FAQ

Questions about GridJoy

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THE BASICS

What is GridJoy?
GridJoy is a free Android number puzzle game with 18 puzzle types — including Sudoku, Kakuro, Calcudoku, Killer Sudoku, Hex Mazes, and more. Every player has a ghost companion that grows alongside their skill. 100% ad-free. No paywalls. Free to download.
Is GridJoy free?
Yes. GridJoy is free to download and play. All 18 puzzle types are unlocked from day one. All difficulty tiers are open from the start. No energy bars, no cooldown timers, no in-app purchases at all — and it's 100% ad-free, with no banners, interstitials, or rewarded video anywhere. If you'd like to support a one-person project, there's an optional 'buy me a coffee' link — but it unlocks nothing and is never required.
Does GridJoy work offline?
Yes. Puzzles are generated on your device — no internet connection needed to play. Progress syncs to the cloud when you're online, but the core game works anywhere, anytime.
Is GridJoy available on iPhone?
GridJoy is currently Android-only. An iOS version is not available at this time.

PUZZLES + DIFFICULTY

Which puzzle types does GridJoy include?
18 types: Sudoku, Calcudoku, Kakuro, Killer Sudoku, Hex Mazes, Square Maze, Circular Maze, Skyscraper, Hitori, Takuzu (Binairo), Shikaku, Sumplete, Starlink, Inequality (Futoshiki), Number Crossword, Number Blocks, Countdown, and Mazes. Each generates fresh puzzles across 5 difficulty tiers.
How do difficulty tiers work?
Each puzzle type has five tiers: Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert, and Master. All tiers are open from day one — there's no paywall or unlock gate. Harder tiers earn more XP and more Essence per solve.
Are the puzzles unique every time?
Yes. Puzzles are procedurally generated fresh on your device each session. You won't see the same puzzle twice in normal play.
What is the daily puzzle?
Every day a new puzzle is generated from a shared seed — the same puzzle for every GridJoy player worldwide, fresh at midnight UTC. The app's daily challenge rotates through all 18 puzzle types; solve it to keep your daily streak alive. You can also play 18 free web dailies (Sudoku, Kakuro, Killer Sudoku, and more) at gridjoy.app/daily.
Can I replay a puzzle I missed?
Yes. Each of the 18 web dailies keeps a 7-day archive. Add ?date=YYYY-MM-DD to any daily URL to replay any puzzle from the last seven days. Use the dated ← / → navigation on the archive banner to step through the week in either direction.
What do I earn for keeping a daily streak?
Solving any daily puzzle on consecutive days builds a streak. In the app, milestones unlock ghost cosmetics: Day 7 earns the Dedicated hat, Day 14 the Devoted halo, Day 30 the Relentless face, Day 60 the Legendary aura, and Day 100 the Immortal aura — the rarest in the app. Streak freezes (one free pass on a missed day) are granted at Days 7 and 14. On the web, your streak count is shown on the personal bests strip and marked with a ✦ once you reach Day 7.

GHOSTS + PROGRESSION

What is the ghost companion?
Every GridJoy player has a ghost companion that watches you solve puzzles and reacts to your moves. As you earn Essence, you spend it on cosmetics to customise your ghost — hats, faces, halos, body tints, and backgrounds. No two ghosts look alike.
Can I try the ghost customizer before downloading the app?
Yes. The web ghost customizer at gridjoy.app/ghost-customizer lets you try on all 160 hats, 88 faces, 115 halos, and 34 colour tints in the browser — no sign-in needed. Use the Shuffle button for a random ghost, or browse each slot yourself. Download GridJoy free on Android to keep the look you built.
How do I earn Essence?
Solve puzzles. Every completed puzzle rewards Essence — more for harder difficulties, more for streak bonuses, more for flawless solves (no incorrect cells placed). There are no loot boxes, no artificial scarcity. The more you play, the more you have to spend.
Do cosmetics affect gameplay?
No. Every cosmetic is purely visual — hats, faces, halos, and backgrounds change how your ghost looks, nothing else. A player with a plain ghost and strong logic beats a heavily decorated ghost every time.
What are mastery tiers?
Each puzzle type has its own mastery track: Bronze → Silver → Gold → Diamond. Your mastery in Sudoku is tracked independently from Kakuro, Hitori, and so on. Reaching new tiers unlocks achievement badges for that puzzle type.
Does my progress save if I uninstall?
Progress syncs to the cloud when you're signed in. If you reinstall and sign back in with the same account, your XP, mastery, ghost cosmetics, and Essence are restored.

CHALLENGES + ARENA

How do friend challenges work?
Tap the challenge icon in any puzzle to generate a share link. Your friend receives the exact same puzzle — same board, same difficulty, same seed. Whoever solves it in the fastest time wins. Your ghost signs every challenge you send.
What is the arena?
The arena is where challenges live. You can see incoming challenges from friends, pending ones you've sent, and your head-to-head record. Visit gridjoy.app/arena to learn more.

ADS + MONETISATION

What ads does GridJoy show?
None at all. GridJoy is 100% ad-free — no banners, no interstitials, no rewarded video, on a puzzle or anywhere else. There's nothing to sit through, nothing to close, and no attention being sold. More on the no-ads approach — and why it works fully offline — at gridjoy.app/no-ads.
Can I support GridJoy?
There's nothing to buy — GridJoy has no in-app purchases and no ads at all. It's built and paid for by one person. If it's brought you a few calm minutes and you'd like to chip in, you can buy the dev a coffee at ko-fi.com/textualjoker. It's entirely optional, unlocks nothing, and the app is exactly the same whether you do or not.
Is GridJoy colourblind-friendly?
Yes. The web version has a built-in colourblind palette you can toggle any time — look for the ♿ button in the bottom-right corner of any page. It switches the error and completion colours from red/green to blue/orange, which is much easier to read for deuteranopia and protanopia (the most common types, affecting roughly 8% of males). Full puzzle-grid colourblind support for the Android app is planned for a future update.

FREE ON ANDROID — NO SETUP REQUIRED

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