Sketch, Share, Solve
A downloadable game
Sketch, Share, Solve is a nonogram game for Playdate, fitting loads of puzzles onto the tiny screen. Play on your own or create puzzles with your friends.
Modes
- Sketch: learn how to create your own puzzles in the built-in editor.
- Share: export your puzzles and share them with your friends or download the source code and make your own version of the game.
- Solve: play 250 included puzzles and download even more from the community.
Options
Crank
- Dock – When un-/docking the crank you can toggle the menu or toggle the undo functionality.
- Crank speed – Change how fast to navigate menus and undo when cranking.
Style
- Font type – Choose between three different fonts used in the whole game.
- Hint style – Choose between three hint styles (highlighted numbers for completed blocks).
Assistance
- Hints – Show hints for any completed block or only for completed lines.
- Autocomplete – automatically cross out empty lines or gaps in completed lines.
No pressure
- Timer – Show how long you’ve spent on the current puzzle or a whole puzzle collection.
How to export puzzles
- In the game use the Export puzzles option in your profile to create the puzzle collection file. The game will show the name of the file, e.g. player.json.
- Connect the Playdate to your computer. See the sideloading documentation for details.
- In the PLAYDATE volume under Data you’ll find a directory ending with sketch-share-solve. It can look like net.monometric.sketch-share-solve or user.1234.sketch-share-solve depending on how you sideloaded the game.
- In the sketch-share-solve folder you’ll find a folder called export containing your exported puzzle collection. Copy this file to your computer.
- Make sure to eject the Playdate before disconnecting.
How to import puzzles
- Download the file to your computer. It should look something like player.json.
- Connect the Playdate to your computer. See the sideloading documentation for details.
- In the PLAYDATE volume under Data you’ll find a directory ending with sketch-share-solve. It can look like net.monometric.sketch-share-solve or user.1234.sketch-share-solve depending on how you sideloaded the game.
- In the sketch-share-solve folder you’ll find a folder called import where you can copy the puzzle collection file you downloaded.
- Make sure to eject the Playdate before disconnecting.
- After restarting the Playdate the new puzzle collection will be available in the game.
How to play
The downloadable pdx can be sideloaded to your Playdate or played in the simulator that comes with the Playdate SDK. The full source code in Lua is available on github.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $3 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Turn autocomplete off2 days ago
- A visual update26 days ago
- More more more43 days ago
- It’s no longer free*May 07, 2023
- The biggest update yetJan 23, 2023
- More puzzlesSep 02, 2022
- Version 1.3.0Jun 04, 2022
- Version 1.2.1May 31, 2022
Comments
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Hi there, is it possible to turn off automatically crossing out the 0 columns/rows? It is somewhat satisfying to cross them out manually. Thanks!
There’s no option for that currently but I’ll see if I can add it.
It’s available in the latest version.
https://r-d-k.itch.io/sketch-share-solve/devlog/610942/turn-autocomplete-off
Just got my playdate and this addition was well worth it! Will probably end up being my most played game on my playdate :) great work!
The game looks awesome, I'm going to buy it. I have one quick question though, why isn't it hosted on the Store on the PlayDate? I'm going to get into coding on the Playdate and was curious of your decision to go the itch.io route. Keep up the great work!
There’s two main reasons that the game is on itch.io and not Catalog (the official store).
1. The game launched a year before Catalog did. It might have even been the first Playdate game on itch.io.
2. For the longest time the game was set to “pay what you want” which is great to get a game seen by more people and still make some money but that option is not available on Catalog. As the game matured and got more content I eventually changed it to “paid” which makes it compatible with Catalog and I hope to get it on there eventually.
This is an absolute must-buy if you own a Playdate, and a really great value. If you've never done a nonogram puzzle before, it's an excellent introduction to the game, including lots of the quality of life improvements that have been added to various console versions over the years. Really well-designed interface and really fun.
If you do already like nonogram puzzles, here you get 250 of 'em, with the ability to download more and make your own (which people are sharing in the Playdate discord). This will be a permanent resident in my Playdate library.
Love the updated look!
Latest update (2.1.0) was treated as new game when I sideloaded it via the Playdate website. So all my progress, users, and puzzles are reset. Is there a way to combine my save data from version 1.4 into the new update?
Hi, this issue is unrelated to the update. Any game you sideloaded before February will have the same issue when updated. You can learn more about it at https://help.play.date/games/sideloading/#duplicate-games
To get your save data you’ll have to put your Playdate into data disk mode and copy all files from Data/user.1234.sketch-share-solve/ to Data/user.1234.net.monometric.sketch-share-solve/ where 1234 is your user number.
Hi, I think there's currently a bug for Puzzle 55 on version 2.0.2! I'm not able to logically mark any tiles right from the start. I love this game though! Currently at 60/200 completed!
In this puzzle and others when you don‘t know what to do next, find a longer block and try placing it in a corner. Often you’ll find that it will contradict with the next line once you continue from there and you’ll be able to cross out the corner square. You can also see this technique illustrated in the "mouth part" of the tutorial.
If you have to draw a bit to clearly see the contradiction, you’ll be able to remove the wrong parts with the undo action afterwards.
I was able to get it with your hint about the corner trick. Thanks! That was definitely the hardest puzzle so far.
Thanks for making this! Have you considered adding an invert option to enable a dark mode?
Yes, the main issue is that some of the assets including the puzzle solutions look pretty bad when inverted. A proper dark mode would need more consideration. Is there anything specific you’re looking for in a dark mode?
Not particularly. I've noticed myself preferring dark mode on other games when playing for a long time. Suppose if just the game/board view had a dark mode that would be sufficient, since it's what's being viewed most of the time
An incredible labor of love that I still can’t believe is pay-what-you-want. Whatever RDK winds up working on next, I am very excited to see it.
I downloaded "Sketch, Share, Solve" for free just to see if it was worth playing and, weeks later, it is BY FAR the most played game on my Playdate. it's such a satisfying nonogram experience. today I paid for the game because I wanted to support RDK. I hope everyone enjoys this experience as much as I have
I wish it would automatically jump to the first unsolved puzzle when you open a collection so we don't have to scroll...
Good idea! I’ve added it to the next release.
Great Picross style game.......
Great production values, feel like this could be a Season one game easily.
keep up the good work !!!
Wait, so is it 99 puzzles in the demo and 150 extra in the full version (so 249 total)? Or is it 51 extra (so 150 total)?
It’s 150 total. :)
I've gotta say, this is such a wonderful little puzzle game! I find myself constantly opening this game up in the evening and it really helps me wind down after a hard day's work. Great work RDK!
I think it would work really well if the completed puzzles were shown nice and big on the right hand (empty) side of the screen.
I know it’s been a while but I just added this today.
how do you save your profile picture
Hi, from the avatar editing screen you open the menu (undock crank or select “game menu” from the system menu) and then select “save”.
Thanks RDK. It seems your game pointed out a hardware failure on my Playdate.
Hi! Unfortunately those options aren’t showing for me. I downloaded the trial today.
Hi, which option specifically can’t you see? Can you tell me what you tried and what didn’t work?
I saw neither option—for both removing the crank as well as using the system button.
From any screen you can open the menu by 1) undocking the crank or 2) opening the system menu and selecting the "game menu" entry.
I just downloaded 1.3.0. I don't see any pdx files to sideload. I see a "main.pdz", but not sure if that's it with a rename, or something else. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.
Ahh. I see. the file I downloaded was the pdx. I thought it was a zip file that had the pdx inside. Problem solved.
Love it! Ran out of levels though! :D
The first Picross game I've ever played! Never got around to trying them before, but this one's fun! Thanks!
This is SO GOOD. I’ve played a bunch of Picross games over the years, but it’s amazing how usable and addictive this is. You really leaned into the constraints of the Playdate, and the puzzles themselves are delightful. Nice work.
All these puzzles are amazing! I’ll be working hard creating more puzzles for others, I hope I can share a pack of them soon!
Hey Hylian
There's a SSS thread in the PD community discord where we're trying to collect puzzles from everyone.
You should pop in.
https://discord.gg/msJ6kXDQRD
Is the channel still there? I’m not seeing it, I don’t think?
Hi, it’s a thread in the #sideload channel.
Duh, of course, thanks for replying.
This is so good! The UI is so nice and polished and the levels progress nicely.
Excellent! You nailed the UI for Picross--very responsive controls (which are surprisingly important when solving these puzzles quickly!). This has become my most-played Playdate game.
The only thing that's missing for me are some nice minimalist sound effects when navigating, filling, and marking. Also, I can't wait for the Playdate SDK to get network functionality so we can upload our puzzles :)
Great work. It was a steal at $2!
Enjoying this a lot!
Thanks so much for making this! The visual design is so clean and the controls work great!
Love it! This is such a fun and relaxing title, and now a mainstay on my playdate console. I'm super glad to have it, and i'm super impressed with the sketching tutorial taking me through how to make nonograms that are fun to solve.
I am a bit confused as to how to load other creators puzzles onto my game, but I'm sure I'll figure it out, I've yet to even find other puzzles. But for now I'm having a blast going through the great puzzles already here and making my own ^-^
Love the game so far, perfect for a quick pick up and play that requires little attention. How does the process of downloading more puzzles from the community work? Not sure if there just isn't any yet or if I just cant figure it out. Would love more past the original 99.
Thank you for making this!
Hi, I haven’t seen any puzzles shared yet. People are just getting their Playdates so I’m not surprised. If I see some I’ll make sure to link to them.
I made one to share out of curiosity, it looks like the process is for players to seek out .json files from other users and transfer them over to the playdate via their PC? Is there potential for users to be able to download more puzzles within the app someday?
If not maybe the most effective way to share them is via a Discord channel or something. Either way I had no idea what the process was until I made one to share. A tutorial may be beneficial as the Playdate player base continues to grow.
Yes, the process is a bit tricky. I’ll add some instructions here once I see people start sharing puzzles.
There's a SSS thread in the PD community discord where we're trying to collect puzzles from everyone.
You should pop in.
https://discord.gg/msJ6kXDQRD
Just tried uploading to playdate and the sideloader said it was missing a buildnumber in the pdxinfo file. Any solutions?
Same here. Tried downloading in Mac and then my Android phone. Same message.
I am using my Playdate, not the simulator.
same issue trying to side load from my Mac to my Play.date
Hi, sorry for the inconvenience. I’ve published a fixed build.
I had the same issue. I spent $2 on the game and now I'm feeling kinda ripped off, since it won't work. I can wait on a fix for this issue though.
EDIT: read my below comment
Okay, apparently this issue just arose today, so it's likely a PlayDate sideloading problem and not a problem with the game. My apologies
Hi, sorry for the inconvenience. I’ve published a fixed build.
Hi, sorry for the inconvenience. I’ve published a fixed build.
Pocketoid community spreading the good news of our Lord and Savior Picross to the ends of the earth. Great work RDK!
When running in the Simulator from the 1.10.0 SDK, the game gives the following error when choosing "Solve" from the "Let's Play" menu:
update failed: sidebar/select-creator.lua:54: attempt to index a nil value (local 'creator')
stack traceback:
sidebar/select-creator.lua:54: in method 'enter'
main.lua:183: in function 'switch'
main.lua:423: in field 'onSelected'
sidebar/sidebar.lua:151: in method 'AButtonDown'
input/default.lua:68: in function <input/default.lua:65>
Hi, thanks for reporting. I can’t reproduce this here so I need more context to fix this. Which OS are you using? Did you create any puzzles beforehand or was this on the first start? Did you otherwise change any code or save data?
I'm on Linux. Didn't create any puzzles yet.
This is the first time I'm trying to simulator, so maybe I'm doing something wrong. I'm not even sure how to reset my save data to test afresh.
Sketching works fine, and I can "Solve and Save", and try to solve. But if I then go back to the main menu and try "Solve", it crashes again.
Another issue(?) I noticed: In the "choose a profile" screen, if I move between profiles, it switches the avatar in the top status line, but it always says "Player" - should it say the current player name instead? The same status line says "Player" even after I choose a player.
It’s expected to just say “player” and in theory the OS shouldn’t matter much for games that only use Lua. I’m just asking because I don’t have any other ideas where the error comes from.
The save data is in a folder called Disk in the installed SDK but I’m not sure where that is on Linux.
I found my data folder by choosing "Reveal Data Folder..." in the SDK menu. I can send it to you if you wish.
I can also provide any debug information that might be helpful.
It looks like the file that contains the puzzles (import/rdk.json in the pdx) is not readable for some reason. I assume that it’s a Linux issue. I’ll try to investigate but it will take a while as I don’t have a linux machine at hand.
very nice game, thank you !! (can't wait to receive the playdate :D)
Thank you for making this!! Perfect lil commute game.
Thank you! I'm going to spend so many hours with this! Saving the link until I receive the Playdate
Will be the first game on my Playdate (when I'll get it)!