Eden

i make a 100% free alternative to the NYT games 💙 join 10,000+ players and try out our games :D www.ponderclub.co

Day 1 of getting 200,000 players so I can quit my job

@nytimes.com paywalled their mini 1 year ago. Thanks to that decision we now have 20k DAU on our platform If you can create an actually likable brand that people are proud to use, monetizing a free website is entirely possible

1,458 votes later and we're still basically split down the middle on how players want us to implement streaks 🥲

ponderclub.co has lost players bc i use claude code although our games/designs don't use AI, i heavily rely on claude code to execute as fast as we do i think it's important to be transparent about ai usage in your product instead of hiding it and eroding trust

A physical version of our game “Digit Shift” to hand out at cafes to advertise :) 🩵🪿🩵

dev log #1 by popular request, we've made it easier to access your next archive many players were tired of clicking into the archive calendar to find their next unplayed backlog, now it'll automatically pop up in your end game modal

It's pretty hot outside, make sure you have your marbles #ScreenshotSaturday

WE DID IT!! We raised $520 for the Trans Law Center 🩵🩷🤍 so grateful for our amazing players at ponderclub.co that got us to a $1,040 donation with match 🪿

We've already hit 50% of our fundraiser goal for the Transgender Law Center! We're matching donations up to $500 So grateful for the 30 players at ponderclub.co who have already donated and got their Trans Viz Bundle 🩵🩷🤍

I hate that we have to have ads on our site to sustain our development. I wish universal income was a thing so many of us game devs could make everything free and fun again

So cool to see Ponder Club featured on the DLES! Thank you so much @aukspot.bsky.social 🩵🪿 dles.aukspot.com

New feature: mark a comment as a spoiler! We were getting a lot of comment reports related to comments w/ spoilers so now we've added an option for a player to hide their spoilers

🔥New: We now have a leaderboard streak page! 🪿

Since our games are free and our ads are unobtrusive we try and find creative ways to monetize without ruining gameplay. Today for any player who wants to give a little extra support they can get a St. Patrick’s day skin bundle for $8

Happy St. Patrick’s day! If you play 3 games today you can unlock our St. Paddy’s Green background :) 🍀

Day 5: Getting 50,000 DAU for our NYT Games alternative We've been having a bit of a dip since our TikToks haven't done great this weekend. Sunday we had 7,858 players. I've been trying to post on more platforms like YouTube shorts and now bsky :) Hopefully this helps!

Yesterday we had 7,500 people play our games. We usually have a bit dip on Saturday’s but this was bigger than I expected. Hopefully things are back to normal by tomorrow!

🆕 If you play Solitaire but cannot complete it, it still counts as a play so you wont lose your streak 🔥🃏

📣 New feature You can now see a list of a user's Common Three submissions on their public profile 🧩

We’ve decided to make all of our games and archives 100% free forever which means we need to find creative ways to monetize without impacting gameplay for our players This week we’re putting out an Olympic lap bundle in case players want to style their avatar and support the devs!

our nyt games alternative ponderclub.co just reached 10,000 DAU 🪿🩵 it's still so hard to believe!!

working on a flappy bird dupe on our site, Flappy Goose! 🪿

experimenting with some trans visibility day skins for ponderclub.co 👀

A new setting for our anxious puzzlers! You can now hide the timer for any of our timed games. Thanks everyone for the feedback on how we can make our games more enjoyable 🩵

very cool game @playsillylittlegames.com! Silly Little Codes Puzzle #112 0️⃣0️⃣:0️⃣0️⃣:0️⃣3️⃣ www.playsillylittlegames.com/codes

me when i cold outreach

We can only continue the podcast if we increase our patreon subscribers. If you are able to join, please do. Either way, share this for us? Thanks! 🌉 www.patreon.com/c/sadfrancisco

i usually make games, but for mother’s day we made a lil interactive card instead 💐 you answer some prompts, it builds a memory card — no login, no data hoarding built to make moms cry (in a good way) flyingcometgames.com/memo-card

kind of blows my mind how long this took

wow this is the first time we've successfully outgrown a free API plan

wtf?

Have you tried Wordameda yet? Match your Alameda knowledge against our five-letter word puzzle. This week's theme is Bay Farm Island! alamedapost.com/wordameda/ #alameda

When I hear “if you’re anything like me…” in a YouTube video

I miss touchID

NVIDIA x Dennys collab wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card

who woulda thought so many game devs were making puzzle games!

i love a site refresh :chefs-kiss: ✨☄️

and that's a wrap!!! had a great time at GDC w/ @flyingcometgames.com this week ❤️‍🔥 so grateful for my scholarship from @bvigaming.bsky.social, wouldn't have been able to come otherwise

getting ready for the last day of GDC tomorrow 🥲 had to make a business card with a puzzle on the back!

happy pi day! how long can we keep a streak? piday.flyingcometgames.com

@alamedapost.com's Wordameda today only has a 58% success rate! Can you get it in 5 guesses? 🚂 alamedapost.com/wordameda/

They're so mad that they couldn't pass a trans sports ban through congress y'all.

Introducing Our New Word Puzzle https://alamedapost.com/features/puzzles/introducing-new-word-puzzle/

im at that age where i want memes like this to make a comeback

i'm officially going to #GDC! anyone have tips for puzzle game developers?

Google AdMob making the payment cap at $100 since they know none of us will get there 😭