Zen Ten MatchAbout Zen Ten Match
Zen Ten Match is a calm daily number puzzle that doubles as meditation, made by Zenscape Labs.
Why we built it
After a stressful day, my wife reached for her favorite puzzle game, which has a countdown timer, and ended up more stressed than when she started. I searched for a puzzle that was calm but still made you think. I found the "number match" game I remembered from my schooldays, but every app version was buried in ads and felt like a Vegas slot machine: flashing, noisy, overstimulating. So I built the opposite, on my own. I've wanted to publish a game since I first programmed in BASIC on my Apple II, and 40 years later, I've finally done it. My wife now plays it every morning with her cup of tea as her daily puzzle meditation.
Marc Fienberg, founder, Zenscape Labs
What makes it different
- One daily puzzle for everyone. The same board for every player in the world each day, tested by a solver so it can always be cleared.
- No timer, ever. The puzzle rewards patience, not speed.
- Calm by design. Nature photography and soft music and nature sounds in the background, and no ads while you are solving.
- Simple to learn, hard to master. Clearing the board is a win; clearing it in the fewest possible matches earns the Zen Master title.
- Play anywhere. In your browser with no sign-up, or in the free iPhone, iPad and Android apps.
The puzzle behind it
The rules come from a pencil-and-paper game that students passed around classrooms for decades, with no known inventor. Read more in A Short History of the Number Match Puzzle.
Zenscape Labs
Zenscape Labs is a small independent studio. Zen Ten Match is our first game. We read every message, so if you have an idea, find a bug, or just want to share your result, write to [email protected]. Journalists can find screenshots, the trailer and a press kit on our press page.