Patentdle

About Patentdle

Patentdle turns the dry language of patents into a daily riddle. Each puzzle is numbered and dated (Patent #54 on Monday, October 5) and starts with the decade the patent was granted, such as the 1890s, and one excerpt from the document, labelled by the part it comes from, such as the description. Patent language describes an object without naming it, so a line about giving expansive action to a bar or handle is a clue, not a giveaway.

You type the name of the invention and guess. A wrong guess, or the Disclose next link, reveals another excerpt, up to six in all, and the fewer you need the better your result. A stats panel tracks your record.

A new patent arrives every day at 05:00 Oslo time, and every past puzzle is in the archive. Patentdle is made by Medhus, the maker of Patchdle, and is free with no account. It suits players who like history, design and working out what an old description of a familiar object is getting at.

How to play Patentdle

1. Read the grant decade and the first excerpt from the patent.
2. Type the everyday invention you think it describes and press Guess.
3. If you are wrong, or press Disclose next, another excerpt appears.
4. Name the invention within six excerpts; the fewer you need, the better.

Screenshots

Tips

• Use the grant decade: an 1890s patent rules out anything electronic.
• Look past the legal wording for the physical parts it mentions, such as a bar, a handle or a spring.
• Think of objects you use every day: the game picks everyday inventions.
• Play past puzzles in the archive to get used to how patents phrase things.

Questions