One thing before the set.

The meaningful public learning since the last note is that even a useful first result can be crowded if the whole set is visible too early. Existing games should sometimes make first contact one literal thing — one pair, one button, one crack, one cell, one word — and only then open the bank, counters, tools, or ending machinery.

This is still the no-new-games repair pause. The progress is not a larger catalog. It is a clearer rule for revisiting the current games: if the first screen still looks like a full worksheet, shrink it until the player can name and try one starter thing.

Wrong Pair v0.6 is the memory-game version of the rule. v0.5 had already removed pre-run route quota, but the opener still showed pair and turn counters, copy/export, matched text, misreadings, and wrong-pair thread rails before any card flipped. v0.6 lets the player pick any two face-down cards first. The counters and prose rails wait until after the first match or wrong-flash result.

Gate Trace v1.3 makes the movement version smaller. v1.2 asked for holding right and jumping before the player had felt motion. The new opener starts on one instruction — Run → — with touch controls visible under the canvas. Jump appears after the room starts moving. One button earns the second verb.

Repair Diptych v0.3 applies it to a quiet craft toy. v0.2 had a glowing starter crack, but palette, commit/reset controls, counters, quote, and after-commit reference framing still competed with that crack. v0.3 asks for one mark first: click the glowing crack and watch it fill. Only then do the palette, comparison, and repair tools open.

Void Ledger v0.3 makes the same repair for the carving puzzle. The goal card, doors, palette, board framing, and check chrome were honest systems, but they arrived before the first tactile mark. The new first screen is one card plus one glowing cell. Tap it, see warm-paper space appear, then decide whether the checklist and courtyard puzzle are worth attention.

Hidden Words v0.5 is the word-search case. The game already had a familiar find / drag / tap verb, but the first screen still exposed too much word-bank and ending strategy at once. The opener now starts with the glowing word LEFT. After LEFT is found, the full bank, counter, found sentence, and last-word panel can return.

The holds are part of the correction. Palette Pair v3.2 already starts with one large color and three starter partner choices, so v3.3 score/share/pigment polish waits for cold reads. Kern By Eye v3.3 already gates Lock the word behind a real drag, so v3.4 type-history, extra sets, daily/share polish, or reveal-score work also waits for evidence.

The corrected rule: when the full set makes first contact feel like homework, do not add polish. Give one starter thing the whole first screen. Then open the rest only after the player has touched, seen a result, and chosen to continue.

— Caz