Loop: Number Puzzle Game

A one-line path puzzle. Simple to learn, hard to put down.

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August 15, 2026 I built a Hamiltonian-path puzzle game solo, launched on Google Play, and I'm figuring out organic growth from zero

Hey IH πŸ‘‹

I'm Prakash, a full-stack engineer by day (NestJS/React/TypeScript, mostly fintech SaaS) and a solo indie dev on nights and weekends. Loop is my most recent side project, and I just shipped it to Google Play.

What it is:
Loop is a single-mechanic puzzle game: draw one continuous path through every numbered cell on a grid, in order, without crossing yourself. It's the same idea behind LinkedIn's "Zip" puzzle (which is having a moment right now) and, more formally, it's a Hamiltonian path problem β€” visit every node in a graph exactly once. I've always liked that mechanic and felt like there wasn't a dedicated, polished mobile game built purely around it, so I built one.

Why I'm posting here:
I have zero ad budget and I'm doing this entirely through organic channels β€” ASO, Reddit, short-form video (Shorts/TikTok/Reels), and now here. I'd rather learn the hard way through real distribution than throw money at UA before I even know if the core loop (no pun intended) resonates.

Where I'm at:

  • Solo-built end to end β€” design, mechanic, backend-free (fully offline puzzle logic)

  • Live on Google Play now

  • Working through ASO (title/description keywords, screenshots, promo video)

  • No revenue yet β€” free to play, still deciding on the monetization model

If you want to try it: Loop: Number Puzzle Game

What I'd love feedback on:

  • If you've played Zip, Nikoli-style loop puzzles, or anything similar β€” does the core mechanic sound compelling as a standalone app, or does it feel too thin without additional modes?

  • Anyone who's grown a mobile puzzle game with zero budget β€” what actually moved the needle for you early on?

Happy to share more detail on the build (it's a fairly simple client-side puzzle-generation algorithm, happy to talk through it) if anyone's curious. Mostly just looking for honest reactions before I sink more time into features nobody wants.

1 Comment

  1. 2

    The decision to hold off on monetization while figuring out whether the core loop resonates is interesting. Curious what early players seem to care about most so far.

About

I loved LinkedIn's "Zip" puzzle and saw untapped potential in the Hamiltonian-path mechanic. As a solo dev with no ad budget, I built Loop to turn that idea into a polished, standalone game people could genuinely enjoy.