Daily Rule
The puzzle is the mechanism. The pause is the point.
Today I launched Daily Rule.
I've spent the last couple of months building Daily Rule, a small independent product around an idea I've been calling technology for calm.
It's deliberately tiny: one anagram a day, a couple of minutes to solve it, then you're done.
No account. No leaderboard. No endless feed. I'm actively not trying to maximise time on site.
The product question I'm interested in is whether you can build something people choose to return to every day without using the usual engagement mechanics to keep them there.
I've just moved out of beta and I'm starting to put it in front of people I don't know.
Calm is at the heart of Daily Rule, with accessibility and greener software built in from the start. I'll share more about those decisions — and what I learn from trying to turn this into a real product — over the coming weeks.
Season 2 is live now: 1980s Iconic Movies.
I'd love you to try today's Daily Rule. Take a couple of minutes, solve the puzzle, then get on with your day.
And if you do try it, I'd particularly like to know one thing: did it feel like a small break, or just another puzzle?
You can help me by visiting https://dailyrule.uk
3 Comments
The “less engagement is the KPI” idea is an interesting constraint. The harder question seems to be whether people can build a genuine daily habit when the product deliberately gives them a reason to leave.
That is useful insight actually, be interesting to see how this tracks out. Thank you for having a look.
Thanks Matt. I’ll be interested to see what the usage looks like once people have had enough time to form that habit.