awkward and non-ergonomic to hold down the mouse button while trying to move precisely. If I could just click the mouse once, or use my keyboard, that would be amazing.
Your idea is interesting, but during my testing most people found it more intuitive to hold down the button. So I think I'll keep it as it is for now, but may change things if more folks ask for it. Have fun and stay safe!
I really enjoyed the demo on Kongregate so getting the full version was a no-brainer. Looking forward to playing all 500 (!) levels. Thanks for a neat and challenging puzzle game, hope you keep making more games like this. Merry Christmas! :)
Sure, you're very welcome to offer the web version of Cardinal Chains on your website. It would be perfect if you could leave a link to the mobile versions, but it's not strictly necessary. If you need anything else, you may contact me at info@danijmn.com
Super duper awesome game Daniel!! Just one small question, I was at level 183 when I had to reinstall my windows. I saved a copy of the game folder but I still have to start from level 1. Is there a way to get back to the level 183?
Saves are stored to a different folder, so just keeping a copy of the game's installation folder is no use. Luckily I can generate save files pretty easily, so just send me an email to support@danijmn.com and I'll reply with a savegame at level 183!
I loved the game! But the whole time I was wanting to be able to make marks like in other puzzle games. Like how in Sudoku you can mark a box with the numbers that can go in the square. You should let the user mark what colors they think can go in a box. Or mark what tiles they think are or aren't connected. Otherwise, cool game!
Hey! I just bought this game for windows because I loved the demo. However I have a small problem. The game does not seem to have any option to turn off fullscreen on the desktop version (unlike in the browser version). This makes it a bit difficult to use because I rely on my main monitor for a lot of other stuff and moving all of that is a bit of a hassle. Is this something that could be fixed. Thank you. <3
Also sorry for using the comments as some kind of bug-report forum lol
I bought the game on android the other day and I've been having a lot of fun solving the puzzles in it. I've had one issue though - the automatic rotation is very quick to turn and ignores my device rotation lock setting, so I can't play it in bed because it turns on its side. Would this problem be simple enough to fix? Thanks again for the great game :)
Yes, in fact a fix is coming up within a couple of hours! Thanks for the support and have fun.
(BTW, I don't know if you noticed this but the puzzle is the same even if you turn the phone on its side, it's just the numbers that rotate. But yeah, it can easily get annoying if you move your phone a lot.)
Hi, just found about this game from Nerdcubed from his recommends video. And I have to say, this game is fantastic and annoying, I love it. After finishing the Demo levels I just had to get more. So I decided to purchase it and also give just that bit extra. Because I felt like this game was worth it :) Great job making this and I hope you will add even more levels at some point, even though I am not done with them :"D
Extremely fun, I managed to complete the Demo puzzle 100 had me stumped for a good 5 mins but whenever i try to buy the full game is says the is an error in the request
As for the error, it definitely should not be happening. So far it has been working fine for me and lots of other people. It could either be a problem on your end or with itch.io itself, as I have no control whatsoever over the purchasing process. Try to see if it happens with others games (don't worry, you won't actually purchase them unless you go through several confirmation dialogs). If it works fine, come back to this page, hit CTRL+F5 for a full refresh, then try to buy again. If it still doesn't work, you could also try a different browser.
That's right, the puzzles were all handcrafted. The only automatic part of the process is a tool I made to compute the solutions, so I can just make/edit a puzzle and immediately check how many solutions it has. All puzzles have exactly one solution, except for two specific puzzles which were intentionally designed to have multiple solutions (puzzles 145 and 383).
All in all it took me about 6 weeks to make all puzzles. Making a puzzle can take anything from 10 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size, number of holes, etc. On average, it takes about 25 minutes per puzzle. They were also tested multiple times (in different days) to verify that the difficulty conforms to my intentions and that the tricky spots remain tricky long after I forget the puzzle.
Great job, very fun game :) Could you put the caveat about #145 and #383 having multiple solutions in the game description? The fact that a level has a single solution can often be used as part of the reasoning for how to solve a level, so it would be good to know beforehand that some levels have multiple solutions.
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Very well done!
I have finished the demo and found it very fun and challenging! Some of the levels require quite a bit of thought, so it's very rewarding to figure them out. Excellently done!
Neat game!
For the mac version on Catalina, I had to do the chmod +x trick (https://superuser.com/questions/898124/the-application-someapp-app-can-t-be-open...).
Very fun, have played through around 50 levels and I am really enjoying it so far!
I'm a big fan of Nikoli-style pencil logic puzzles and I think you've got a hit here. Slowly working my way up the difficulty ladder.
I'm interested to learn whether you can characterize the difficulty of a random level and generate endless levels. But for now I'm enjoying the design and curation.
Thanks for the game.
Lovely gameplay, sweet difficulty curve so far. Puzzles are complex enough to test the brain but not to overstress it, which I'm finding a beautiful thing right now. Actual sense of accomplishment on working out the puzzles, which can sometimes be lacking in other games!
I love how I can play the game right in my browser window. The puzzles are so much fun to solve! The concept is so simple and elegant and walking through the more complex levels is so rewarding when the solution falls into place. Highly recommended and completely worth its low price.
neat game! love how it looks simple/minimalist, but has great puzzles!
This game is a ton of fun! I'm a huge fan of this type of puzzle game. Thank you for building a lot of fun levels. :)
This is so nice, exactly what I want from a puzzle game.
This is a really fun puzzle game, I can imagine classmates playing it during lessons on their phone. Simple concept and very well-executed, every level is neither too simple nor too difficult!
Fun! I am having the same issue with it starting to hurt my wrist after about 30 levels, as mentioned below.
Hey, thanks for the feedback! Sadly I won't be able to tackle this for a while due to lots of other work. But I will definitely consider implementing different input options in a future release.
Very fun! An option to be able to play it without mouse, or with less mouse, would be great. Having to drag the squares with my mouse made my wrist sore after a few levels. I thought perhaps you could move by the arrow keys, but that doesn't seem to currently be the case.
This is a super nifty puzzle game! Well done!!!
can't stop playing.
great concept, great execution!!
I pressed play and only now I realized that I have been playing your game for 1 hour genuinely enjoying it, I loved it!! Everything works nice! The sounds, the difficulty levels, the mechanics!
Really neat!
The puzzle is very interesting and the style looks really good, but I wish there was a way to disable the flashing that happens after you solve a puzzle. It is slightly nauseating for me.
Awesome puzzle. Rushed through a few dozen, but then 39 made me think.
Love the game! A hint button or online walk through would be nice for less skilled players, but definitely not a needed addition by any means. The only real critique that I have is that I wish there was a sound for each block as you dragged a line through, but it's only when you press, so the majority of the game is silent.
A suggustion would be to add an option to not have it in full screen. Love the game
Hello there, glad you're having fun! That option is already available by default, it's just a little hidden away. Depending on your OS there are different ways to achieve this:
Have a good time and stay safe!
I can't believe I've never saw this, you need to post it on reddit, send it to games reviews websites ....
well, im stuck at level 70 (for now!!!) but i just wanted to say that this is amazing, so smart, so simple and nice :)))
Very nice puzzle game, love how simple yet hard it is.
Haha, finally I played 10 more levels before quitting
Levels get more interesting, and the 43rd was amazing !
Very interesting core mechanic, really simple, perfect little mobile game :)
On level design, I understand the care for being the most accessible possible by providing a succession of reaaaaaaly easy levels, but I felt like it was too much, and it can lead some players to be bored soon
First it was time to understand the mechanics, in level 3 I got it, a little more understanding about the use of numbers came only in level 12 (13rd is a good one too for this) but most of the levels inbetween are too similar and don't add anything more to the understanding of the game
So the challenge I met was only at level 24 ! And there I said to myself ("Oh, this game looks interesting")
level 32 was a good one too !
I stop playing the demo for tonight, but I'm curious of playing the full game soon !
This is a neat game. Is there any chance the PC version will get more control options? I find it awkward and non-ergonomic to hold down the mouse button while trying to move precisely. If I could just click the mouse once, or use my keyboard, that would be amazing.
Your idea is interesting, but during my testing most people found it more intuitive to hold down the button. So I think I'll keep it as it is for now, but may change things if more folks ask for it. Have fun and stay safe!
I really enjoyed the demo on Kongregate so getting the full version was a no-brainer. Looking forward to playing all 500 (!) levels. Thanks for a neat and challenging puzzle game, hope you keep making more games like this. Merry Christmas! :)
Ho ho ho, thanks a lot for the support! Hope you have a great time. Have a very happy 2020! ;)
Thanks, I wish you a great 2020 as well!
Hi!
Sure, you're very welcome to offer the web version of Cardinal Chains on your website. It would be perfect if you could leave a link to the mobile versions, but it's not strictly necessary. If you need anything else, you may contact me at info@danijmn.com
Cheers
Hi,
Although I already own the PC version, I wanted to pick it up for Android too but the link to the Google Play store is dead (at least in Australia).
Did the Android version get removed for some reason?
Hey,
Sorry about that! Please try again now, it should be fixed. Thanks a lot and have fun!
Super duper awesome game Daniel!! Just one small question, I was at level 183 when I had to reinstall my windows. I saved a copy of the game folder but I still have to start from level 1. Is there a way to get back to the level 183?
Saves are stored to a different folder, so just keeping a copy of the game's installation folder is no use. Luckily I can generate save files pretty easily, so just send me an email to support@danijmn.com and I'll reply with a savegame at level 183!
great game! Puzzles got really challenging, id love to see this come to mobile.
Graphically it is a bit uninteresting.
It is on mobile! Check the links above. Have fun!
I loved the game! But the whole time I was wanting to be able to make marks like in other puzzle games. Like how in Sudoku you can mark a box with the numbers that can go in the square. You should let the user mark what colors they think can go in a box. Or mark what tiles they think are or aren't connected. Otherwise, cool game!
Hey! I just bought this game for windows because I loved the demo. However I have a small problem. The game does not seem to have any option to turn off fullscreen on the desktop version (unlike in the browser version). This makes it a bit difficult to use because I rely on my main monitor for a lot of other stuff and moving all of that is a bit of a hassle. Is this something that could be fixed. Thank you. <3
Also sorry for using the comments as some kind of bug-report forum lol
Hi! This is already implemented in the game, it's just hidden away. Depending on your OS there are different ways to achieve this:
Thanks and have a good time!
I bought the game on android the other day and I've been having a lot of fun solving the puzzles in it. I've had one issue though - the automatic rotation is very quick to turn and ignores my device rotation lock setting, so I can't play it in bed because it turns on its side. Would this problem be simple enough to fix? Thanks again for the great game :)
Yes, in fact a fix is coming up within a couple of hours! Thanks for the support and have fun.
(BTW, I don't know if you noticed this but the puzzle is the same even if you turn the phone on its side, it's just the numbers that rotate. But yeah, it can easily get annoying if you move your phone a lot.)
Thanks so much, it works amazingly now :)
Hi, just found about this game from Nerdcubed from his recommends video. And I have to say, this game is fantastic and annoying, I love it. After finishing the Demo levels I just had to get more. So I decided to purchase it and also give just that bit extra. Because I felt like this game was worth it :) Great job making this and I hope you will add even more levels at some point, even though I am not done with them :"D
Thanks a lot, have fun!
Extremely fun, I managed to complete the Demo puzzle 100 had me stumped for a good 5 mins but whenever i try to buy the full game is says the is an error in the request
Hello! Glad you're enjoying the game.
As for the error, it definitely should not be happening. So far it has been working fine for me and lots of other people. It could either be a problem on your end or with itch.io itself, as I have no control whatsoever over the purchasing process. Try to see if it happens with others games (don't worry, you won't actually purchase them unless you go through several confirmation dialogs). If it works fine, come back to this page, hit CTRL+F5 for a full refresh, then try to buy again. If it still doesn't work, you could also try a different browser.
Please let me know how it goes!
It seems time fixed it as it finally let me purchase it with no problems. Thx for the help.
You handcrafted all 500 puzzles? How long did that take you!?!
Seriously, though, great game. presentation is clean and beautiful, sound design is so nice and relaxing. This is wonderful!!
Thanks a lot!!
That's right, the puzzles were all handcrafted. The only automatic part of the process is a tool I made to compute the solutions, so I can just make/edit a puzzle and immediately check how many solutions it has. All puzzles have exactly one solution, except for two specific puzzles which were intentionally designed to have multiple solutions (puzzles 145 and 383).
All in all it took me about 6 weeks to make all puzzles. Making a puzzle can take anything from 10 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size, number of holes, etc. On average, it takes about 25 minutes per puzzle. They were also tested multiple times (in different days) to verify that the difficulty conforms to my intentions and that the tricky spots remain tricky long after I forget the puzzle.
Great job, very fun game :) Could you put the caveat about #145 and #383 having multiple solutions in the game description? The fact that a level has a single solution can often be used as part of the reasoning for how to solve a level, so it would be good to know beforehand that some levels have multiple solutions.