Patentdle

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Read excerpts from a real patent and name the everyday invention in six tries.

Play Patentdle

on patentdle.com

Patentdle Patent #67 for Sunday, October 18: granted in the 1880s, excerpt 1 of 6 about a bar fixed to a drawer-side inside a box-frame, with a box to name the invention

Patentdle is a daily guessing game built from real patents. Each numbered puzzle tells you roughly when the patent was granted and shows one excerpt of its wording, and you have six tries to name the everyday invention it protects. Each miss, or Disclose next, reveals another excerpt.

About Patentdle

Patentdle turns the dry language of patents into a daily riddle. Each puzzle is numbered and dated (Patent #67 on Sunday, October 18) and starts with the decade the patent was granted, such as the 1880s, 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 a bar fixed to the drawer-side above the drawer-opening is a clue, not a giveaway.

You type the name of the invention, pick it from the suggestions and press 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 games played, win rate, your current and longest streak and how many excerpts each win took.

A new patent arrives every day at 05:00 Oslo time, and every past puzzle is in the archive, back to the first one in August 2026. 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

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

Screenshots

Patentdle Patent #67 after one wrong guess, Door lock, marked with a cross: a second excerpt about a spindle and collar-bearing is now shown

Patentdle on a phone: Patent #67 for October 18, the first excerpt from the 1880s patent and the guess box

Patentdle share card: a red rosette badge beside the word patentdle and the line 6 guesses, a fresh patent every day

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.