The basics
- Is Melio Games free?
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- Yes. Every game is free, all features included, no paywalls on core gameplay. Sign up if you want streaks and a name on the leaderboard, but every puzzle is free to play with or without an account.
- Are there ads?
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- No. We don't run any ads anywhere on the site, ever. The only analytics we use are Vercel's built-in privacy-friendly ones (no Google Analytics, no Facebook pixel, no tracking cookies). Domain owners pay for hosting; we'll cover that with optional B2B embed licenses, not ads.
- Do I need to sign up to play?
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- No. You can play any game without an account. Sign up only if you want a daily streak counter, leaderboard placement, friend system, or the ability to invite people to multiplayer games.
- What games are on Melio?
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- Nine: Multiplayer Sudoku (with race, co-op, and spectator modes), daily Wordle, daily Connections, Mini Crossword, Word Hunt, Minesweeper, 2048, a Reaction Time test, and Word Bomb (fragment-prompt typing under time pressure).
Multiplayer
- How does multiplayer sudoku work?
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- Three modes. Race: both players solve the same puzzle on their own boards, fastest wins. Co-op: both players share one board and solve together with a built-in chat. Spectator: a sharable URL lets anyone watch a race or co-op session live, no player slot taken. Full details on the multiplayer guide.
- Can I race a friend who doesn't have an account?
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- Yes. To create a race you need an account, but anyone with the invite link can join as a guest, they enter a display name and they're in. Guests' scores don't hit the leaderboard but everything else (chat, race, co-op) works the same.
- Can other people see my board during a race?
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- Other players can NOT see your board mid-race. They see your progress percent, mistake count, and finish time, but not which digits you've placed. Spectators (people with the ?spectate=1 URL) CAN see your live board, by design, since they're not competing.
- How does the rematch button work?
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- When a race ends, both players see a Play Again button. Clicking it creates a new race with the same difficulty + auto-invites the same players. The other player gets a join prompt; they're already in the roster of the new game. Two clicks and you're racing again.
Daily puzzles
- When does the daily reset?
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- Midnight UTC. A new puzzle goes live for everyone at the same moment, same Wordle word, same Connections grid, same Sudoku for the day.
- Can I play yesterday's puzzles?
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- Not directly, only today's puzzles are playable, to keep the daily fair. But we keep 30-day archives so you can see what you missed: /sudoku/past-puzzles, /wordle/past-answers, /connections/past-puzzles, /crossword/past-puzzles. Solutions are revealed on each archive page.
- What happens to my streak if I miss a day?
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- You get one grace day per streak. Miss a single day and the streak keeps going; miss two days in a row and it resets to zero. Your longest streak is tracked separately so the record sticks around even after a break. Applies to both Sudoku and Wordle daily streaks.
- Are the daily puzzles the same as the New York Times?
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- No. Same format, but our Wordle answer pool and Connections grids are independently curated. Different puzzle each day from what NYT serves. The Mini Crossword is also our own.
Accounts and devices
- Does my progress sync across devices?
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- Sudoku and Wordle scores sync if you're signed in (they're stored in our database). Game state for 2048, Minesweeper, Connections, Word Hunt, and Mini Crossword saves to localStorage, so it stays on the device you played on.
- Can I install Melio as an app?
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- Yes, Melio is a Progressive Web App. On iOS Safari and Android Chrome, tap the share / install icon and 'Add to home screen.' The app launches in its own window and works offline for the static pages. Long-press the home-screen icon for quick shortcuts to specific games.
- Can I delete my account?
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- Yes. Email hello@meliogames.com from the address tied to your account and we'll delete it within 24 hours. All your scores, friend links, and email/push subscriptions are removed.
Notifications and email
- How often will you email me?
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- Once a day at most, the daily-puzzle digest at 9am ET, only if you opt in on /today. We do NOT send marketing emails, newsletters, or anything else. Unsubscribe is one click in every email.
- Do push notifications work on iOS?
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- Yes, on iOS 16.4+ once you install Melio as a PWA (tap the share button in Safari, then 'Add to home screen'). Older iOS or non-installed Safari doesn't support web push. The opt-in toggle won't appear in unsupported browsers.
Customization
- Can I change the sudoku board's look?
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- Yes. /sudoku/themes has 14 board themes — minimal, animated, dark, vivid, everything in between. Each ships with its own animated decoration (petals, ribbons, palm fronds, etc.) and CSS-variable color set. Default is Paper; the choice persists in localStorage. Settings has a smaller picker, but the gallery is the easier place to browse.
- Are there gameplay sound effects?
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- Optional. Off by default. Toggle in /sudoku/settings under 'Audio cues'. We synthesize all sounds via the Web Audio API — no audio files bundled. Sudoku, Wordle, Connections, Mini Crossword, Word Hunt, and Word Bomb all have distinct cue palettes that don't blur together. Word Hunt's word-found cue pitch-shifts based on word length so 7-letter finds sound brighter than 3-letter ones.
Learning sudoku
- I just want to practice spotting easy moves. Anything for that?
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- Yes — /sudoku/practice is a focused naked-singles trainer. Each round shows an Easy puzzle with exactly one cell that has a single legal digit. Click it before getting bored. Streak + accuracy tracked. It's the fastest way to drill the most common scanning skill.
- Where can I look up sudoku terms like 'X-wing' or 'naked pair'?
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- /sudoku/glossary defines every term you'll hit in a sudoku discussion — bivalue, hidden pair, fish, peer, unit, strong link, unique rectangle, the lot. Tagged by category (Basics/Intermediate/Advanced/Notation) with links to the deeper strategy guide where one exists.
- Do I need to know the rules?
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- Yes — /sudoku/rules has them in 30 seconds. Three rules, no math, exactly one valid solution per puzzle. Read that first if you've never finished a sudoku. After that, /guides/sudoku-tips-for-beginners walks through your first 10 puzzles with concrete techniques.
Accessibility
- Is there a color-blind palette for Connections?
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- Yes, toggle under the action row in Connections. Replaces the four difficulty colors with pale-yellow / blue-grey / orange / dark-purple. Setting persists across visits.
- Does the site respect reduced motion?
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- Yes. If your OS prefers reduced motion, our tile-flip, shake, hover animations, AND the 12 animated board-theme decorations all back off automatically. Set in System Settings → Accessibility → Motion (macOS / iOS) or Settings → Accessibility (Windows).
Embeds and partnerships
- Can I embed Melio games on my own site?
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- Yes. Any game URL works with ?embed=1 appended to strip the Melio chrome. Free tier covers Wordle, Sudoku, and Connections with Melio branding; Pro tier ($99/mo) covers all nine with custom branding. See /embed for details.
- Can I license Melio games for my school or company?
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- Absolutely. Email hello@meliogames.com. We do embeds, custom branding, white-label tournaments, and SLA-backed support for organizations.