Cranklish

Released on 2026-06-05
Made by Nikhil Patil
Download: https://nikhilpatil12.itch.io/cranklish
45KB

Cranklish is a word-guessing puzzle game for the Playdate, inspired by Wordle. Players use the crank to select letters and attempt to guess a five-letter word in six tries or less.

Gameplay

The goal is to guess a randomly selected five-letter word within six attempts. Players use the crank (or d-pad) to cycle through the alphabet and press the A button to confirm each letter. After submitting a guess, tiles flip to reveal clues:

• Black tiles - Correct letter in the correct position
• Checkered tiles - Correct letter but in the wrong position
• Empty tiles - Letter not in the word

The right panel displays a letter hint keyboard showing all 26 letters with their current status:

• White with border - Letter not yet tried
• X-marked - Letter tried but not in word
• Checkered - Letter in word but wrong position
• Black with white letter - Letter correctly placed

Features

Core Gameplay

• 14,854 word dictionary for variety
• Unique crank-based letter selection
• Procedural sound effects for every action
• Smooth tile flip animations
• Auto-save functionality
• Supports both crank and d-pad input

Progression System

The game includes 8 achievements to unlock:

• ★ First Victory - Win your first game
• ✦ Perfect! - Guess on first try
• ! Close Call - Win on 6th attempt
• ⚡ Hat Trick - Win 3 games
• ⊙ Crank Master - Win using only crank (no d-pad)
• ◆ All Correct - Get all 5 letters correct in one guess
• ► On a Roll - Win 2 games in a row
• ∞ Persistent - Play 10 games

Score System

Points are awarded based on guess efficiency:

• 1st guess = 6 points
• 2nd guess = 5 points
• 3rd guess = 4 points
• 4th guess = 3 points
• 5th guess = 2 points
• 6th guess = 1 point

The game supports Playdate's scoreboard API for global leaderboards when distributed through the Catalog.

Controls

• Crank - Cycle through alphabet (A-Z)
• D-pad Up/Down - Cycle through alphabet (alternative to crank)
• A Button - Confirm letter selection / Submit guess
• B Button - Delete current or previous letter
• Left/Right (Game Over) - Navigate between achievements and scoreboard screens

Installation

Via Playdate Portal (Recommended)

1. Download Cranklish.pdx.zip from itch.io
2. Go to play.date/account/sideload/
3. Log in and upload the zip file (no extraction needed)
4. On Playdate: Settings → Games → Download Cranklish

Via USB

1. Download and extract Cranklish.pdx.zip
2. Connect Playdate via USB
3. Copy the Cranklish.pdx folder to the Games folder
4. Eject and launch from Games list

Via Simulator

1. Download and extract Cranklish.pdx.zip
2. Drag the .pdx folder onto Playdate Simulator
3. Or use File → Open to select the folder

Development

Cranklish was developed by Nikhil using the Playdate SDK and Lua. The game is built as a single-file architecture of approximately 1,300 lines of code, utilizing Playdate's CoreLibs for graphics and audio.

The crank input is calibrated to advance one letter approximately every 12 degrees of rotation, providing tactile feedback through procedural audio synthesis. The game runs at 30 FPS with frame-based animations for tile flips and victory sequences.