PathCode

About PathCode

PathCode gives you a four by four panel of letters and an encoder. You spell a word of at least four letters from the panel, using each square once but without the letters needing to touch, and press Encode. The word scores points, and the encoder turns the letters you used into new letters following the day's pattern, so every word changes what you can spell next. Longer words score more, but they also change more of the board.

A word can be encoded only once in a game, and the game ends when no more words can be made from the panel. Because each choice leads to a different board, the maker says there are thousands of possible paths through a day's puzzle, and you can start again with a different first word to try another one. A chart shows how your score sits among the scores other players posted that day, beside today's high score.

The starting letters and the encoder pattern change every day and are the same for everyone. PathCode runs in the browser on itch.io, is marked in development, and its page says no generative AI was used.

How to play PathCode

1. Open PathCode and look at the day's panel of 16 letters.
2. Tap letters to spell a word of four or more letters; they do not need to touch.
3. Press Encode to score the word and let the encoder change the letters you used.
4. Keep finding words on the new board; each word can be encoded only once.
5. When no words are left the game ends; start again with a different first word to find a higher score.

Screenshots

Tips

• A long word scores more but rewrites more of the panel; a short one keeps good letters around.
• Watch which letters the encoder tends to produce from the day's pattern before committing to a long word.
• Try several different openings; the first word decides much of the path.

Questions