Gauntle

About Gauntle

Gauntle is a daily puzzle gauntlet made by one developer, Hannah. Every day all players get the same eleven puzzles, played back to back with a single clock: Wordy (a five-letter word in six tries), a mini crossword between 4x4 and 6x6, Paire (a 6x6 Takuzu of stars and circles), a mini sudoku, Queens, Minesweeper, a nonogram, and four of its own, Ratiole, Clambers, Chromal and Shapeup.

The lower your total time, the better. Some games give bonuses that take seconds off when you do well, for example solving Wordy in three guesses or fewer; others add penalties when you fail or skip, and each game can only be skipped after 45 seconds. A flawless run and a hard mode are there for players who want more. The day's top five and the global average sit on the home page, with a full leaderboard behind them.

The word and grid puzzles are hand-authored where practical, and the rest are generated by algorithm; the maker states that no content is made with generative tools. Gauntle is free with no ads and no email needed, and there is a practice mode for each game and an archive. It suits anyone who plays several LinkedIn or NYT dailies and wants them in one timed run.

How to play Gauntle

1. Open Gauntle and press start; the clock begins and runs across all eleven games.
2. Solve each mini puzzle in turn: a word, a crossword, Takuzu, sudoku, Queens, Minesweeper, a nonogram and more.
3. Earn bonuses for good results and avoid penalties for fails and skips.
4. Finish the gauntlet and see your time on the day's leaderboard.

Tips

• Learn each game in practice mode first; the time lost reading rules adds up.
• Skip only when you are truly stuck; a skip costs more than most mistakes.
• Wordy pays a bonus for three guesses or fewer, so open with a strong word.

Questions