Show HN: Lateral Thinking Puzzles – AI host that only answers Yes/No/Unknown
lateralthinkingpuzzles.orgI built a web app that turns “lateral thinking puzzles” into a playable, always-on experience. The AI acts as the host and only replies with Yes / No / Unknown—no hints or spoilers—so players reconstruct the backstory by asking binary questions.
What’s different • Host is strictly constrained to Yes/No/Unknown to keep the reasoning with the player. • 500+ curated puzzles across mystery/logic/psych/absurd categories; growing set. • Multilingual (English/Chinese to start). • Solo-friendly but also works for shared-screen or group play.
How it works • You read a short prompt (missing key info by design). • You ask questions; the host answers Yes/No/Unknown only. • You stop when you can state the full backstory. • Example starter (no spoiler): “A man orders turtle soup. After one sip, he pays, goes home, and shoots himself. Why?”
Tech notes • Next.js 15 (App Router), TypeScript, Tailwind, shadcn/ui. • State via Zustand; data via Drizzle ORM. • Prompting + guardrails to enforce the Yes/No/Unknown boundary and avoid accidental reveals. • Hosted on Vercel; anonymous play works—optional sign-in only to save progress.
What I’d love feedback on • Cases where the host leaks too much or answers inconsistently. • Puzzle quality: which ones feel fair vs. too obscure; which categories you want more of. • Mobile UX/latency reports. • Ideas for a “race mode” (fewest questions/least time) without making it feel grindy.
Roadmap • Race mode and public leaderboards. • Creator submission/review pipeline for new puzzles. • Better reasoning trace (question path visualization).
Happy to answer questions and share details about the constraint setup and evaluation harness. This was great, awesome idea!