Ordo

About Ordo

Ordo works like Mastermind laid out on a grid. The day's puzzle is a square of coloured tiles, each with a simple shape, shuffled out of order. Somewhere there is one correct arrangement. You swap tiles to try a layout, and each guess gives feedback right on the board: a tile in exactly the right place locks with a heavy border, short bars beside a tile mean it is in the right row but the wrong column, and bars above and below mean the right column but the wrong row.

From those marks you reason out where everything belongs. A single locked tile can settle a lot, because it rules that colour out of the rest of its row and column. The daily has no timers, no lives and no penalty for experimenting; the score is how few guesses and swaps you needed, or a perfect first attempt. Grids range from small 3x3 boards to larger ones that the listing calls challenging.

Everyone receives the same puzzle each day, so results can be shared without revealing the answer. The app tracks guesses, swaps, streaks and perfect solves. An optional unlock adds the archive of missed days, a second, harder daily called Ordo Export with a guess limit, and advanced stats.

Ordo is made by John Davenport and came out on the App Store in July 2026; the day's puzzle can also be played on ordopuzzles.com. It has no ads, accounts or sign-ups. It suits players of code-breaking dailies who like a calm, visual puzzle.

How to play Ordo

1. Open today's Ordo puzzle in the app or on ordopuzzles.com.
2. Swap tiles to set up the arrangement you want to test, then submit it.
3. Read the board: locked tiles are correct, side bars mean right row, top and bottom bars mean right column.
4. Swap again using what the marks tell you, and repeat.
5. Solve the grid in as few guesses and swaps as you can, then share your result.

Screenshots

Tips

• Treat each locked tile as a fixed point: no other tile of that kind can sit in its row or column.
• A tile marked right row only has to move sideways; one marked right column only up or down.
• Change several unknowns at once early on to gather more information per guess.
• Keep track of which marks a tile had in earlier guesses: a tile that was right row in one spot and wrong in another narrows its place.

Questions